"Are You a CEO Interested in a Feature Interview?"
All Interviews are 100% FREE of Charge
Bangladesh has imposed a complete internet shutdown as the government tries to crack down on student protests that have left at least 32 people dead. AFP. The unrest is over the country’s quota system, which requires that a third of government jobs be given to relatives of veterans who fought for Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan in 1971.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Thursday. State broadcaster BTV’s official Facebook page said police smashed windows and furniture, set fire to offices and trapped “large numbers” of people. Seventeen people were killed in clashes with police on Thursday. Al JazeeraTo contain the situation, Bangladeshi authorities imposed a nationwide internet and telephone shutdown, a common tactic in South Asia to prevent the spread of rumors and misinformation and to enforce state control. NetBlocks, a global internet watchdog that works on digital rights, found that Bangladesh is in the midst of a “near-total nationwide internet shutdown” after analysing live network data.
⚠️ Verified: Live Network Data Show #Bangladesh A near-total, nationwide internet shutdown is now in the midst of a massive lockdown. The new measures follow earlier efforts to throttle social media and restrict mobile data services, and come amid reports of an increase in the death toll during student protests. pic.twitter.com/nMwwS0MDnC
— Netblocks (@netblocks) July 18, 2024
The internet shutdown According to internet watchdog Access Now, the number of internet shutdowns worldwide is A total of 39 countries will shut down internet access more than 160 times each year for various reasons, including protests, exams and elections.
Bangladesh frequently shuts down the internet to crack down on political dissidents and activists. At the end of 2023, CIVICUS Monitor, a research tool that provides data on the state of civil society and freedoms in about 200 countries, said: Bangladesh’s civic space was downgraded to the lowest rating of “closed” after implementing six internet shutdowns in the previous year, making Bangladesh the fifth-highest perpetrator of internet shutdowns in 2022. .
The country’s telecommunications regulator had promised to maintain internet connectivity until Bangladesh’s general elections, scheduled for early 2024, are already over. Despite that promise, Bangladesh I posted it on a news site during the election period.