New Delhi, Sept. 11 -- In September, Nepal banned 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter (now X), WhatsApp and LinkedIn. The ban triggered nationwide protests and unrest, forcing the government to reverse it within a week.

France, meanwhile, has not imposed a nationwide ban but is pushing strict controls for minors. President Emmanuel Macron and lawmakers have proposed banning social media for children under 15.

Here are countries that have banned social media, selectively or otherwise.

In mainland China, social media is blocked under the "Great Firewall". Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter (X), YouTube and Snapchat cannot be used without VPNs.

Instead, people use monitored apps s...