KATHMANDU: Sep 4, The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has formally directed all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block social media platforms that are not registered in Nepal.
The Authority issued the directive to ISPs on Thursday to implement the ministerial-level decision of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.
NTA directs ISPs to block access to TikTok
With this directive, popular and widely used platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and WhatsApp will no longer operate in Nepal.
In its letter to ISPs, the Authority listed 26 platforms and instructed them to immediately disable access.
However, this decision will not affect seven platforms such as TikTok and Viber, which are already registered or are in the process of registering.
According to the Ministry, five platforms—TikTok, Viber, Nimbuzz, WeTalk, and PopoLive—have completed registration, while Telegram and Global Diary are currently in the process.
The government made this decision after the seven-day deadline it had given for registration expired. Nevertheless, it has said that any platform can resume operation at any time once the registration process begins.
