Bangladeshi social media users are unlikely to get uninterrupted access to the platforms anytime soon as the government has put in strict blocking mechanisms until the tech companies comply with its demands.

The international internet gateway (IIG) operators were instructed to block Facebook, the most popular app in the country with about 5.5 crore users, from the gateway devices by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, The Daily Star has learnt from people with knowledge of the matter.

Meta's other platforms such as Messenger and WhatsApp and ByteDance's TikTok -- the most popular social media and instant messaging apps -- are on top of the block list, they said.

Social media platforms, especially Facebook and YouTube, have not been complying with Bangladesh's laws, said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, the state minister for ICT, on Wednesday.

"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]?"

The government will write to the platforms seeking explanation for their non-compliance with orders.

"Access to the platforms will be reopened if they promise to comply," Palak added.

Palak though continues to use Facebook prolifically.

He was one of the first persons to take to Facebook after the government resumed broadband service on Tuesday in selected areas.

Since then, he has given dozens of posts on his verified Facebook page.

Palak could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, internet speed improved yesterday as the BTRC instructed the IIG operators to open the majority of cache servers that host Google content, such as YouTube videos and Google search results.

Besides, users will not experience free flow internet as traffic is going through deep packet inspection (DPI) through the Department of Telecommunications equipment placed previously in the IIG's system, according to people informed with the proceedings.

The DPI works like a security guard checking the contents passing through a checkpoint.

While the government and the BTRC maintained that the internet shutdown occurred due to an attack on the data centres in the capital's Mohakhali, people with knowledge of the matter said the outage was ordered by the government.

The Daily Star has visited the data centres in question and found no sign of damage to the building that housed them.

Officials of the data centres also confirmed that there was no fire in the building. However, the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) opposite the building was torched and that fire partially damaged some overheard cables connected to the data centres.

On July 17, the government shut down mobile internet. Palak said it was "in light of the current crisis in the country and to stop the spread of fake news on social media."  

The next day, the DDM building was torched.

Around 8:00pm, officials of the Internet Service Providers Association of Bangladesh said the fire might have cut 30-40 percent of the bandwidth supply, leaving some users disconnected and many with slow internet.

An hour later, the entire Bangladesh was without internet.

The government reopened broadband internet in selected areas on July 23 and restored connections on a trial basis nationwide the next day.

However, mobile internet, used by around 14 crore subscribers, continues to be offline.