Digital Bangladesh is one of this government’s most visionary and popular initiatives.
Five days ago, the nation was relieved when the block on popular social media platform Facebook was lifted. Now we are glad that the Home Ministry has said that there will be no ban on Twitter, Skype, and IMO. Furthermore, the ban on Viber has also been lifted. This is a move in the right direction.
Moves to block social media are understandable when the government makes short-term strategic measures in the face of immediate threats in the interest of security. It is good news that it has not been necessary for the government to impose newer restrictions.
Twitter, for example, is used all over the world for citizen journalism, and has been instrumental in circulating important news stories from Tahrir Square to Shahbagh. Keeping these platforms open and accessible is the hall-mark of a tolerant and progressive society that values free exchange of information and open debate.
Online services like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Viber, Skype, and IMO are the engines of the technological age in which we live now. There is no going back, digital is here to stay.
Apart from the concerns about the freedom of speech, a very large volume of business is done online. Every time these popular services get blocked, the e-business sector reports massive losses. All these losses attest to the fact that it is vital to our nation that social media platforms stay open.
Most importantly, the government should bear in mind that any bans on social media would hamper the country’s development agenda and stand in the way of the promise of Digital Bangladesh.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
