BRTC issues fresh order

54 news sites including Just News BD blocked again

54 news sites including Just News BD blocked again

Dhaka, Dec 10 (Just News): Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) again asked the International Internet Gateway (IIG) operators to block 54 news sites including Just News BD within an hour of unblocking 58 sites this evening.

The BRTC came up with the fresh order around 7:45pm in line with the government’s directives, a top official of the IIG told The Daily Star.

Just News BD readers across the country are still facing problem in many places to get access in the news sight.

Yesterday, BTRC ordered the IIG operators to block the access to 58 news portals as per the recommendations of the government and law enforcement agencies. Earlier in the afternoon, BTRC withdrew the block on 58 news sites in the country.

In the fresh order, four news sites --- dhakatimes24.com, priyo.com, risingbd.com, poriborton.com – out of 58 have been kept outside the purview of the order, the official said.

The IIG has already started taking measures in blocking the 54 sites complying with the order, the official said.

Earlier on Saturday, the BTRC also placed another list of 47 news sites which are still closed and with these, the total number of the blocked sites rose to 101 at present.

The IIGs are controlling the internet bandwidth supply in the country and if they block any site that will not be seen from anywhere in Bangladesh.

Ahead of the 11th national election, the Election Commission (EC) decided to monitor the social media platforms, especially Facebook, to prevent the spreading of propaganda.

The EC also asked the BTRC to take necessary measures about the issue, said a senior official of the telecom regulator.

“We are now actively monitoring all media including social media platforms,” said a senior official of the BTRC.

The BTRC on Saturday also called upon all the IIG owners to comply with the regulator's directives without wasting time.

The BTRC said that it would go for a tough action if any IIG owner is found reluctant in implementing its order, the official said.

Earlier in 2016, around 35 news sites were blocked following the call of government and law enforcement agencies for the sake of the country’s the then law and order situation.

(Justnews/ys/2335hr)