Bangladesh to ban more than 500 locally hosted porn sites

The Bangladesh government has decided to block more than 500 locally hosted pornography websites.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has forwarded the list to mobile phone operators, international gateway operators, internet service providers, interconnection exchange operators, and other telecom service providers.

MA Hakim, president of the Internet Service Providers Association Bangladesh, confirmed receiving the letter from the BTRC and that, steps were being taken to comply with it. 

“Initially we have decided to block around 500 websites that contain pornography, obscene pictures and video contents. In the first phase we will go for blocking the locally hosted sites. We are trying to impose some restrictions and trying to create hurdles for random pornographic site browsing, particularly for those who are under 18,” said Tarana Halim, state minister for post and telecommunications division.

About 70 to 80 percent of the pornography sites, operated from overseas, would also be blocked in phases, Tarana added.

The Posts and Telecommunications Division committee was formed in November to block access to porn and objectionable contents on the internet from Bangladesh, reports Daily Star.

Tarana had said the ISPs should play an active role in blocking such websites hosted in Bangladesh.

“We could not block all the porn sites but if we could block even 80% of them, it would be huge accomplishment for us,” she said earlier this month.

(WION)