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Muhammad Ali Arafat, State Minister of Information and Broadcasting, has said that action will be taken against unregistered and illegal online portals. He said this during an exchange of views with the executive members of Online News Portal Association Bangladesh (ONAB) at the Ministry meeting room at the Secretariat on Tuesday.
The state minister said, the government does not monitor or control, but there is some need for discipline. Many people are managing online media beyond the registration process. The media here is so free, open and independent that it can operate without registration and surveillance and control.
“I will say again, there is no question of control or surveillance. We don’t support them, we don’t want to do them. We don’t believe in them. We believe in free media and independent journalism. However, many flashy, untrue, defamatory and disinformation campaigns are carried out through unregistered online portals. It is a good thing that journalists want to develop disciplined journalism,” Arafat said.
He said, “We have 426 registered online portals. Of these, 213 are electronic and print media and 213 online news portals. A few more are in process.”
The State Minister of Information said that if new persons want to come up with an online news portal, they need to be given time to prove themselves.
“I think nothing is right illegally, they cannot play a positive role in society,” Arafat said. “I will take action against them. And this is your (journalists) demand. As the state minister of the government, I declare to fulfill your demands. As a minister of state in the government, I announced that I will stop unregistered online, the headlines will be tomorrow - the government is strangling the media. I don’t want that.”
ONAB President Mollah M Amjad Hossain, Vice President Latiful Bari Hamim and Soumitra Deb, Joint Secretary Siddiqur Rahman and Ashraful Kabir Asif, Executive Members Nazrul Islam Mithu, Tauhidul Islam Mintu, Rafiqul Basar, Hamid Md. Jasim, Mohsin Hossain, Ayan Ahmed, Khokon Kumar Roy and others were present there.