Registration of social media platforms in Nepal 2026 Updated

Nepal currently does not have a dedicated legislation for registration and regulation of social media platforms. 

The Directives for Managing the Use of Social Media, 2023 (“Social Media Directives”), issued by the Government of Nepal dated 27 November 2023 seeks for the management and regulation of the use of social media platforms in Nepal. 

I. Definition of Social Media under the Social Media Directives

A media including a group, blog, app which provides facilities to any person, group or organization to communicate interactively with each other and to broadcast content created by users in accordance with the facilities and methods provided by the social media platform through electronic means of communication including computer, internet. 

II. Enlistment of Social Media Platform at the Ministry

The person, company or organization willing to operate a social media platform in Nepal must enlist the platform at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (“Ministry”). 

If the social media platform is not enlisted within the prescribed time, the Ministry can ban the operation of such social media. However, this is not applicable to the social media operated with a sole focus on civic education and social empowerment.

The Ministry through a public notice dated 28 August 2025 required social media platforms to enlist in Nepal within 7 days. Upon the completion of the 7-day deadline, the Ministry, through a subsequent notice dated 04 September 2025, stated that it had directed the Nepal Telecommunication Authority to deactivate any social media platforms that failed to contact the Ministry for enlistment. Platforms would be reactivated immediately upon successful enlistment.

Applicable procedures

a) Submit the online application in prescribed format along with the required documents in person or through a representative at the Social Media Management Unit (“Unit”) under the Ministry.
b) If the Unit, upon examination of the application, finds the details appropriate, the social media platform will be provided with a Certificate of Enlistment.

Required Documents

a) Memorandum of association and articles of association of company/institution;
b) Registration certificate of company/institution;
c) Tax registration certificate of company/institution;
d) Certificate of latest tax clearance;
e) Details of Board of Directors of company/institution;
f) Copy of passport of authorized representative;
g) Video KYC of authorized representative in case of online application;
h) Privacy policy, data usage policy and information security policy;
i) Documents related to technical ability and professional competence;
j) Standards determined by social media in relation to its users; and
k) Process of grievance handling-mechanism for such social media.

III. Prohibited Activities under the Social Media Directives

Under the Social Media Directives, social media users are prohibited to undertake or cause to undertake the activities as follows:

1. Create an anonymous or disguised identity (fake ID, pages, group);/li>
2. Produce and share content or share other’s content or comment on other’s content or make calls anonymously or with disguised identity (fake ID, page, group);
3. Target any person, community, caste, sex, religion, age, color, class, profession, sect, marital status, family status, physical or mental condition, origin, sexual orientation, language and other groups or category of people protected by law to spread hatred, or share word, audio, visual, picture that harm social harmony and tolerance and to create, publish and broadcast trolls;
4. Encourage child labour, human trafficking, polygamy, child marriage, caste untouchability and other activities prohibited by prevailing laws;
5. Create offensive words, audio visuals, images, trolls with an intention to bully others and use hateful expressions, defamation, or acts that constitute hate speech;
6. Perversely modify the photograph of a person by animation, montage and other technology through the use of digital media and publish or broadcast such photograph;
7. Edit, publish and broadcast without permission, the photographs and videos of private matters other than those of a public nature;
8. Publish, broadcast or comment in support of obscene word, photograph, audio, video animation;
9. Encourage content that harms child and promotes prohibited activities including child sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, prostitution;
10. Publish or broadcast false information, misleading information, misinformation, disinformation; and
11. Commit act that constitutes cyber bullying.

IV.    Classification of Social Media Platform

The Social Media Directives classify the social media platform on the basis of number of users as follows: 
a) Small Social Media Platform: For user base of more than 100,000 (one hundred thousand); and 
b) Large Social Media Platform: For user base of more than 100,000 (one hundred thousand). 

V.    Point of Contact

The operator of social media platform must arrange the Point of Contact in Nepal, either through the establishment of local office or through a designated contact person for the purpose of addressing grievances in relation to the use of such social media. 

The social media platform already in operation must arrange the Point of Contact within 27 February 2024 pursuant to the notice published by the Ministry on 1 December 2023. 

VI.    Social Media Management Unit

The Social Media Directives provide for the establishment of Social Media Management Unit under the Ministry to handle grievances received by the social media platform operator or its Point of Contact regarding the issues not addressed by the social media platform or grievances received by the relevant agencies that were not addressed by the relevant authorities in accordance with the prevailing laws.