Bangladesh moves to take down porn sites, offensive contents

The Telecommunications Division has formed a committee to block pornographic websites and stop publication of offensive contents in Bangladesh.

The committee will make a three-level technical proposal by listing such websites and contents within a week, according to State Minister for Telecommunications Tarana Halim.

The process to block these will start after getting the list and proposal, Tarana told bdnews24.com after a meeting on controlling offensive internet contents at the Secretariat on Monday.

A director general of telecoms regulators BTRC will head the committee, which will comprise representatives from National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), internet service providers (ISPs), mobile-phone operators and law-enforcing agencies.

Tarana said the drive against internet pornography will continue even after blocking the listed porn websites.

"The availability of internet pornography and offensive content is creating a negative social impact on all the citizens, including the adolescents," she said.

According to the BTRC, the number of internet users was over 62.2 million by the end of August. Of them, 58.3 million were accessing internet in mobile phones.

The minister warned the ISPs and International Internet Gateway Operators (IIGs) of stern action if any of them defy the order to block the porn sites.

The Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB) President MA Hakim said he thinks the order will not hit their business.

"Most of us give connections to real users like offices or corporations. But in my understanding, around 30 percent internet data used by mobile-phone users are spent on pornographic sites," he said.

He said a meeting to make an action plan to block internet pornography will be held shortly.

The Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh (AMTOB) General Secretary TIM Nurul Kabir said, "We always welcome the decisions the government takes from an ethical position."

Asked whether the mobile-phone operators will face loss because of the decision, he said, "I don't think the operators consider doing business from these (pornographic sites)."

Sumon Ahmed Sabir, Chief Strategy Officer of IIG operator Fiber@Home, also said the government decision is unlikely to hit their business hard.