YouTube geo-blocks at least two dozen Bangladeshi channels in India
Restrictions enforced during India–Pakistan military conflict amid expanding government control over digital platforms; blocks remain in effect.
Amid heightened regional tensions in early May 2025, YouTube restricted access to at least 24 Bangladeshi YouTube channels for users in India. The action followed official requests from the Indian government, which cited national security and public order concerns.
The restrictions affect a mix of established news outlets, independent media platforms, and personal channels of Bangladeshi journalists and commentators. Affected news organizations include Jamuna TV, Ekattor TV, DBC News, Somoy TV, BanglaVision News, Channel i TV, The Daily Inqilab, Daily Amar Desh, and Mohona TV. When accessed from Indian IP addresses, these channels display a notice from YouTube: “This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order.”
YouTube also restricted access to personal or affiliated channels run by Bangladeshi journalists and political commentators. These include Elias Hossain, Pinaki Bhattacharya, Kanak Sarwar, Zahedur Rahman, Sultana Rahman, Julkarnaen Saer, Jacob Milton, Taj Hashmi, Enayet Chowdhury, Shahed Alam, and Boni Amin. Other blocked platforms include independent and information-focused channels such as Face the People, Durbin News Daily, Ki Keno Kivabe, and Cine Bros. Dismislab independently tested and confirmed that all of these channels are geo-blocked in India.
The restrictions came shortly after a brief but intense cross-border conflict between India and Pakistan. On May 7, 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeting what it described as terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The strikes followed an April 22 attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, that left 26 civilians dead. In response, Pakistan initiated Operation Bunyan-um-Marsoos, conducting drone and missile strikes on Indian military positions. The confrontation marked one of the most significant escalations in recent years and involved the use of drones by both sides. A ceasefire was announced on May 10, though reports of continued skirmishes and elevated military alertness persisted.
Geo-block confirmed through VPN testing and local confirmation
Dismislab identified the YouTube restrictions through tests conducted between May 9 and May 12 by connecting to Indian servers and manually checking over 50 Bangladeshi YouTube channels. On May 9, Dismislab found that Jamuna TV, Ekattor TV, BanglaVision, and Mohona TV were blocked. By May 10, DBC NEWS and SOMOY TV had also become inaccessible from Indian IP addresses.
To verify the findings, Dismislab shared links to several of the blocked channels with two journalists based in New Delhi and Kolkata, who confirmed they were not accessible. One of the journalists shared a screen recording of the access attempt.
These Bangladeshi channels are among the most-viewed Bengali-language news outlets, each boasting millions of subscribers. Jamuna TV and SOMOY TV, both dedicated news broadcasters, have over 25 million subscribers each, while Ekattor TV (14M), Channel i Tv (8.89M), BanglaVision News (7.9M), and DBC News (7.32M) also have significant viewership.
Several individuals affected by the blocks posted screenshots of notices from YouTube. On May 10, Pinaki Bhattacharya shared the takedown notice he received, and mentioned that Elias Hossain and Kanak Sarwar had also been impacted. Several other journalists, including Shahed Alam and Zulkarnaen Saer, also posted on social media stating that the Indian government had blocked channels they managed. Pinaki’s YouTube channel has 3.44 million subscribers, while Elias’s channel has 4.48 million subscribers. All these channels were tested independently.
Jamuna TV confirmed to Dismislab that YouTube had notified them about the block and that future uploads would also be restricted from Indian viewers.
The YouTube geo-blocking coincided with other content restriction efforts in India. On May 9, Indian news outlet The Wire reported that its website had been blocked across the country. A day earlier, X (formerly Twitter) disclosed that the Indian government had ordered the takedown of over 8,000 accounts, including those linked to Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, and Free Press Kashmir.
In April, Indian authorities also banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels, and restricted access to Instagram accounts linked to Pakistani public figures, including Imran Khan, Babar Azam, Shahid Afridi, and Arshad Nadeem.
Under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act, the government may direct online platforms to block content deemed a threat to national security, sovereignty, or public order. These directives are typically issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) or other designated agencies. Platforms such as YouTube are required to comply under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
Data from Google’s Transparency Report shows that in the first half of 2023, the Indian government submitted 2,191 content removal requests, followed by 1,677 more in the second half of the year. Over the past decade, India has requested the removal of approximately 115,500 items from Google platforms, including YouTube.
As of May 27, the geo-blocking of the identified Bangladeshi channels remains in effect for users in India. The restrictions took place within the broader context of a regional military escalation and a period of increased enforcement of digital takedown orders across multiple platforms.
While the YouTube blocks took effect in early May, the broader implications extend beyond individual takedowns. According to digital rights group Access Now, these actions reflect a wider pattern of digital censorship during regional crises, where governments seek to control the information environment through executive orders and platform interventions. “Blocking access to international and domestic websites… is disproportionate, and frustrates efforts to combat disinformation and misinformation which exacerbate fear and disorder,” the organization noted in a May 2025 statement.
This article was updated on 27 May, 2025
