Election commission considering Facebook shutdown on election day

  • November 21, 2023

To prevent the dissemination of false propaganda, several secretaries have proposed shutting down Facebook on the day of the National Parliament election. Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Habibul Awal presided over an inter-ministerial meeting on the 12th national parliament election on November 1 in the conference chamber of the election building in Agargaon, Dhaka, where the subject was discussed.

During the meeting, senior government officials voiced their viewpoints, wherein a number of them advocated for a halt of Facebook operations on election day, citing the substantial harm that could result from the dissemination of misleading data. Under the condition of anonymity, a secretary in attendance at the meeting emphasized the danger that rumor mongers could use to mislead electors and the critical nature of preventing such misinformation. He stated that the Election Commission has the ultimate authority regarding this issue. Election Commission Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath confirmed the talks of halting Facebook on election day but mentioned that no decision has been made till now.

Source: https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/zqdfv70bg5

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