State Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Tarana Halim is scheduled to visit Singapore in the middle of this month to negotiate a deal with social network website Facebook, as per the government’s initiatives.
“I want to reach to a conclusion regarding the set up of an administrative panel of Facebook in Bangladesh so that we can benefit from that particular establishment,” she told the Dhaka Tribune recently.
“Facebook certainly has an interest in Bangladesh; as Bangladesh has a big market for it. Considering that, I hope the Facebook authorities would be convinced to set up an administrative panel here.”
Around 30 million people in Bangladesh are active on Facebook, and the number rises every day.
Tarana will also visit Malaysia and she will observe the two countries’ state-run telecommunication business, said an official from the Posts and Telecommunications Division.
She plans to meet the telecommunications ministers in those countries and seek advices from them, the official added.
The state minister also wants to see Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in Bangladesh.
She hopes violence against women and cybercrimes would be reduced significantly if the Facebook authorities strictly executed its policy in Bangladesh following the laws of the land.
“Hundreds of women are being victimised every day, which is alarming for our society and country. But we did not get any positive feedback from the Facebook authorities. If Facebook establishes an administrative panel in the country, Bangladesh could benefit from this establishment.”
On November 30, in a letter to Facebook, the state minister expressed her interest in signing a deal to ensure cyber security, especially in a bid to stop violence against women using social media.
On December 6, three Bangladeshi ministers met with two South Asian officials of Facebook in Dhaka while the service was suspended in the country.
The government banned the popular social networking platform on November 18 shortly after the Supreme Court rejected review petitions by two war criminals. The ban was lifted on December 10.
