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Nepal moves to block Facebook, X, YouTube and others

(www.aljazeera.com)
286 points saikatsg | 1 comments | 05 Sep 25 11:31 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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dahsameer ◴[05 Sep 25 12:42 UTC] No.45137841[source]▶
I'm from Nepal. The bans are implemented in a pretty straightforward way: ISPs simply don't resolve DNS queries for these services. switch your DNS, and you're good to go. There are 26 apps that were banned: Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Reddit, Discord, Pinterest, Signal, Threads, WeChat, Quora, Tumblr, Clubhouse, Mastodon, MeWe, Rumble, VK, Line, IMO, Zalo, Soul, and Hamro Patro.
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amelius ◴[05 Sep 25 12:56 UTC] No.45137985[source]▶
> switch your DNS, and you're good to go

Except you might get a visit from the FCC equivalent.

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dahsameer ◴[05 Sep 25 13:14 UTC] No.45138167[source]▶
as long as my ISP doesn't snitch on me, I'm fine. ISPs also have a stake in this ban because the last time a block was implemented (on TikTok), people flocked to VPNs, which drove up bandwidth costs for them. so, I think while ISPs in Nepal are technically complying with the law by blocking these services, they're doing it in a way that’s intentionally easy to bypass. Now that TikTok is unbanned, the news of DNS switching is spreading quickly in Nepal through it
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1. diggan ◴[05 Sep 25 14:39 UTC] No.45139137[source]▶
> I think while ISPs in Nepal are technically complying with the law by blocking these services, they're doing it in a way that’s intentionally easy to bypass

If you reframe the issue from "Nepal wants to punish the users" to "Nepal wants to punish the companies", implementing an easy DNS block makes a lot more sense. As long as most users are unable to access the platforms, the companies will get hurt by it, I think the idea is at least.