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> The prime minister said the party is not against social media, “but what cannot be accepted is those doing business in Nepal, making money, and yet not comply

> The prime minister said the party is not against social media, “but what cannot be accepted is those doing business in Nepal, making money, and yet not complying with the law”. I accept that there is corruption and manipulation by the government, but experience tells us also that these companies may be avoiding taxes towards zero.

alephnerd 1y ago
They have all registered with Nepal's revenue office and are paying VAT [0] The issue is the government in Nepal wants every social media holding company to have a designated person in Nepal who they can directly communicate with for takedowns without going through the traditional process, and if the company does not flllow through, hold that person legally liable. It's a blatant censorship ploy because protests and dissatisfaction against the KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Prachanda musical chairs along with various constant corruption scandals are pushing Nepalis to ask for an alternative. [0] - https://ekantipur.com/business/2025/01/28/en/from-google-meta-paying-them-in-nepal-due-to-41-crore-58-06.html https://ekantipur.com/business/2025/01/28/en/from-google-met...
- wtcactus 1y ago
  So, very similar to what happened with X in Brazil.
- baggachipz 1y ago
  Ah, so they did the right thing for the (very) wrong reasons. Shame.
- whimsicalism 1y ago
  i’m pretty sure that’s a standard requirement.. or at least extremely similar to how Brazil does it and i think similar for lots of EU countries
  - alephnerd 1y ago
    The difference is, you can trust an EU country isn't filing a claim to put down a color revolution or that you can appeal via the judiciary. A hybrid regime like Nepal is not like that.
    - whimsicalism 1y ago
      I don’t agree and I think EU countries have shown they are more than willing to trample over free communication to maintain their “cordon sanitaire” as well as a certain PoV on Israel. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/telegram-founder-says-he-rejects-request-silence-conservative-voices-romania-2025-05-18/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/telegram-founder-says-h...
      - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        EU members have an independent judiciary. Nepal does not. The local rep would be a whipping boy in a way they wouldn’t in the EU.
        RugnirViking 1y ago
        Have you seen how public polls on the judiciary have changed in just the past 5 years? People do not believe our institutions work. Though the judiciary may be independent, people believe that it is cut of the same cloth -- elite schools, disconnect from normal life
        JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > Have you seen how public polls on the judiciary have changed in just the past 5 years? For the EU? Genuinely, no. Curious for a source.

alephnerd 1y ago

They have all registered with Nepal's revenue office and are paying VAT [0] The issue is the government in Nepal wants every social media holding company to have a designated person in Nepal who they can directly communicate with for takedowns without going through the traditional process, and if the company does not flllow through, hold that person legally liable. It's a blatant censorship ploy because protests and dissatisfaction against the KP Sharma Oli, Sher Bahadur Deuba, and Prachanda musical chairs along with various constant corruption scandals are pushing Nepalis to ask for an alternative. [0] - https://ekantipur.com/business/2025/01/28/en/from-google-meta-paying-them-in-nepal-due-to-41-crore-58-06.html https://ekantipur.com/business/2025/01/28/en/from-google-met...

wtcactus 1y ago
So, very similar to what happened with X in Brazil.
baggachipz 1y ago
Ah, so they did the right thing for the (very) wrong reasons. Shame.
whimsicalism 1y ago
i’m pretty sure that’s a standard requirement.. or at least extremely similar to how Brazil does it and i think similar for lots of EU countries
- alephnerd 1y ago
  The difference is, you can trust an EU country isn't filing a claim to put down a color revolution or that you can appeal via the judiciary. A hybrid regime like Nepal is not like that.
  - whimsicalism 1y ago
    I don’t agree and I think EU countries have shown they are more than willing to trample over free communication to maintain their “cordon sanitaire” as well as a certain PoV on Israel. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/telegram-founder-says-he-rejects-request-silence-conservative-voices-romania-2025-05-18/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/telegram-founder-says-h...
    - JumpCrisscross 1y ago
      EU members have an independent judiciary. Nepal does not. The local rep would be a whipping boy in a way they wouldn’t in the EU.
      - RugnirViking 1y ago
        Have you seen how public polls on the judiciary have changed in just the past 5 years? People do not believe our institutions work. Though the judiciary may be independent, people believe that it is cut of the same cloth -- elite schools, disconnect from normal life
        JumpCrisscross 1y ago
        > Have you seen how public polls on the judiciary have changed in just the past 5 years? For the EU? Genuinely, no. Curious for a source.