Internet freedom in Bangladesh declines for second year: Study
Among four South Asian countries, Bangladesh only ahead of Pakistan categorised as ‘Not Free’
Internet freedom in Bangladesh has declined for the second year in a row as the previous government manipulated the online information environment ahead of the 2024 general elections, according to a new study.
Freedom House, a pro-democracy research group based in the United States, in its 14th edition of the study titled "Freedom on the Net 2024: The Struggle for Trust Online" released today, said, "Authorities restricted internet connectivity during an opposition rally in October 2023 and blocked independent news sites around the January 2024 elections."
It also said, "Online activists and journalists encountered increasing levels of physical violence and supporters of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) faced harassment, censorship, and arrest, especially surrounding the January 2024 general elections."
The report also mentioned the use of the controversial now-repealed Digital Security Act and its replacement, the Cyber Security Act 2023 to target opposition leaders, journalists, government critics, and ordinary users, fuelling self-censorship online.
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This year, Bangladesh has scored 40 points out of 100, dropping one point from the year before, indicating the country partly enjoyed internet freedom. The country's score was 43 in 2022.
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 2024 edition of the report covers June 2023-May 2024 period. As a result, the previous government's crackdown on the internet in July's student-led protests will be considered for next year's Freedom on the Net report.
Freedom on the Net is an annual study of human rights in the digital sphere. The project now assesses internet freedom in 72 countries, accounting for 87% of the world's internet users.
Performance of South Asian countries
Among the four South Asian countries reviewed, Bangladesh is only ahead of Pakistan as the country scored only 27 points and was categorised as "Not Free" in terms of internet freedom.
Bangladesh, however, is behind Sri Lanka and India that earned 53 and 50 points respectively and both designated as partly free.
Global internet freedom declined for the 14th consecutive year. Protections for human rights online diminished in 27 of the 72 countries covered in the report, with 18 experiencing improvements.
Iceland maintained its status as the freest online environment, followed by Estonia, Canada, Chile and Costa Rica.
Meanwhile, China shared its designation as the world's worst environment for internet freedom with Myanmar, where the military regime imposed a new censorship system that ratcheted up restrictions on virtual private networks, popularly known as VPNs.
