THE government ban on cyber operation in social media as reported by national dailies on Thursday came as a big shock to users at all level in the society. The ban announced by Bangladesh Tele-regulatory Commission (BTRC) halted cyber operation using facebook viber, whatsup, tango etc. until further order but the giant facebook, and such other cyber outlet of the ruling party Awami League is functioning making it clear that two laws exist now in the country – one for the ruling party and other for the common people. What people say is that the government can’t discriminate but there is no explanation for it either. As the reports said, some people started using proxy servers to evade the ban, but these were also shut. In our view it will be better if the government remove the ban immediately. The ban on commoners’ use of cyber outlets apparently came in the wake of the Supreme Court’s confirmation of two death sentences to two opposition political leaders. It led Bangladesh immediately in the dark within the country and reaching out friends and relatives outside though those cyber outlets. The government may have preemptively acted to deny people opposing its politics and skeptical on the verdicts to exchange comments or give call to friends and party men to assemble to protest. Since social media played significant role in recent years in organizing people in some countries against their governments, fear may be at work here also not to let critics to use it to create law and order situation.In the digitalization process, Bangladesh has made significant opening up through social media under the government’s own highly prioritized policy. But the prompt banning of the cyber outlets this time left many to wonder that the government can do and undo anything if it poses threat to its own interest. But this action of the government has in fact exposed the failure of its politics and administration to handle public opinion by proper public administrative means without gagging their voice by shutting cyber outreach. Social media is used not only by young generation to exchange views and campaign for a cause they stand for, professionals also equally use them as low cost means of communication saving time and reaching out counterparts. Many believe that the government is quite powerful to implement its politics – no matter what the people think about it. But the banning of cyber outlets is not only sending wrong signal to the nation but also to outside world that security risks in Bangladesh are at the peak. This is against the government’s own policy to show that the country is not poised to any security threat.
