• By Kamal Kumar
  • Fri, 02 Aug 2024 10:13 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Bangladesh Social Media Ban:  Embroiled in violent student protests, Bangladesh on Friday imposed a ban on popular social media websites, including Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, reports stated. This will lead to a nationwide restriction on accessing these platforms by the users. This came in the wake of the anti-quota student protests, which have marred India's eastern neighbour with hundreds of reported casualties and multiple civilian-security forces clash.

The ban also covers several communication apps such as Facebook Messenger and Telegram, a Daily Bangladesh report stated. The Bangladesh social media ban will impact users throughout the country, the report added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led government restricted several Meta platforms in the country. Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram, were shut down in the country from July 17 to July 31, which was implemented to quell the anti-reservation protests.

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According to the report, sources mentioned that mobile network access to Meta's platforms was blocked at around 12:15 PM on Friday. These restrictions seem to apply only to mobile data connections, unlike the broader shutdown that was implemented earlier.

Additionally, the country's internet speed had reportedly returned to normal levels by Thursday night on August 1. Earlier, with a surge in VPN users, the internet speed slowdown was reported across the country.

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The Bangladesh social media ban came within hours of a similar decision by Turkey which announced a ban on Instagram from Friday across the country.

This Bangladesh social media ban is one of several internet restrictions that began in July. Initially, mobile internet was cut off on July 17, followed by a shutdown of broadband services on July 18. Although broadband access was partially reinstated on July 23, mobile internet services remained suspended until July 28.