Temporary ban on ‘facebook.com.bd’
Another order was also issued to prevent the domain from being transferred
A Dhaka court has imposed an interim ban on the use of the "facebook.com.bd" website in Bangladesh.
At the same time, the court has also served a show cause notice, asking the defendants as to why a permanent ban would not be imposed on the website.
Dhaka District Judge Shawkat Ali Chowdhury passed the order on Monday, confirmed Mokshedul Islam, a lawyer at Facebook – the world's largest social media site.
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He said on 22 November, Facebook filed a compensation case against a Bangladeshi company, A-1 Software Limited, and its owner, SK Shamsul Islam, for registering a domain named "facebook.com.bd".
Following an admissibility hearing in the case, the court on Monday imposed the interim ban on the use of the domain, he said, adding that the court fixed 9 March 2021 for the next hearing of the case.
Lawyer Mokshedul Islam further said the court directed the defendants to file a written reply within the next 15 days. In the case, Facebook demanded $50,000 in compensation.
The buyer of the domain, A-1 Software, and SK Shamsul Islam were named as defendants in the case. Another order was also issued to prevent the domain from being transferred.
"Facebook.com" is the main domain of Facebook. However, Facebook can also be used by adding the extension of the name of a country to it. In Bangladesh, Facebook can be accessed through "facebook.com.bd".
On 14 January 2010, the Facebook authorities bought its original domain from the Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL), along with the patent, for its use in Bangladesh only.
Later, complications erupt when the Facebook authorities tried to obtain a domain called "facebook.com.bd" along with a code. Because, this name was already registered in 2010 under the name of A-1 Software and SK Shamsul Islam.
In that situation, the Facebook authorities tried to buy the domain from the A-1 Software but the latter demanded about $6 million (approximately Tk51 crore) from Facebook. A-1 Software also floated an advertisement for the domain sale.
The Facebook authorities could not go ahead with the purchase of the domain even after issuing legal notices several times.
As a result, the company went into a legal battle to get the domain.
