Talks with Facebook �fruitful�

Ban to go soon: Minister

Discussions between Facebook and the Bangladesh government over different issues, including violence against women and national security, have concluded in a fruitful manner, announced home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday.
“We’ve fruitfully discussed issues related to the abuse of women, propaganda and national security which are occurring as a result of the misuse of the social networking site in Bangladesh,” Khan told media-persons after holding a meeting with the Facebook regional authorities at his office in the Secretariat. “In the wake of the fruitful discussions, we’ll now review all the outcomes and soon lift the temporary restrictions on the social networking site,” announced the home minister.

Facebook sent its South Asian public policy manager, Deepali Liberhan, and law enforcement specialist for South Asia (information security and legal), Capt. Vikram Langeh, to discuss the country’s concerns with the Bangladesh government.
In the meeting, which lasted over an hour, state minister for posts and telecommunications Tarana Halim, state minister for information and communications technology (ICT) Junaid Ahmed Palak, inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Huq and representatives of law enforcement and intelligence agencies also took part.
On November 30, Halim had sent an email to the Facebook authorities, pointing out the adverse effects of the misuse of the social networking site in Bangladesh. A day after that, Facebook replied to the mail and evinced interest in holding a meeting.
Replying to a query on “filtering” content on Facebook in Bangladesh, the home minister said: “We’ve talked about all issues, including filtering, fruitfully.”
“Facebook representatives informed us about the limits of their cooperation. At the same time, we also raised our points. However, all the issues were discussed successfully.”
“We will lift the temporary restrictions on Facebook as early as possible on the basis of official discussions,” added Khan.
Earlier, on Saturday, Halim said the Facebook executives came here in response to her call, seeking the social networking site authority’s initiatives to prevent misuse of the site. She also said she had earlier written to Facebook, citing examples of how the network was being misused, forcing several women in the country to commit suicide, and how miscreants had uploaded objectionable content, often exposing girls of Bangladesh to extreme misery.
After assuming the office of the state minister, Halim had communicated with the Facebook authorities to find out ways of stopping the flow of disrespectful content about women, fake IDs, threats and other forms of misuse of the social networking site.

Talks with Facebook �fruitful�

Ban to go soon: Minister

Discussions between Facebook and the Bangladesh government over different issues, including violence against women and national security, have concluded in a fruitful manner, announced home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday. Weve fruitfully discussed issues related to the abuse of women, propaganda and national security which are occurring as a result of the misuse of the social networking site in Bangladesh, Khan told media-persons after holding a meeting with the Facebook regional authorities at his office in the Secretariat. In the wake of the fruitful discussions, well now review all the outcomes and soon lift the temporary restrictions on the social networking site, announced the home minister. Facebook sent its South Asian public policy manager, Deepali Liberhan, and law enforcement specialist for South Asia (information security and legal), Capt. Vikram Langeh, to discuss the countrys concerns with the Bangladesh government. In the meeting, which lasted over an hour, state minister for posts and telecommunications Tarana Halim, state minister for information and communications technology (ICT) Junaid Ahmed Palak, inspector general of police AKM Shahidul Huq and representatives of law enforcement and intelligence agencies also took part. On November 30, Halim had sent an email to the Facebook authorities, pointing out the adverse effects of the misuse of the social networking site in Bangladesh. A day after that, Facebook replied to the mail and evinced interest in holding a meeting. Replying to a query on filtering content on Facebook in Bangladesh, the home minister said: Weve talked about all issues, including filtering, fruitfully. Facebook representatives informed us about the limits of their cooperation. At the same time, we also raised our points. However, all the issues were discussed successfully. We will lift the temporary restrictions on Facebook as early as possible on the basis of official discussions, added Khan. Earlier, on Saturday, Halim said the Facebook executives came here in response to her call, seeking the social networking site authoritys initiatives to prevent misuse of the site. She also said she had earlier written to Facebook, citing examples of how the network was being misused, forcing several women in the country to commit suicide, and how miscreants had uploaded objectionable content, often exposing girls of Bangladesh to extreme misery. After assuming the office of the state minister, Halim had communicated with the Facebook authorities to find out ways of stopping the flow of disrespectful content about women, fake IDs, threats and other forms of misuse of the social networking site.