India blocks YouTube channels of Bangladeshi expat journalists and activists

Following the suspension of six Bangladeshi television channels in India, YouTube has now also blocked several channels run by Bangladeshi expatriate journalists and social activists. These YouTube channels are no longer accessible from within India.

Fact-checking organization DismissLab on Saturday reported that six Bangladeshi TV channels—Jamuna TV, Ekattor TV, BanglaVision, Mohona TV, Somoy TV, and DBC News—have been blocked on YouTube in India. Additionally, the YouTube channel of Amar Desh, a newspaper, is also inaccessible there.

Now, it has come to light that YouTube has further blocked the channels of several Bangladeshi expatriate journalists and social activists. As of the time this report was written, this includes the channels of Dr. Kanak Sarwar, Elias Hossain, and Zulkarneyn Sayer—none of which are viewable from India.

The YouTube channel of well-known social activist Pinaki Bhattacharya has also been blocked in India. The emails from YouTube regarding these actions have been shared by the recipients on their Facebook pages.

Meanwhile, in response to the suspension of these Bangladeshi YouTube channels in India, Foyez Ahmed Tayyab, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, stated last Friday that the Bangladesh government will seek an explanation from YouTube. If no clear explanation is provided, retaliatory action may be taken.

According to DismissLab, when users in India try to access these channels, they see a message stating:
“This content is not available in your country due to a government order based on national security or public order.”
This falls under Section 69(A) of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000, which allows the government to block content that it deems a threat to national security, sovereignty, or public order.

It is worth noting that after the attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, the Indian central government also blocked 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including major news outlets such as Dawn News, Samaa TV, ARY News, and Geo News. Even the YouTube channel of former Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Akhtar was included in the ban. Many Pakistani Instagram and Twitter accounts were also suspended in India.