Internet freedom in Bangladesh

 Internet freedom in Bangladesh improves after 3 years of decline

Internet freedom in Bangladesh improved over the last year, following three years of decline, as internet users experienced fewer restrictions on online mobilisation, says a report by Freedom House, a US-based think tank.

Bangladesh has scored 43 points out of 100, improving three notches from the year before, according to the "Freedom on the Net 2022" report, released Wednesday, indicating the country partly enjoyed internet freedom. 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 – between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2022. "Internet penetration and internet speeds have improved across the country, though access is still limited by costs, geography, and a gender divide," read the report. "Authorities throttled internet connections in October 2021 amid a series of attacks against Hindu people during the Hindu religious festival Durga Puja; the attacks were incited in part by videos posted online," it said. "Bangladeshi internet users mobilised online campaigns, reflecting a better environment for social media activism than in previous years," added the report. However, the report also highlighted that Internet freedom in Bangladesh remained low, though internet users experienced fewer restrictions on online mobilisation. The report further said, "Authorities frequently arrest online critics of the government, ministers, and political leaders under the Digital Security Act (DSA), fuelling self-censorship online. "Security agencies continued to invest in surveillance equipment, and draft laws introduced during the coverage period would leave Bangladeshi user data even more vulnerable to exploitation. "Officials have sought to increase their technical capacity and legal authority to censor online content."

The Internet freedom ratings are assigned under three categories – Free, Partly Free and Not Free. The index grades score between 100-70 as free, 69-40 as partly free and below 39 as not free in using the internet. Among four South Asian countries reviewed, Bangladesh is only ahead of Pakistan as the latter continued to tightly control its online environment. It achieved only 26 points and was categorised as "Not Free" in terms of internet freedom.

Bangladesh, however, is behind India and Sri Lanka, countries which earned 51 points and 48 points respectively. Global internet freedom declines for 12th year.  Global internet freedom has declined for the 12th consecutive year, according to the report.  The environment for human rights online deteriorated in 28 countries, though 26 countries registered net gains—the largest number of improvements since the inception of the project. The sharpest decline occurred in Russia, followed by Myanmar, Sudan, and Libya while the Gambia and Zimbabwe experienced major improvements.

Iceland was once again the top performer while users in China have the least internet freedom for the eighth consecutive year.