The government on Thursday unblocked access to social networking site Facebook.
The state minister for post and telecommunications, Tarana Halim, said access to several other communication apps such as WhatsApp, Viber, Tango, Line and Hangout along with a video streaming site Ustream TV would remain blocked on security reasons.
The government came under sharp criticism after blocking a number of social networking and communication services and one video streaming website in the country, including popular services like Facebook and Viber, because of ‘security’ reasons on November 18.
Explaining the reason behind such restriction, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan had told reporters that ‘although the law and order situation is good, to carry out the execution of the war criminals, the government has blocked some social networking sites as a precaution.’
The government move to block the services came immediately after the Supreme Court dismissed the review petitions of war crimes convicts Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed and Salauddin Quader Chowdhury against their death sentences.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, in the parliament early November warned the government might block the social networking sites to combat terrorism.
Earlier On January 18, the government blocked mobile massaging and internet calling applications Viber and Tango. In September 2012, the BTRC blocked video sharing site YouTube in Bangladesh for 260 days following worldwide protests at a 14-minute trailer of a film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims’ which mocks Islam and its Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).
Source: New Age
