After an over three week-long blackout, the government has finally unblocked popular social networking site Facebook, but a temporary ban on mobile messaging services WhatsApp and Viber remains in effect.
Users yesterday were able to access the Facebook app around 2 pm and the website around 2:15pm, ending the 22-day block on the poplar social networking site.
State Minister for Post and Telecommunications Tarana Halim announced the withdrawal of the temporary ban on Facebook at the Secretariat around 1:30pm.
“We are unblocking Facebook provisionally for the sake of people,” Tarana said at a press briefing, where she called on the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to unblock Facebook.
She said other social networking apps would remain blocked for security reasons.
The temporary ban on the social networking platform came shortly after the Supreme Court rejected review petitions by war criminals SQ Chowdhury and Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid on November 18. Citing security reasons, the government also blocked social networking platforms WhatsApp and Viber on the day.
Three ministers of the government met with Facebook officials during the blackout to discuss cybersecurity, highlighting violence against women as a major concern.
The block was put into effect within a week of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statement on November 11 that the government was considering blocking Viber and WhatsApp temporarily to track down cybercriminals.
BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood and Mir Masud Kabir, managing director of the country’s lone private sector International Internet Gateway (IIG) Mango Teleservices Limited, yesterday confirmed to the Dhaka Tribune that Facebook had been unblocked at 2pm following a government instruction to do so.
Various groups requested the government to reconsider its decision during the 22-day Facebook blackout.
Telecoms operators and Facebook-based businesses, known as the f-commerce sector, counted massive losses because of the temporary ban.
According to industry insiders, the country’s six mobile operators lost around Tk1.5 crore each day while the f-commerce sector sustained daily losses of Tk2 crore, with sales plummeting by 25% due to the block.
The blocking of social media is not new to Bangladesh. On January 18, the BTRC blocked WhatsApp, Viber, mypeople, Line and Tango across the country for security reasons. The apps were unblocked after four days.
The number of active Facebook users in Bangladesh is over 18 million and rising.