Arafat divulges how govt proceeding to shut 'unregistered' news sites

State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat on Tuesday said BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) has been requested to close all unregistered online portals.

He said this in Parliament while replying to the supplementary question of Feroz Ahmed Swapan, MP elected from Satkhira-1.

Swapan said "We don't know the rules of our online portals. We are disturbed by unregistered online newspapers. Does it have any control measures?"

In response, Arafat said that his ministry is working very closely on these issues.

"He (Feroz Ahmed Swapan) rightly said that several online portals have sprung up like a frog umbrella. They practice yellow journalism, not journalism," he said.

The state minister said that misinformation creates various problems in the society.

"Interestingly, those who do journalism with professionalism have demanded the closure of such portals and online magazines," he added.

Arafat mentioned that journalists are saying that those who practice this type of yellow journalism have actually become a cause of loss for professional in the field.

"This demand is not only from members of Parliament or politicians or people from other levels of society, but from the journalist community itself."

He said journalists claim that there are many unregistered online portals that are spreading misinformation.

"To stop them, I gave an instruction a few days ago. I will send to BTRC the full list of well-established media, electronic media, print media, their registered portals and also all the portals that have applied."

The state minister mentioned that outside, there are many online portals they did not even send an application.

"We will request them (BTRC) to close them all," he added.