In an attempt to stop criminals, the Bangladesh government has banned social media apps like WhatsApp and Facebook. Following the announcement of the ban, an ensuing confusion saw the entire country experience loss of the Internet for more than 60 minutes.

A report from Global Voices confirmed that Bangladeshi citizens had little or no access to the targeted services including Viber, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp. Apparently, all ISPs have their own system for putting the ban into practice, this led to some traffic getting through.

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Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, confirmed that the government only allowed some social media applications. To him, this allowed criminals to misuse them for their own interest and due to that, the apps will temporarily be stopped to catch the offenders.

Although Bangladeshi authorities claim that the ban is aimed at fighting criminals, most people think otherwise. To them, the ban is aimed at trying to put a stop to an uproar following the executions of Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid and Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury. These political leaders were accused of crimes against humanity.

Their offences are traced to the war of independence against Pakistan in 1971 that led to deaths of many. These executions led to outrage among many supporters.

It is not yet clear for now on when the ban will be lifted. Despite the ban on Facebook in the country, the social media and the chat function are reportedly sometimes available for some ISPs.

The DMP Joint Commissioner Md Monirul pointed to the Dhaka Tribune that the government decided to block these services on security grounds as criminals often use them to plan and carry out subversive acts.

TagsViber, WhatsApp, Bangladesh government, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, Salahuddin Quader Chowdhury, Banglaseh Ban Social Media