Police open fire on protests of Nepal's social media policy, killing at least 17

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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Police in Nepal's capital of Kathmandu opened fire Monday on demonstrators protesting a government attempt to regulate social media that blocked some of the world's largest platforms, including Facebook, X and YouTube. At least 17 people were killed.

Rallies swept the streets around the Parliament building, which was surrounded by tens of thousands of people angry at authorities who said the companies had failed to register and submit to government oversight. At least 145 people were wounded, officials said.

Protesters pushed through barbed wire and forced riot police to retreat inside the Parliament complex.

The gunfire unfolded as the government pursues a broader attempt to regulate social media with a bill aimed at ensuring the platforms are “properly managed, responsible and accountable.” The proposal has been widely criticized as a tool for censorship and for punishing government opponents who voice their protests online.

About two dozen social networks that are widely used in Nepal were repeatedly given notices to register their companies officially in the Himalayan nation, the government said. Those that failed to register have been blocked since last week.

Neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, responded to requests for comment from The Associated Press. Elon Musk’s X platform did not respond either.

The video-sharing app TikTok, Viber and three other platforms have registered and operated without interruption.

The death toll was announced by police official Shekhar Khanal. He said 28 officers were among the wounded, as smaller protests continued into late Monday evening.

The situation remained tense, and the government announced a curfew around Parliament, the government secretariat, the presidential house and key parts of the city.

Seven of those killed and scores of wounded were received at the National Trauma Center, the country’s main hospital in the heart of Kathmandu.

“Many of them are in serious condition and appear to have been shot in the head and chest,” said Dr. Badri Risa. Families waited anxiously outside for news of their relatives while people lined up to donate blood.

“Stop the ban on social media. Stop corruption, not social media,” the crowds outside Parliament chanted, waving the red and blue national flags. Monday's rally was called the protest of Gen Z, which generally refers to people born between 1995 and 2010.

The government's proposed bill includes asking the companies to appoint a liaison office or a point of contact in the country. Rights groups have called it an attempt by the government to curb freedom of expression and fundamental rights.

Nepal in 2023 banned TikTok for disrupting “social harmony, goodwill and diffusing indecent materials." The ban was lifted last year after TikTok's executives pledged to comply with local laws, including a ban of pornographic sites that was passed in 2018.