Nepal’s crackdown on social media companies, which led to protests and police killing at least 19 people Monday, is part of a yearslong decline of internet freedoms around the world as even democracies seek to curtail online speech. The South Asian country’s government said last week it was blocking most social media platforms including Facebook, X and YouTube. That’s because the companies failed to comply with regulations that required them to register with the government. The move was widely criticized as a tool for censorship and punishing opponents who voice their protests online. Nepal lifted the restrictions on Tuesday a day after mass protests against the ban.
(Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
