Nepal moves against online abuse targeting flood survivors

Nepal’s Cyber Bureau has formed a 10-member team to investigate social media users accused of posting abusive and hateful comments targeting people affected by last month’s Bhotekoshi river floods, following a warning from Prime Minister Balendra Shah that the government would take a tough line against such behaviour.

The bureau said it was compiling profiles of people who have posted insensitive comments about flood survivors, even though no formal complaints have been filed by those targeted.

Families searching for relatives who went missing in the Bhotekoshi floods on August 26 had used social media to appeal for help. Their posts were met with a stream of hostile and demeaning comments, prompting others to draw the attention of the government and security agencies to the abuse and call for action.

Shah warned in a Facebook post on Saturday that those who mocked or harassed people suffering in the aftermath of the disaster would face consequences.

“People who make unnecessary remarks, belittle those in pain or seek to cause them further suffering at this sensitive time are criminals,” Shah wrote. “The government will show no leniency towards them.”

The Cyber Bureau began its investigation following the post.

Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Giri, spokesperson for the Bureau, said officers were reviewing the social media profiles of users who had posted abusive comments and working to identify their addresses and telephone numbers.

“A 10-member team is working on this,” Giri said. “Such behaviour, which causes further distress to flood survivors, must be discouraged. Those responsible will face action.”

The abuse has continued despite the prime minister’s warning.

A video posted on Sunday by a Facebook page called Leader Nepal showed a woman holding a young child and appealing for help in locating her husband and other relatives. She also urged the government to ensure a secure future for her and her two children. The video drew comments that mocked and insulted the woman.

Nepali law provides for fines and prison terms for certain forms of online abuse. Section 47 of the Electronic Transactions Act, 2008 prohibits the publication or display through electronic media of material that promotes hatred or hostility, disrupts relations between ethnic or religious communities, or involves harassment, humiliation or other indecent conduct.

Those found guilty can be fined up to Rs100,000 or sentenced to up to five years in prison, or both. Repeat offenders can face harsher punishment.

Sociologist Meena Poudel said the online hostility reflected a broader tendency among supporters of those in power to treat criticism as disloyalty.

“There is a tendency among people close to power to look down on and attack others, particularly women, Madhesi people and those from remote areas who are already in difficult circumstances,” she said.

“Those who feel close to power develop the illusion that they are entitled to act with impunity.”

The Cyber Bureau has also arrested a man over comments it said could inflame ethnic tensions in connection with the Bhotekoshi disaster.

Birendra Madai of Baitadi was arrested in Kathmandu on Saturday after posting comments on social media about the ethnic identity of people affected by the floods.

Giri said the bureau could proceed with an investigation even without a formal complaint, provided it gathered sufficient evidence.

“Police can collect evidence, investigate such comments and move forward with legal action even when nobody has filed a complaint,” he said.