Nepal, which has been doing well in most indicators of digital freedom, e-governance and online economy for the past few decades, has now started to fall into the list of countries that restrict social media and internet freedom. Only last year, due to the ban on the video sharing platform, Tiktok, Nepal was included in the list of countries where the Internet was shut down for the first time.

Experts say that the decision to deactivate dozens of social networks is serious because it tarnishes the image of Nepal in the international arena, has a direct impact on the lives of thousands of "content creators", and has a relationship with the world's largest multinational companies. 

After the government announced that social media platforms that are not listed in Nepal will be deactivated, some platforms have stopped working. Experts are concerned not only about freedom of expression of citizens or daily consumption, but also about the impact it has on international economic relations and various indicators. 

Former executive director of Nepal Rastra Bank Nar Bahadur Thapa is of the view that Nepal, which is in the process of being upgraded from an underdeveloped country, will have an adverse effect on foreign platforms. This will also have a negative impact on the country's sovereign rating, he said. He said that since the foreign aid and subsidy will decrease after upgrading from LDC, it will have to be compensated through foreign direct investment (FDI), so it will not send a positive message if foreign companies are harassed. 

Nepal is being upgraded from the list of underdeveloped countries within a year. Foreign aid and subsidies will then cease. Interest on subsidized loans will also be expensive. Citing the example of the World Bank increasing the interest rate from 0.75 percent to 1.5 percent and the Japan Cooperation Agency (JICA) also increasing the interest rate, Thapa said that economic and diplomatic reforms are necessary to bring in FDI. 

There is an example of many countries falling down in Internet freedom and index even when one or two apps are closed, the government's decision will also bring Nepal to a negative state in the ranking of freedom of expression and civic space. - Santosh Sigdel, digital rights activist and advocate

"FDI is an alternative way to bring in foreign assistance and resources and to compensate for the reduction of facilities provided by the LCD," Thapa said, "The government has done something to spoil the atmosphere when we should not be doing anything that could indicate that it is hurting or discouraging foreign direct investment." Kamakura is on the one hand, Kumlo Boki is on the other. We are not skilled in the thinking of country development.' 

With potential risks to the economy looming, the government's move has also added to the woes for companies that export information technology services. According to Richan Shrestha, founder president of Nepal Association for Software and IT Services (NAS-IT), the international trade relations will be affected when social media is closed. He is worried that this will basically stain the image of the country and send a message that the Nepal government will do what and when. 

'This causes problems in foreign business, now we have a problem to contact foreign clients easily,' he said, 'There are many companies in Nepal that do social media automation and digital marketing, business process outsourcing. This decision of the government has affected us. He said that since the message has gone out that there is no policy certainty in Nepal, even clients from foreign stakeholders are suspicious. "Information technology companies and investors are not willing to come to a country that shuts down social media," he said. 

Until now, Nepal is known as an open society and a liberal country, but now it is in the list of countries like North Korea, China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey that ban the internet, said Santosh Sigdel, a digital rights activist and advocate. He said that there are examples of many countries falling down in Internet freedom and indicators even when one or two apps are closed. He said that the issue of shutting down 25 social networks in Nepal will greatly worsen the situation of Nepal in the international indicators related to internet freedom, e-governance, and freedom of speech.

'This will bring Nepal to a negative position in the ranking of freedom of expression and civic space,' he said, 'It will directly affect the ranking of e-governance. Because social media platforms are used as gateways for many services. Our access to services logged in through Facebook or X account will be blocked. Stopping access means going down in e-governance.' 

Last year, Nepal was included in the "New Offender" list in the annual report on internet shutdowns published by the organization "Access Now", which advocates digital rights, and "Keep It On", which is campaigning against internet bans. This year, in the report published last February, Nepal has been placed among the countries experiencing shutdown. 

It is mentioned that an internet shutdown occurred in Nepal in 2024. The report recorded 296 internet shutdowns in 54 countries. Within a year, the highest number of internet shutdowns occurred in Myanmar 85 times, India 84, Pakistan 21, Russia 19. An internet shutdown is considered to be an incident where the internet (mobile or fixed line) is cut across a region, province or country, platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, X are blocked, and the internet is blocked in a district or city. Platform block is also a type of shutdown. Because it blocks user access, information exchange,' said the report. 

Not only this, but it will also have an impact on the 'Ease of Doing Business Index' or the index showing the openness of the economy, including the ease of doing business. Since online access is an important part of the e-governance index, it is sure that the index will go down when the access is stopped. 

According to the latest report of the United Nations, among 193 countries, Nepal ranks 119th with a score of 0.5781 in electronic governance. The situation of Nepal improved last year in the e-governance development index published by the United Nations every two years.   Nepal, which is ranked 125th in 2022, has improved by 6 points.  Despite rising in the

index, Nepal is lagging behind in terms of making adequate use of digital technology in public service delivery. Nepal's 152nd position in the 'e-Participation Index', which evaluates the context of providing services to citizens online, shows that the challenge is still there.