OPINION: Internet ‘Partly Free’ in Bangladesh

Ziaur Rahman :
Internet has empowered people to express their views, opinions and beliefs. But the freedom that the media industry in Bangladesh enjoys today is being impaired by the poor infrastructure, low internet speed and regulatory intervention. According to a US-based think tank, Freedom House, Bangladesh scored 43 points out of 100 in 2022, improving three notches from the year before. Since 2013, Bangladesh has been consistently categorised as a “Partly Free” country on the internet freedom index of Freedom House which documents how governments censor and control the digital sphere. The report assessed the level of Internet freedom in 70 countries based on 21 indicators pertaining to obstacles to access, limits on content, and violations of user rights.
Internet is considered as one of the most important sources of freedom of speech and expression through mass media including digital, electronic, traditional and social media. But freedom of speech and expression is being impaired in the country because of low internet speed, censorship and content filtering. Downgrading of 3G and 4G internet services were also reported from major divisional cities in Bangladesh during October-December period in last year when the mainstream opposition political party BNP was holding their rallies.
Governments often impose shutdowns, block websites or restrict internet services mainly to stop spread of disinformation and maintain law and order situation. Sometimes these are done, for a specific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information.
But in reality, these network disruptions block people from knowing the real situation and they don’t feel safe and secure when they have no access to information and are disconnected from the webs. Internet shutdowns have been imposed multiple times in Bangladesh over the years to quell protests, control instability over religious tensions, and prevent rumours and propaganda in the lead-up to the national elections.
Experts, human rights activists, journalists and writers recently attended an advocacy meeting on “Internet Censorship and Content Filtering” observed that the focus of regulation should be on improving content moderation, rather than adding content-specific restrictions.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Bangladesh government is using sophisticated equipment to block websites critical of the government and carrying out surveillance on online traffic. Human right activists and opposition leaders are accusing that the government is marching towards authoritarianism through intimidating the free press and cracking down on freedom of expression. Journalists are already self-censoring, fearing retaliation for criticism.
According to sources, suppression on press has increased substantially following the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Any information that was deemed critical of government was branded as “rumors” during the pandemic. The government allegedly suspended a number of doctors, government officers, and academics for criticizing the government response to Covid-19.
Over the last decade, digital information and communication technologies have become the focus of heavy-handed state intervention in Bangladesh. The government introduced two internet security laws — Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, 2006 and the Digital Security Act, 2018 (DSA 2018), both woefully inadequate to address the challenges of the evolving nature of the internet.
Sources said, the laws are being used to bring trumped up charges against journalists, activists, lawyers, and academics, and clampdown on free speech. The DSA also prohibits journalists from obtaining any documents, information and pictures of the government offices without “official consent,” which makes investigative journalism on urgent issues of public interest almost impossible.

(The writer is a journalist).