Community Contribution in Censorship Detection: Updating Nepal’s OONI Test List

Community Contribution in Censorship Detection: Updating Nepal’s OONI Test List

Digital Rights Nepal (DRN), together with OONI, Netalitica, and the Digital Rights Action Group, recently convened a community workshop to update Nepal’s censorship test list- the first such revision since 2016. The workshop brought together civil society members, journalists, technologists, and digital rights defenders to ensure that Nepal’s censorship monitoring efforts are current, community-driven, and evidence-based.

Why Censorship Monitoring Matters

Nepal has seen a worrying rise in digital restrictions in recent years – from the TikTok ban in 2023 to broader platform bans in 2025, content takedown orders, and new legislative attempts to regulate online expression. These actions, often justified in the name of morality, public order, or election integrity, directly threaten freedom of expression and access to information guaranteed under Article 19 of the UDHR and Nepal’s Constitution.

The consequences are profound. When online spaces are restricted without transparency or safeguards, journalists, activists, and ordinary users begin to self-censor. Public trust erodes, youth participation diminishes, and civic space narrows at a time when digital engagement is essential- especially with the upcoming House of Representatives election and the surge of youth activism led by Nepal’s GenZ movement.

Developing and Updating the Country Test List

A country’s censorship test list is central to understanding the state of digital freedoms. OONI’s community-driven system relies on regularly updated lists of URLs that reflect a country’s political, social, cultural, and human rights landscape. These URLs are tested by volunteer-run probes to detect whether certain sites are blocked, throttled, or fully accessible. But Nepal’s test list had remained largely untouched since 2016, leaving many entries outdated and disconnected from current digital realities. Updating this list is therefore not only a technical exercise but an act of defending transparency and documenting online interference in a systematic, credible way.

What We Achieved

The workshop revitalized Nepal’s test list through a collaborative process. Participants reviewed the existing list, identified outdated entries, proposed relevant URLs across 32 OONI categories, and practiced using the OONI Probe. Working in coordinated groups, they examined high-priority categories and populated a shared spreadsheet that now reflects Nepal’s contemporary digital environment. The updated draft list will undergo final review before submission to OONI for integration.

Looking Ahead

This workshop marks an important step toward strengthening Nepal’s capacity for evidence-based censorship monitoring. By bringing together journalists, technologists, and civil society actors, it deepened local ownership of the censorship measurement process and enhanced awareness of how systematic documentation can support digital rights advocacy. DRN remains committed to fostering transparency, empowering communities with practical tools, and championing a rights-respecting digital ecosystem. As Nepal heads into a pivotal election period, updating and sustaining the country test list becomes even more critical. Ensuring open and pluralistic digital spaces is essential to protecting democratic participation and safeguarding the voices that drive accountability and reform.