KATHMANDU, April 23 : Nepal Police Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki has said that the absence of formal registration of social media platforms in Nepal is seriously affecting cybercrime investigation and control.
Briefing a meeting of the Federalism Strengthening and National Concerns Committee on Thursday, Karki said cybercrime cases are rising rapidly alongside the growing number of mobile and internet users. He noted a surge in incidents such as cyberbullying, harassment, hate speech through fake accounts, financial fraud, account hacking, and blackmail.
According to him, police have received complaints related to hate speech from over 4,000 fake accounts so far. More than 3,000 cases of cyberbullying and harassment have been recorded, while financial crime complaints have exceeded 10,000.
Formal doesn’t have to be boring
Karki said the lack of official registration of social media platforms in Nepal makes it difficult to obtain user data and remove harmful content. He noted that only a few platforms such as TikTok, Viber, Nimbuzz, Weetok, and Poco Live are currently registered in Nepal. However, the parent company of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—Meta—has not been registered in the country.
He added that the absence of local offices of foreign-operated platforms causes delays in obtaining necessary information for investigations. It can take 20 to 25 days to receive user data from platforms like Facebook and Instagram, while responses in general bullying or harassment cases may take about a week.
In serious cases such as missing minors or suicide-related incidents, information is usually received within 24 hours, he said.
Karki also pointed out difficulties in getting responses for user data or content takedown requests from platforms such as WhatsApp, Discord, X, Snapchat, imo, WeChat, Reddit, YouTube, and Gmail.
He stressed the need to strengthen legal frameworks, bring social media platforms under a formal registration process, and enhance international coordination to better tackle the growing threat of cybercrime.
