Bangladesh Government Bans Social Networks After Unrest

The Bangladeshi government has imposed bans on Facebook, WhatsApp and other social networks following protests that were sparked by the execution of two men accused of war crimes during the 1971 civil war that resulted in the independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan.

A government telecommunications minister stated that the ban was put in place to protect security. He said: “The government has blocked Facebook and online messaging services WhatsApp and Viber until further notice on security grounds,”.

This is not the first time that the Bangladeshi government has resorted to blocking social media sites. In 2010 Facebook and YouTube were blocked after controversial images were uploaded to those sites.

It is unclear at this time how long these bans will be in place. The Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said: “The ban on different social networking platforms is temporary.” going on to say: “The suspension will be lifted once the ongoing tense situation changes.”

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Sources: Information in this article comes from BBC News, The Daily Dot, The Dhaka Tribune, and The Daily Mail.