Bangladesh unblocks Facebook, WhatsApp, other social media platforms

Social media platforms, namely Facebook and WhatsApp, have become accessible this afternoon.

Social media users started to get uninterrupted access to social media platforms shortly after 2:00pm.

"Now all social media platforms have been opened. We are opening all the cache servers too. It may take 24 to 48 hours to resume fully-fledged services," said Md Emdadul Hoque, president of Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh (ISPAB).

Meanwhile, mobile operators also received instructions to remove the restrictions on social media.

The social media platforms became accessible a couple of hours after Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for ICT and Telecom, disclosed the decision after a meeting with social media platforms at the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) this morning.

While TikTok officials were present at the meeting at the BTRC Bhaban, officials of Meta's platforms participated in the event virtually from Singapore.

Palak said these platforms will be open to facilitate the business of e-commerce and F-commerce sites.

On July 28, Palak said letters had been sent to social media companies, including Facebook and TikTok, and they had been asked to respond in person by July 31.

Mobile internet was restored across the country at around 3:00 pm on July 28, 10 days after it was shut down amid the unrest over the job quota reform movement.