Kathmandu, Nepal – In the hallowed halls of Nepal's government, a curious drama unfolds, one that pits the state's regulatory ambitions against the majestic indifference of a Silicon Valley titan. The saga of getting Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, to register in Nepal has become less of a regulatory process and more of an extended, almost theatrical, 'long wait,' punctuated by what officials themselves have described as humble 'pleas.'

The latest one-week "ultimatum" for Meta to register – a sequel to a previous one-month deadline that also quietly lapsed – expired days ago. The response from the global tech giant? A silence so profound, it's almost an art form. This has left Nepali officials, including Communications and Information Technology Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung, in what can only be described as a state of polite consternation, publicly stating they are "still trying" while a concerned public wonders, "try what, and until when?"

The government's stated reasons for this persistent courtship are noble: to curb rising cybercrime, protect national unity, ensure a point of contact for grievances, and perhaps, see some tax revenue. "If it promotes murder, violence, or disturbs national unity and integrity, the government will not remain silent, will it?" Minister Gurung rhetorically asked, highlighting the gravity. Yet, the approach seems less like a sovereign directive and more like a hopeful suitor repeatedly sending flowers that are never acknowledged. Indeed, it's become a saga where the government's 'love letter' seems consistently rejected by Facebook. Officials recount sending multiple letters, even holding a meeting with a Meta representative who reportedly nodded agreeably to registration and cooperation, then vanished into the digital ether, leaving government appeals unanswered.

One ministry official lamented that in a recent online meeting, Meta's Singapore representatives behaved as if "Nepal and Nepal's laws were of no consequence." This apparent disregard stings, especially when the government insists its demands are simple: register (a process officials downplay as mere "listing" for record-keeping) and appoint a local contact. "What difficulty there is in this, they haven't said," noted a ministry spokesperson, capturing the essence of the bewilderment.

This gentle, almost beseeching, approach to the American tech behemoth draws a stark, almost uncomfortable, comparison with Nepal's rather more decisive actions against another global social media player. Cast your minds back to November 2023: TikTok, the Chinese-owned short-video app, faced a swift, outright ban in Nepal, justified by the government on grounds of "disrupting social harmony." The dragon's app was grounded with an efficiency that now seems a distant memory.

The question on many lips, often whispered with a wry smile, is whether the Silicon Valley eagle will ever face similar regulatory talons. Or does its country of origin, and its sheer global clout, afford it a different kind of diplomatic engagement – one where a government's "pleas" are met with a prolonged, and perhaps strategically calculated, silence?

Experts suggest Meta might be well aware of Nepal's predicament. With Facebook deeply embedded in the daily lives of millions of Nepalis for communication, business, and even accessing information (ironically, sometimes government information), the company likely knows a ban is a high-stakes gamble the government is hesitant to take. "They [Meta] might be thinking that the Nepal government is compelled and won't ban it," one digital rights advocate previously noted.

So, as the government "awaits the findings of a study committee" to decide its next move, the global audience watches a fascinating, if somewhat awkward, dance. Is this a government exercising extreme diplomatic patience, a "softly-softly" approach to coax a giant into compliance? Or is it, as some critics might ironically suggest, a case of a nation discovering the limits of its regulatory reach when faced with a corporation whose global influence (and perhaps revenue, as one minister alluded to Meta "boasting" about its GDP-exceeding earnings) makes it a power unto itself?

The people of Nepal, meanwhile, continue to scroll, post, and connect, caught between their government's protracted "efforts" and a tech giant's sphinx-like quiet. The only certainty is that the wait, and the questions, continue.

Facebook