Tajik authorities have restricted access to social networking sites again. Websites of Asia-Plus and Avesta news agencies remain blocked.
Facebook users say access to Facebook (American online social media and social networking service), Odnoklassniki (social network service for classmates and old friends), YouTube (American video-sharing website) and Instagram (a photo and video-sharing social networking service owned by Facebook) was blocked in the evening of April 23.
Vkontakte or VK (a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg) still remains available to users.
Mobile communications operators have confirmed that there are problems with access to some social networking sites but added that “interruptions occur for reasons beyond their control.”
Representatives of the communications service agency also noted that “blockage of social media and news websites does not depend on the.”
We could not yet get in touch with the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center in order to get official comments.
But representatives of the Center had told Asia-Plus earlier that they just provide Internet to their customers, while blockage of websites does not depend on them. “This can be done without us,” they said.
Authorities in 2017 deprived local fixed-lined and mobile service providers of the right to buy data traffic from neighboring countries. The government cited security as grounds for the prohibition. Internet service providers (ISPs) must now buy data from the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center.
A social networking service (also social networking site, or SNS or social media) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relations with other people who share similar personal or career interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.
