The government, which is becoming stricter towards social media platforms, has said that unregistered networks will be gradually deactivated. Earlier, the government warned that those who failed to register would be banned at once. According to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, discussions are being held on partial closure, gradual closure or other options instead of complete closure.

The ministry issued a notice again on Sunday and said that the platforms that are not listed/registered in accordance with the social media guidelines will be deactivated in Nepal. According to the notification of the ministry, "all social networks that are not listed/registered will be deactivated gradually in Nepal and if listed, they will be reactivated from the same moment." The

messaging app "Nimbuj" was registered on Sunday. Nimbuj has been registered this week as the fourth platform to be registered in Nepal, Gajendra Kumar Thakur, spokesperson of the Ministry of Communications said, "It would have been easier for us if big companies like Meta had also registered their platforms. But Nimbaj registration shows that our initiative is moving in a positive direction.'  In response to the question of what

inactive means, spokesperson Thakur said, "Instead of completely closing it, it is being discussed whether to close it partially, to gradually close it or to take other options, so it is now called inactive." Tiktok, the largest network listed in the ministry, is collaborating with influencers and content creators along with various programs related to digital equality.

Thakur informed that he is facilitating with Nepal government and police in crime investigation and content moderation. Recently, representatives of Tiktok from Dubai, Singapore and Mumbai offices shared information about their community guidelines and methods of effective content creation among post-graduate students and professors in collaboration with the Central Department of Journalism and Mass Communication of Terti University.

In addition, Tiktok also organized a formal event to announce the launch of the 'Family Pairing' feature in Nepal. At the same time, the representative of Tiktok said about the benefits of being registered and listed in Nepal, "As a listed company, the behavior of the Nepalese government towards us is very good. We have followed the standards set by the government. Now is not the time to tell about the benefits, it's just been a few months since it was listed.'  Regarding

being listed, the ministry is aware that no one will be inconvenienced, taking into consideration the interests of both social media platform operators and users. "The Government of Nepal, the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology expects social media users to use social media uninterruptedly and social media platform operators to operate their respective platforms in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the guidelines," said the notice.

 In order to manage the use of social networks and to promote self-regulation of social network platform operators and users, the government issued the Guidelines for Managing the Use of Social Networks, 2080 in accordance with section 79 of the Electronic Transactions Act 2063.

The directive was published in the Nepal Gazette on November 11, 2080 and came into effect. According to the same directive, on 15th November 2080, the Ministry of Communication requested the individuals, companies or organizations who want to operate a social network platform to register their social network platform with the Ministry within three months.

 Also, it was requested to arrange a contact point, an officer to hear residential complaints and an officer to monitor self-regulation compliance within Nepal. In this regard, the Ministry had issued a notice requesting the platform operators to ensure the implementation of the Cabinet decision of August 6, 2081 and to follow the guidelines through its own website on August 25. 

"On October 22, 2024, the chief operating officers of some large social media platforms were addressed to the Ministry of listing and implementation of the guidelines, as well as a correspondence was sent via email for the implementation of the decision of the Government of Nepal," the notice says, "to ensure the compliance of the same guidelines, on March 21, 2081 Gorkhapatra Rashtriya Dainik and The Rising Nepal called for listing and the last time on Chait 7, 2081 The notification was republished giving a period of 30 days for listing.'  Despite so many requests and efforts by the ministry of