At least 13 dead after youth protests against the ban on Nepal’s social media

At least 13 people were killed and dozens were injured in Nepal after demonstrations against the government’s ban on social media, which led to protesters and security forces.

Thousands listened to the calls of protesters who describe themselves as a generation z to gather near the Parliament building in Chatmond’s decision to ban platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube.

The Minister of Communications Nepal Patvia Subba said the BBC police had to use force – which included water guns, batons and shooting from rubber bullets.

The government said the platforms on social media should be regulated to combat fake news, hatred and fraud on the Internet.

But on popular platforms such as Instagram, there are millions of users in Nepal, which are counting on them for entertainment, news and business.

Demonstrators transported posters with slogans, including “enough” and “end corruption”.

Some said they were protesting what they called the government’s authoritarian attitude.

When the rally moved to the limited territory, near the parliament, some participants of the rally rose to the wall.

“Tears and water guns were used after the participants of the rally who went into the limited territory,” said a police officer Shehar Hanal at the AFP news agency.

A press secretary of the Kathmandu district office said the curfew was imposed around the districts, including the parliament building after protesters.

Last week, the authorities ordered to block 26 social media platforms for not fulfilling the term to register with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

From Friday, users have difficulty in accessing the platforms, although some use VPN to get around the ban. So far, two platforms have been restored after registration to the ministry after the ban.

The Nepal government claimed that it did not prohibit social media, but is trying to bring them into line with the Nepali law.