Bangladesh plans to block Facebook for six hours from midnight

Bangladesh plans to block Facebook for six hours every midnight to take students and young people off the social media.

In a letter forwarded to the telecom ministry, the Cabinet Division said ‘addiction’ for Facebook was 'affecting the students' and 'undermining the youth's capacity for work.'

Telecoms Secretary Shyam Sunder Sikder told bdnews24.com that they have sought opinions from Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

"The proposal came up during the deputy commissioners' conference last year. Pointing to its adverse effect on students and youth, a proposal to block Facebook from midnight to morning was floated. The Cabinet Division's Mar 27 letter is based on that," he said.

Sikder said a decision will be taken once the BTRC's opinion was available.

BTRC Chairman Shahjahan Mahmood said he was aware of the matter, but they were yet to receive any communication from the telecom ministry.

He said they would look into the matter, after receiving the ministry's letter.

Later, bdnews24.com learnt that the BTRC responded to the ministry’s request for opinion, saying it was not possible to block Facebook only for students because there is no effective way yet to confirm age in Facebook accounts.

The BTRC also said there are options to run Facebook with alternative ways like using a proxy server even after blocking the social networking site.

The regulator said the hours mentioned by the government were suitable for Bangladeshis to communicate with those living abroad.

The recent incidents of question papers of public exams being leaked on the social media on the night before the tests have left the government in a tight spot.

Extremist and militant outfits have been using the social media to recruit and radicalise people, besides using it for clandestine, underground communication.

In November 2015, access to Facebook, its messenger app and some other communication apps were blocked for 22 days on grounds of national security following machete attacks on bloggers and online activists and the killings of two foreigners.

An official of the telecom ministry said they have to take into account booming e-commerce that depends on Facebook as a marketing tool.