Bangladesh Bans Facebook and Chat Apps Amid Civil Unrest
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| Fairbd.net |
Bangladesh has seen a huge rise in internet use in recent years and is proving itself to be a leader in the developing world when it comes to technological application. However, with this comes fears that the internet is being used to spread violent extremism - an all too real one, as increasingly extremist groups are using sites such as those previously mentioned to spread propaganda, recruit members, arrange protests and raise funds.
Similarly to Turkey's social media ban, the ruling comes as a prevention method for further unrest in the country. This is not the first example of banning social sites in Bangladesh; in 2010, the country invoked a ‘temporary ban’ on Facebook after satirical images of the Prophet Muhammad were uploaded and shared. At the time, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said the images had “hurt religious sentiments for the majority Muslim population.” It was even reported at the time that the U.K thought about blocking social apps after the riots, after it became clear that some protests were organised on Blackberry Messenger.
Despite the web censorship, users are still managing to accessed blocked sites by using a VPR or proxy, or through software such as Tor. Some are even using social media sites to mock the bans.
Day 5 of the Facebook ban in Bangladesh, and the government is using Facebook to talk about satellites + oranges. pic.twitter.com/Tvw0UsR6bd
— Zara Rahman (@zararah) November 22, 2015
Due to temporary ban of #Facebook in #Bangladesh I have realized how much my mobile phone's battery life is performing better then before !😃
— Rakib Uddin (@rakibsayz) November 23, 2015
Since the ban took hold on November 11, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kama said that the ban is temporary, and the suspension will be lifted "once the ongoing tense situation changes.”
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Bangladesh Bans Facebook and Chat Apps Amid Civil Unrest
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Thursday, November 26, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Thursday, November 26, 2015
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