Ehsanul Haque Jasim :Millions of social media users, particularly those who are youths, have fallen in inconvenience following the blocking of four social networking platforms. The users are annoyed with the government’ move. Talking to The New Nation on Wednesday, some of the social media users termed the government’s move as ‘immature, excess and counterproductive’. “The move is totally counterproductive, as the government talks about Digital Bangladesh. The country is not like Pakistan or Afghanistan, which are infamously branded for blocking websites. Freedom of expression is a constitutional rights. The government can’t gag the rights blocking the social media. However, blocking is not a solution at all,” said a Dhaka university student, an active social media user. Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (BTRC) in a sudden move on Wednesday blocked the operation of social networking platforms-‘Facebook’, ‘Messenger’, ‘Viber’ and ‘WhatsApp’ for security reason. A letter sent from the BTRC asked different telecom operators and all Internet service providers to stop the services immediately. The blocking was activated from the morning immediately after the Supreme Court upheld death penalty awarded to war crimes convicted BNP leader Salauddin Quader Chowdhury and Jamaat leader Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mojaheed.BTRC Secretary Sarwar Alam said that they had taken the decision following a directive from the government.Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said that the BTRC blocked the social media following a directive from his ministry. “Recently, several terrorist attacks were carried out in different countries, including France. We have information that some people are trying to destabilise the country. That is why, we have asked the BTRC to block the operation of the four social networking platforms,” said the minister.State Minister for Telecommunication Tarana Halim said, these social media have been suspended for a temporary period. These will be reactivated at the right time, she added.Earlier on November 11, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told the Parliament that, if needed, some social networking and messaging platforms would be blocked temporarily to arrest militants and prevent terrorist activities.Meanwhile, Internet services remained suspended across the country for about half an hour from 1:00 pm following the suspension of the operation of the social media. “The disruption in Internet services might have occurred while blocking the four social networking platforms, but there was no BTRC directive in this regard,” said the BTRC Secretary.On January 18 of this year, the BTRC blocked Viber, WhatsApp, Tango, Mypeople and Line. The services were unlocked four days later.The social media users have not taken the government’s move positively. They want opening without delay. “We have been facing inconvenience since the government blocked the Facebook, and online messaging and calling services. We urge the government to unlock the social media as soon as early,” said Rafia Begum Kakoly, a resident of Dhanmondi-15 area who is active in Facebook. She said that the blocking would not bring good result, as people’s reactions will be intensified if the government move continues for some days. The blocking will not solve the problem of virtual world, she said that the government should develop skills to face cyber crimes instead of stopping the social media.Talking to this report over telephone, Jafor Talha, a youth, born in Sylhet, who is now living in France, said that he and other Bangladeshis were feeling inconvenience when he found Viber, Tango and WhatsApp of his family members and relatives in Bangladesh are disconnected. The BTRC did not do anything good, blocking the free services, as these services have no overseas call charges or the amount the charges is less than the phone call charges, he added.Expressing surprise, he also said, it is an immature decision of the government to face militancy and terrorism through blocking the social media. “Most of the terrorist groups and banned outfits have own software for their underground communication. So, the government should intensify the skills in the cyber world. It should not deprive the people of their constitutional rights of expression in social sites,” he said. Advocate Abed Raza, a lawyer of Supreme Court, said that the country’s Constitution ensures the rights of freedom of speech and expression. Social media is now a platform of freedom of expression. The government should not curb the rights in any way, he noted. Millions of the people in the country now use the Facebook and other social networking and messaging services. State Minister for Information and Communications Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak recently said that the number of Facebook users in Bangladesh was only 10,000 in 2008. But now the figure stood at over three crore.
