What is it about?
This study looks at how people in Nepal were affected when the government banned the popular app TikTok. TikTok is widely used in Nepal for entertainment, education, and business promotion, especially among young people and small creators. When the government banned the app in 2023, officials said it was needed to protect social harmony and limit misinformation. However, the decision caused confusion and debate, as many users relied on TikTok to connect with others and express themselves online. To understand the impact of this policy, we surveyed 108 TikTok users across Nepal right after the ban was lifted in 2024. We asked how they used the app, how they felt about the ban, and what they did during and after the restriction. The results show that while people were unhappy with the ban and viewed it as limiting free expression, most did not openly protest. Many quietly adapted by using VPNs or moving to other platforms like Instagram or YouTube. Our findings reveal that digital restrictions affect more than just access to technology, they shape how people communicate, express themselves, and participate in civic life. The study suggests that governments should consider more balanced and participatory approaches to managing social media, rather than relying on complete bans. It highlights the importance of including local voices, cultural values, and digital literacy in policymaking for fair and effective social media governance.
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Why is it important?
This study is one of the first to examine how people in a developing country experienced and adapted to a government-imposed social media ban. While TikTok bans have been debated worldwide, most discussions focus on politics and policy rather than how such restrictions affect everyday users, particularly in low-resource or transitional societies like Nepal. Our work provides timely insights into how people respond to sudden digital disruptions by shifting platforms, expressing quiet resistance, or re-evaluating their trust in technology and governance. These findings are important because they reveal the social and emotional dimensions of digital regulation that are often overlooked in global policy debates. Understanding these user perspectives helps policymakers design fairer, more inclusive digital governance strategies that balance safety with freedom of expression. The work also adds to broader conversations about digital rights, cultural adaptation, and collective governance in the Global South, offering lessons that extend well beyond Nepal’s borders.
Perspectives
Writing this paper was both a professional and personal experience for me. As someone from Nepal researching digital technology and social impact, this project allowed me to bring together my academic interests in human-computer interaction and my lived understanding of how people in developing contexts experience technology policies. It was deeply meaningful to capture how ordinary users responded to the TikTok ban—not through protest, but through quiet adaptation, creativity, and resilience. Working with an interdisciplinary team across institutions also broadened my perspective on how global policy debates often overlook voices from smaller countries. I hope this work encourages more inclusive research on digital governance, especially from underrepresented regions, and sparks dialogue between policymakers, designers, and everyday users about how to build fairer, more participatory digital futures.
Prerana Khatiwada
University of Delaware
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Regulating Social Media: Surveying the Impact of Nepali Government's TikTok Ban, Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, October 2025, ACM (Association for Computing Machinery),
DOI: 10.1145/3757648.
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