The government of Nepal is blocking commonly used social platforms including Facebook, X, Instagram, WeChat, Reddit and YouTube due to noncompliance with a new law requiring them to register with the government, The Associated Press reported. Five platforms including TikTok and Viber that did register in the country were exempted from the ban.Social media companies were asked to provide a local contact, grievance handler and person responsible for self-regulation to avoid a shutdown and many apparently failed to do so. "Unregistered social media platforms will be deactivated today onwards," ministry spokesperson Gajendra Kumar Thakur told Agence France Presse.The Nepalese government recently introduced a directive forcing social media companies to ensure their platforms were well-managed, responsible and accountable. The government said the bill was an effort to curb online hate, rumors and cybercrime. However, it was widely criticized by opponents as a tool for censorship, with some groups calling it a violation of citizens' basic rights."It is not wrong to regulate social media, but we first need to have the legal infrastructure to enforce it. A sudden closure like this is controlling," said Digital Rights Nepal president Bhola Nath Dhungana. Another group, the Federation of Nepali Journalists said the measure "undermines press freedom and citizens' right to information." Also expressing opposition was the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.Nepal is the latest government to tighten social media oversight, with countries including the US, Europe and Brazil having done so to varying degrees of late. Nepal's neighbor India has also mandated local compliance officers and takedown mechanisms (and even threatened to jail Twitter employees at one point).This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/nepal-blocks-most-social-media-sites-for-failing-to-register-with-the-government-131512017.html?src=rss

The government of Denmark said on Friday that lawmakers from its political right, left and center have reached an agreement to ban social media for anyone under 15, as reported by The Associated Press. If enacted, the move would be one of the most ambitious attempts globally to keep children off social media. Momentum has been building in recent years around concerns that social media is harming its younger users.The country's Digitalization Ministry would set the minimum age at 15 for certain social media platforms but has not clarified which ones would be affected. The government also did not share specifics on how enforcement would work.A statement from the Digitalization Ministry reads, in part, Children and young people have their sleep disrupted, lose their peace and concentration, and experience increasing pressure from digital relationships where adults are not always present," as reported by The Associated Press. Digitalization Minister Caroline Stage said Danish authorities are finally drawing a line in the sand and setting a clear direction."In December, the world's first country-wide social media ban for children will go into effect in Australia, banning children under 16 from major social media platforms. Platforms that want to operate in the country must employ age-verification technology and would face fines if they fail to enforce the nation's age limits.Some age-verification methods, particularly facial recognition and showing of ID, have faced heavy skepticism as they have been implemented around the world. In the UK and Italy anyone wanting to watch porn online must now upload a selfie or provide ID to verify they are above age limits. If the same methods are employed to verify teenagers' ages, questions will undoubtedly arise about data safety and privacy involving minors' data.Texas recently came close to enacting a similar ban, though it ultimately didn't pass. Utah passed laws in 2023 that require parental consent before teens can create social media accounts. Florida passed a social media ban for children that is currently held up in court.This move will undoubtedly spark more conversation around the potential harms of social media on adolescents, as well as whether social media access will be perceived as personal parenting decisions that should remain free from government intervention.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/denmark-set-to-ban-social-media-for-users-under-15-years-of-age-171602408.html?src=rss