Nepal’s Tragic Flood: When the River Swept Away Communities, Infrastructure, and Communication
On 26 August 2026, a devastating flood entered Nepal through the Bhote Koshi River in Rasuwa, unleashing destruction along the Bhote Koshi and Trishuli river corridors. What began in the northern Himalayan region rapidly spread downstream, severely affecting communities and critical infrastructure across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Gorkha, Chitwan and surrounding areas.
The flood swept through riverside settlements, damaging homes, roads, bridges, hydropower facilities and other essential infrastructure. The Government has described the disaster as causing significant loss of life, displacement and widespread damage, while assessments of the full extent of the destruction continue. At the time, 903 death bodies, including recovered human remains, had been recovered from several flood-affected districts, while 4247 people remained missing.
But the destruction was not limited to physical infrastructure. The flood also disrupted Nepal’s communication infrastructure at a time when communication was needed most. Large parts of the affected areas experienced disruptions to mobile and internet services. Nepal Telecom reported extensive disruption, with 198 sites affected by the flood. By 29 August, services had been restored at 145 sites, with technicians working across Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading and Chitwan. Ncell reported that approximately 70–80 kilometres of fibre links were damaged, affecting 27 mobile tower sites. The company subsequently restored 14 sites and deployed technical teams through land and air routes to reconnect affected communities. The disruption also affected essential services, including banking and access to public information. The Nepal Bankers’ Association warned that interruptions to internet and communication services were creating difficulties for regular banking operations in affected areas.
Alongside restoration efforts, telecom and internet service providers also introduced relief measures to keep affected communities connected. Nepal Telecom and Ncell provided free or subsidised telecommunications services in affected areas, while ISPs including WorldLink provided free internet access to support communities during the crisis. Such measures demonstrate the important role of connectivity providers in supporting emergency response and ensuring that financial barriers do not further limit access to communication during a disaster.
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Draft Telecom Policy Proposes Stronger Cybersecurity and Data Protection
Nepal Telecommunications Authority’s draft Integrated Telecommunication Policy, 2026 proposes stronger cybersecurity standards for telecom networks and equipment, better protection of customer data, regulation of public Wi-Fi, and improved cyber incident response. The draft proposes establishing a Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to continuously monitor and respond to cybersecurity incidents. Telecom providers would also be required to ensure the security, privacy, integrity and accountability of customer data during collection, storage and processing. It also seeks to bring public Wi-Fi services under a more organized regulatory framework, strengthening oversight of public internet access and telecom cybersecurity.
TikTok Agrees to $400 Million Settlement Over Children’s Privacy
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to the U.S. government to settle allegations that the platform collected personal data from millions of children under 13 without proper parental consent, violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Under the agreement, TikTok will immediately pay $300 million, with another $100 million due after a previous FTC consent decree is lifted. The settlement is among the largest U.S. penalties involving children’s online privacy and follows similar enforcement actions against companies including YouTube and Meta.
Meta Reaches $16.7 Billion Settlement Over Child Safety
Meta has reached a major settlement with a bipartisan coalition of U.S. state attorneys general over allegations that Facebook and Instagram contributed to mental health harms among children. Under the agreement, Meta will introduce daily usage limits and nighttime restrictions for teenagers, strengthen age-assurance measures to prevent children from accessing its platforms, and provide additional tools for parents and guardians. Meta has agreed to pay approximately $16.7 billion, with California potentially receiving $1.5–$2.1 billion, while Texas reached a separate $1 billion settlement. Meta also expects to record around $10 billion in legal expenses in the third quarter of 2026. The settlement is the company’s largest to date, although other child-safety cases involving Meta and other major social media platforms remain ongoing.
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Disclaimer: Digital Rights Weekly is a weekly publication that curates and analyses news and developments on digital rights and ICT issues, primarily based on media monitoring and publicly available sources. The inclusion of any report or reference does not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Digital Rights Nepal (DRN), unless mentioned explicitly otherwise. AI assistance may have been used solely to improve language, grammar, and readability.
Digital Rights Nepal (DRN) is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to promoting and protecting digital rights in Nepal, including freedom of expression and association online, privacy, access to information, internet governance, AI governance, and cyber laws, policies, and security.
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