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Nepal bans social media(Facebook, X, Reddit, Mastodon, Discord, Signal, YouTube and more) for failing to register with the government; Only 7 to be open(Viber, TikTok, Telegram and more) (en.setopati.com)
submitted 3 days ago by Pro@programming.dev to c/technology@lemmy.world
30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://programming.dev/post/36863320

Comments

Viber, WeTalk, TikTok, Nimbuzz, and Poppo Live are already registered.

Similarly, Telegram and Global Diary are in the process of registration.

Social media platforms to be blocked:

  1. Facebook
  2. Facebook Messenger
  3. Instagram
  4. YouTube
  5. WhatsApp
  6. X (formerly Twitter)
  7. LinkedIn
  8. Snapchat
  9. Reddit
  10. Discord
  11. Pinterest
  12. Signal
  13. Threads
  14. WeChat
  15. Quora
  16. Tumblr
  17. Clubhouse
  18. Mastodon
  19. Rumble
  20. MeWe
  21. VK
  22. Line
  23. IMO
  24. Zalo
  25. Soul
  26. Hamro Patro

Other Sources

all 31 comments
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[-] abbiistabbii 26 points 3 days ago

OK so three things:

  1. How are they going to ban Mastodon. Like they cannot ban every mastodon instance.
  2. From what I know about people in regimes like this: VPN usage is basically normal because of things like this. I live in the UK and I'm using a VPN.
  3. Hamro Patro, if you don't know, is the Nepali "everything" app. It's officially a calendar app, but it also does News, Horoscopes (something that's important to Nepalis I guess), Exchange Rates, Radio and Podcasts. It is one of the most popular apps in the country and the most popular Nepali developed app period. This is like if the US banned the CNN app or if the British Government banned the Sky News app.
[-] tankfox@midwest.social 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Modern laws rarely if ever have anything to do with what they claim to be changing. Just figure out where the graft is flowing and that's your answer. There's no graft to be had with mastodon because nobody is making any money there so at first it's simply ignored unless it annoys someone in Nepal's government. If an instance suddenly started getting popular and making money in Nepal then it gets on their radar and they have to start paying bribes to continue operating just like the big guys, and there will be no room at all for a 'medium guy' who makes a little profit but not enough to comply with the requirements of corruption.

[-] abbiistabbii 1 points 2 days ago

It doesn't need to make money, it just needs to be a "Problem".

[-] NauticalNoodle@lemmy.ml 2 points 2 days ago

A number of these sites try hard to Filter out VPN users.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 71 points 3 days ago

I wish them luck banning Mastodon, Lemmy, and Nostr... Oh wait, they cant

[-] Das_Fossil@feddit.org 8 points 3 days ago

Its totaly easy:

  1. Ban the apps
  2. Block major instances
  3. Jail some instance admins who doesn't shut down (and make a show out of it)

No, you will not get the hobby revolutionary this way who really wants to "fight the man", but you surely will scare away the nepalese version of the average joe and with this effectively killing the networks there for main stream adoption.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 days ago

Are there any instance administrators in Nepal to jail?

[-] Das_Fossil@feddit.org 2 points 3 days ago

Well... we will see

[-] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 2 points 3 days ago

Not familiar with the other examples, but Lemmy doesn't need an app. Can get to it via browser. Maybe the others need one?

[-] Das_Fossil@feddit.org 2 points 3 days ago

Websites you can block via DNS - yes, i know that this can also be fairly easy circumvented - but the folks who know this are NOT the target audience for state action like that.

[-] EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 1 points 2 days ago

Oh, yeah I know that sites can be blocked easily enough. My comment was more about whether specific apps are needed. For example, I rarely put apps for specific websites on my phone and instead just use the browser. Cuts way down on ads and other bullshit.

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 1 points 3 days ago

Well, if they start by blocking the clients, then block any webpage or server sending / receiving ActivityPub packets at the ISP level, they could possibly cut it off. Heck, just spin up a new Mastodon or Lemmy server, send out a ping, and have every Nepalese ISP & mobile provider block all domains and IPs that respond.

[-] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 days ago

They're still tor.

[-] Linearity@infosec.pub 73 points 3 days ago

Signal:
Settings -> Privacy -> Advanced -> Censorship Circumvention

[-] solrize@lemmy.ml 19 points 3 days ago

Signal is a social media platform?

[-] thejml@sh.itjust.works 42 points 3 days ago

It's in the "to be blocked" list posted.

[-] solrize@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 days ago

I guess that centralized server thing is working out real well then. /s

[-] Redjard@lemmy.dbzer0.com 14 points 3 days ago

Mastodon is also blocked, I don't think they cared if services are centralized.

[-] Vikthor@piefed.world 3 points 3 days ago

Do you think they will be blocking every single Mastodon server in existence?

[-] Holytimes@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 days ago

If it's federated it's easy to block. If it's not it's too small to care about really.

And if you just remove the ability for federation to function in your country you have fundamentally broken the system making it basically unusable for your people.

The federvise is extremely weak to censorship for your avg joe because it's strongest point the federation system is also it's biggest Achilles heel.

With out federation it's just a series of less useful forums and blogs.

The system is designed to prevent corporate ownership from destroying it. But the idea that you can prevent a government and those in control of the infrastructure from blocking it? Is laughable.

You can in small ways wrong around it but you don't need 100% censorship to win the game of cat and mouse. Even 50% of the biggest instances wins you the game.

[-] Ulrich@feddit.org 2 points 3 days ago

Depends on how you want to look at it. They have "stories" which could most certainly be considered that.

[-] Stubb@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 3 days ago

They only implement DNS blocking so you have to change your DNS and everything will work again — this is also the case with their ban on porn sites. It's just an inconvenience to the citizens, all because they aren't competent enough to manage "criminal activites".

[-] DFX4509B_2@lemmy.org 14 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Nepal went full iron curtain. Hope the EU, US, and UK don't get any ideas....

[-] kilgore_trout@feddit.it 10 points 3 days ago

None of the platforms allowed employs E2E encryption, does it?

[-] sqgl@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Telegram allowed. It does not e2e encrypt by default. How will they make sure that option isn't chosen by Nepalese?

All Nepal is asking for is registration so that there is a point of contact if there are any complaints. Telegram contacted Nepal after being banned.

Others didn't respond and deliberately have no contact details online.

I tried to contact Reddit in Sydney about my ban but could only make them down to a multi-client large office building in Barangaroo.

This isn't necessarily a bad move on Nepal's part.

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 3 points 3 days ago

I'm not sure what the big deal is here. They're dealing with a known rise in crime and fraud. this isn't just a bogeyman "save the children" thing, it's that they want to have access to the platform to keep things safe for their people and everyone else.

I think it's more than reasonable to have a specific point of contact if there's any issues related to a criminal investigation. And the lack of response from the Big Two is evidence that they don't care.

[-] frozenpopsicle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 days ago

... Long farting noise

[-] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 days ago

Assocks. They don't need (backend-level) access to the platform in order to fight that. They just have to do good, boots-on-the-ground detective work. In other words, earn their salaries. We don't precime-inalize silverware companies because people may use kitchen knives to kill each other.

[-] Endymion_Mallorn@kbin.melroy.org 2 points 2 days ago

No, but if one brand of knife is used in the majority of a category of crimes, it's fair that the government should have a clear point of contact with the manufacturer to help identify why it's happening and how it can be prevented.

Realize this: The Nepalese government is being treated the same way as a "normal" person - they're having trouble prosecuting these crimes because they're not being given any access to hidden or deleted posts. They're having to go though the useless fake support chats and the like. What they're demanding, mostly, is that they have a known human being who will cooperate with the government and to whom they have a clear and unambiguous connection. Frankly speaking, I think that ought to be a bare-minimum for any company anywhere. I don't support corporate sovereignty or corporate personhood. If you have a company operating in a nation, that nation should always have a clear point of contact for law enforcement & taxation purposes, as well as more general communication when needed.

[-] jjlinux@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 days ago

Wao, Nepal is another part of the UK. Learning something new every day.

this post was submitted on 04 Sep 2025
285 points (100.0% liked)

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