Facebook, YouTube, TikTok to be accessible from this evening: Palak

Uninterrupted access to popular social media sites and apps like Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Whatsapp will be restored by this evening, State Minister for Post, Telecom and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak said today.

He said this 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.

He said this after an online meeting with social media platforms at the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) this morning.

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

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

On July 24, Palak said social media platforms, especially Facebook and YouTube, have not been complying with Bangladesh's laws.

"They are also not taking into account the situation on the ground, violating their policy guidelines … Amid this, who will take the risk [of opening the social media platforms]?" he said.

Earlier on July 17, the government shutdown mobile internet amid countrywide violence centring the quota reform movement.

At that time, Palak said the decision was made "in light of the current crisis in the country and to stop the spread of fake news on social media".