Joynal Abedin Khan :
The government is likely to issue ‘necessary restrictions’ on use of calling and messaging services thru Viber, Whatsapp and Facebook with a view to tackling cyber and other crimes across the country.
The decision has been taken on the basis of a report by intelligence agencies which said it is difficult of tracking to identify the criminals as they are using the communicative media to get in touch with each other.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has asked the concerned officials to prepare effective steps in this regard, sources said.
The BTRC has already taken some necessary steps to fulfill the purpose and it also prepared a partial report which has been sent to the security-based offices, they said. Earlier, the government said that it had a plan to sign an agreement with the US authorities in order to be better equipped in handling militant and terrorist activities on the internet.
On November 13, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the Parliament that if necessary, Viber and Whatsapp would be temporarily suspended and the criminals caught.
The Prime Minister made the comment after a spree of killings and sabotages are taking place in the country, but the criminals remain out of the reach.
“Terrorism and militancy is a global problem. Blocking their communication channels is a challenge in all countries. Bangladesh faces the same challenge,” she said.
The government is also going to ink a deal with social media giant Facebook to prevent cyber crime in the country, said State Minister for Post, Telecommunications and Information Technology Tarana Halim at a meeting with BTRC officials on Tuesday.
The International Internet Gateway (IIG), on January 18, said the two free applications have been shut down on orders from the BTRC.
On condition of anonymity, a senior BTRC official said, “The services have been blocked upon requests from intelligence agencies.”
In September 2012, the BTRC blocked video sharing site YouTube in Bangladesh for 260 days following worldwide protests at a 14-minute trailer of a film titled ‘Innocence of Muslims’ which mocks Islam and its Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh).
RAB Additional Director General Ziaul Ahsan said they recommended blocking Viber and Tango considering these issues.
He said phone calls can be tracked but it was not possible to keep a tab on communications made through such apps.
