Nepal lifts ban on social media platforms after protests where police killed 19 people

Nepal’s government lifted its ban on social media platforms Tuesday a day after police killed opened fire on mass street protests against the ban, killing 19 people, Associated Press reported.

The district administration ordered an indefinite curfew in the capital and schools were closed. A curfew was also imposed in two other cities.

Several widely used social networks, including Facebook, X and YouTube were blocked in the Himalayan nation last week after failing to comply with a new requirement to register and submit to government oversight.

Rallies against the ban swelled to tens of thousands of people in Kathmandu and crowds surrounded the Parliament building before police opened fire on the demonstrators, according to Associated Press.

“Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” the crowds chanted, waving national flags. Monday’s rally was called the protest of Gen Z, which generally refers to people born between 1995 and 2010.