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Bangladesh lifts ban on social media: minister

Xinhua, December 14, 2015 Adjust font size:

Bangladesh has lifted a ban on all social networking platforms, Bangladeshi State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim confirmed the government decision to Xinhua Monday night.

The decision to lift ban on all social media platforms came hours after the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission's new instruction to block three more online voice and messaging services -- Twitter, Skype, imo.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission or BTRC on Sunday night asked all of the country's cell phone operators and telecom service providers to suspend the three popular services -- Twitter, Skype, imo -- immediately.

"All social media have been opened. They are now available across Bangladesh," Halim told Xinhua in an exclusively interview.

"Directives have already been sent to the relevant authorities for taking necessary steps to unblock all social media platforms including Skype, Twitter, WhatsApp and Viber," he said.

Regarding BTRC's Sunday night instruction, Halim said, "The telecom regulator (BTRC) Sunday night asked the mobile operators and other telecom service providers to strengthen their Twitter, Skype, imo monitoring system but some of them misunderstood the instruction and thought that they were instructed to block the popular online voice and messaging services."

BTRC on Nov. 18 blocked Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber for security reasons shortly after the country's apex court delivered verdicts upholding the death penalties of two influential opposition leaders -- criminals Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed -- for war crimes in 1971.

For the first time in its history, the Bangladeshi government reportedly on that day also temporarily shut down the internet in the country for over an hour.

The Internet shutdown affected businesses and services heavily dependent on the digital networks.

Ban on the social media have been imposed on security grounds, Halim said, adding "We've decided to open all social media platforms as there are no more security concerns now."

Halim had earlier said Facebook and other social networking platforms will be opened after directives come from the Ministry of Home Affairs once ensuring the security concerns of the country and its people.

Earlier on Monday Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said there are no existing threats to Bangladesh. Endit