‘No one will be able to publish anything as per whims in social media’

Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar today said that the government will be able to control social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube after September this year to contain the spread of rumours in social media.

“No one will be able to publish anything as per his or her whims and desires in the social media,” Jabbar said while addressing a programme organised by Awami League’s publicity affairs committee at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka this noon.

The ongoing spate of rumours spreading in the social media is a global problem, he said.

Stressing that the government is very much active in a bid to stop rumours in the social media but failed so far, Jabbar said Facebook and YouTube are American institutions and these are run maintaining the standards of the American community.

“We can’t interfere in this regard directly yet,” he said.  “We can’t take any measure instantly when a status or video is published in social media.”

But soon, the government will possess the capability to control any website if it wants, which is a big achievement for the government, Jabbar said.

The law enforcement agencies have already gained the capacity to stop rumours in social media which is a matter of pride indeed, he said.

The government has already stopped around 22,000 websites that published pornographic contents to make the country’s internet service secured, the minister also said.

“In some contexts, we see some news outlets spreading rumours and we face trouble in dealing with the issue. We will be able to stop the unauthorised news portals after publishing registration lists in this regard,” he said.

Calling upon all to be alert while using the social communicating tools, the minister said: “We will be able to ensure our security if we remain alert in using the social media.”