The authorities in Bangladesh blocked almost 20,000 websites as part of an anti-pornography “war”, a minister stated while addressing media recently.
Internet service providers in the highly conservative nation took down pornography and gambling websites in the past weeks under directives from the telecommunications regulator.
Mustafa Jabbar, the posts and telecommunications minister, while speaking to the AFP news agency, said: “I want to create a safe and secure internet for all Bangladeshis, including children. And this is my war against pornography. And this will be a continuous war,”
He also mentioned that most of the blocked sites are foreign, like TikTok and Bigo, but a few local websites and social media platforms have also faced action under the clampdown.
“We are monitoring the local Facebook profiles, YouTube channels and websites. A few of them were taken down for having obscene content. We advised a few others not to post anything that goes against our social norms.”
The clampdown commenced after Bangladesh’s High Court in November asked the government to block pornography websites and publication of obscene materials in electronic forms for six months. This was after a civil society organisation filed a petition stating that a large number of adult websites contain uncensored and lewd contents.
Police reprimanded a rising actress on Sunday and told her to remove provocative images from her Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages.
According to Emdadul Hoque, general secretary of the internet service providers association, they have complied with the order, but many users can still access online porn by using virtual private networks or mirror websites.
“This is a continuous process and it needs regular monitoring. These websites are very well aware of the regulations and they come up with thousands of mirror sites every week,” Hoque said while speaking with AFP.
