Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Mustafa Jabbar on Tuesday said at least 760 fake Facebook accounts, pages and groups were generated using the name of Bangladesh Army, in just one night before the December 30 general election.
“It was an uphill task to face the problem. Then again, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and law enforcing agencies managed to keep control over digital media during the election,” Jabbar said.
The technocrat minister said this in his address as chief guest, at the NOC Automation and IMEI Database (NAID) services launch.
The BTRC organized the event at its headquarter in Dhaka, with its Chairman Md Jahurul Haque presiding over it.
The first database of International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers of mobile phones was developed under the initiative of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Importers’ Association.
Jabbar credited the law enforcers for tackling online rumours and arresting the perpetrators, when there was no technical support from the social media giant to help fight the crisis.
False online propaganda was a major threat to the 11th parliamentary election, which forced not only the the law enforcing agencies but also telecom regulators to keep an eye on criminal acts, to avert any untoward situation, he added.
Lauding the introduction of the database, the minister said it would massively help curb cybercrime, which is rising in line with the growth of the ICT sector.
“The database will work as a weapon for lawmen to identify those responsible, which will also help stop the inflow of smuggled cell phones in local market, thus, pushing up the sector’s revenue.
He further said the government may issue a statutory regulatory order to withdraw import duty on the equipment needed to manufacture motherboards locally.
On a separate note he said that the government is ready for the Bangabandhu Satellite-II.
The minister also said Bangladesh is ready for the 5G service and the tests required have already been conducted.
“We do not want to lag behind by a single inch while availing the 5G network,” Jabbar added.