Not just Nepal, 5 countries that banned social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | check here

Social media ban: On Thursday, Nepal banned 26 applications for not registering with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. The list includes some major social media applications like Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), WhatsApp, Messenger, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Reddit, Discord, Pinterest, Quora, Tumblr, Discord and several others.

These applications were banned by the country for not complying with the country’s registration rules. Some countries banned these platforms before Nepal. You can check the list below.

1. Myanmar
In the year 2021, a military coup happened in Myanmar on February 1, during which the Myanmar government ordered Facebook to be blocked temporarily. The main concern came to be spread of misinformation. Furthermore, the ban was shifted to WhatsApp, Telegram, and Indtagram.

2. Iran
Iran banned Facebook and Twitter after several people protested against the President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s alleged election scam after the year 2009. Since then, Instagram was being used rapidly to stage protests and share information about mass demonstrations, until 2022, when it was also put to ban.

3. China
The Chinese government banned Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook at different times in the history. Facebook was blocked in 2009 due to its misuse for staging protests, Twitter was banned shortly too. Instagram was banned in 2014 during the Hong Kong pro-democracy Umbrella Movement. However, China developed a healthy application ecosystem with its own country-based app alternatives.

4. North Korea
In North Korea, social media restrictions were imposed from the beginning. The government of the country wanted absolute monopoly, blocking all means of foreign media like internet, newspapers, TV, and apps.

5. Syria
The ban of social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in Syria was done because of authoritarian rule, internet censorship, and civil war. The ban happened in 2011 which was later lifted for a short period of time. However, it was reimposed shortly.

Story highlights:

1. Nepal banned 26 social media platforms on Thursday
2. Some countries banned Instagram, Facebook & X before Nepal
3. North Korea’s absolute monopoly is reason of ban
4. China has its own country-based apps for usage

News