NN Online Report:
Access to cache servers for social media platforms including Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, which had been shut down due to violence during the quota reform movement, has been restored, allowing people to log in to the social social media platforms from both mobile phones and computers.
Social media platforms including Facebook would be accessible from Wednesday afternoon, State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak said earlier in the day, reports media.
“We are lifting the temporary restrictions imposed on some social media platforms considering the overall situation. Facebook, TikTok and YouTube will all be available by the afternoon,” the state minister announced after a meeting with representatives of the social media companies at the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission office in Agargaon, Dhaka.
Later, Palak briefed journalists on the outcomes.
He said YouTube had provided an explanation via email, adding that Facebook’s representative had attended the meeting online, while TikTok’s representative had been present in person.
Internet services were disrupted following clashes centred on the quota reform movement.
Mobile internet was shut down on the night of July 17, and broadband internet was cut off on the night of July 18.
Broadband services resumed partially on July 23, five days later, and mobile internet was restored on July 28, ten days later.
However, Facebook and other social media platforms remained blocked.
The government previously said Facebook would be unblocked if it agreed to comply with the country’s laws.
In response to a question on Sunday, Palak mentioned that the government’s content removal requests often received limited response from Facebook’s parent company, Meta.
On Wednesday, the state minister said that from July 16 to 18, Facebook removed 13% of the requested content.
YouTube removed 21% of the requested content from July 17 to 26 and TikTok 68%, he added.