YouTube has restricted access to at least four Bangladeshi television channels in India following a takedown request from the Indian government, citing concerns related to national security and public order, according to Dismislab, an independent factchecking site.
The channels are-Jamuna TV, Ekattor TV, BanglaVision, and Mohona TV.
When accessed from an Indian geo-location, the channels display a message stating: 鈥楾his content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order.
The channels remained inaccessible at the time of publishing this report.
Jamuna TV confirmed to receiving an official notice from YouTube to Dismislab stating that the channel had been blocked in India following a government request.
The notice added that all future uploads on the channel would also be restricted from Indian viewers.
鈥榃e received an order from the government related to national security or public order regarding your content... Future uploads on this channel will also be blocked,鈥� the notice from YouTube said.
For confirmation, Dismislab sent the links of the four blocked channels to two journalists based in New Delhi and Kolkata.
Geo-blocking refers to restricting access to content based on a viewer's geographical location. In this case, the affected Bangladeshi channels remain accessible globally, but their content has been hidden from users in India.
The geo-blocking of Bangladeshi news channels comes amid heightened regional tension following Operation Sindoor, launched by Indian armed forces on the night of May 6-7.
A day earlier, X (formerly Twitter) disclosed that the Indian government had ordered the blocking of over 8,000 accounts, including those of independent media outlets such as Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, and Free Press Kashmir.
In April, India banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading provocative content.
Meanwhile, Faiz Taiyeb Ahmad, special assistant to the Chief Adviser and in-charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology,wrote in his Facebook post that it's a violation of the rights of Bangladeshi citizens living in India who regularly watch these channels.
鈥楽uch an act appears to be against international norms of consumer rights,鈥� he added.
He also warned countermeasures if YouTube fails to provide a clear explanation regarding the blockings.
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