says that the republic shall be a democracy in which fundamental human rights and freedoms and respect for the dignity and worth of humans shall be guaranteed. Article 43 states that every citizen has the right to be secured in his or her home against entry, search and seizure, and the right to the privacy of his or her correspondence and other means of communication, unless there are any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interests of the security of the state. In Bangladesh cyber crime is addressed with reference to several laws, including the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006; the Penal Code, 1860; the Pornography Act, 2012; and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, 2001. The Bangladesh Telecommunication (Amendment) Act, 2006, allows agencies to monitor the private communications of people with the permission of the chief executive of the Ministry of Home Affairs, under a special provision for the security of state and public order. This act was again amended in 2010, enabling officials to intercept the electronic communications of any individual or institution in order to ensure the security of the state or public order.7 The act was further amended in 2013 by granting law enforcers the right to arrest any person without warrant, and by making the crimes nonbailable. Section 57 of the ordinance states that if any electronically published material causes any deterioration of law and order, tarnishes the image of a person or the state, or hurts the religious sentiment of people, then the offender will be punished for a maximum of 14 years imprisonment.8 The Bangladesh Telecom Regulatory Commission (BTRC) also has the authority to tap and monitor phone calls if deemed necessary. The commission’s International Long Distance Telecommunications System Policy9 has enabled the country to set up three private international gateways, six interconnection exchanges and one international internet gateway. This policy says the operators of these will arrange the connection, equipment and software needed for online and offline monitoring, and will provide access for “lawful interception” by law enforcement agencies. All operators are also required to provide the records of call details (voice and 7 Privacy International. (2012). Bangladesh: Legal framework. https://www.privacyinternational.org/reports/bangladesh/iilegal-framework 8 Daily Star. (2013, October 9). ICT (Amendment) Act, 2013: Right to Information and Freedom of Expression under Threat. ASK. www. askbd.org/ask/2013/10/09/ict-amendment-act-2013-informationfreedom-expression-threat 9 www.btrc.gov.bd/sites/default/files/ildts_policy_2010_english_0. pdf data) whenever necessary. The BTRC may also set up a monitoring centre at the country’s submarine cable landing station which connects Bangladesh’s internet backbone to the rest of the world. In January 2012, the BTRC created an 11-member Bangladesh Computer Security Incident Response Team (BD-CSIRT) to look into the issues of cyber crime. This team was mandated to use wiretapping and internet surveillance if necessary. The government has also set up a “cyber tribunal” as per Section 68 of the ICT Act of 2006 to deal with cyber crime-related issues. The Right to Information Ordinance of 2008 was modified and gazetted in 2009. This ordinance has a provision for the proactive disclosure of information ensuring better transparency in the administration, but the amended ICT Act of 2013 may discourage the administration to disclose any information fearing the application of Section 57 of ICT Act.10 An insight into the chronological events: A saga of lone or dissenting voices As discussed, the legal framework (such as the ICT Act and its 2006 and 2010 amendments) allows law enforcement agencies to monitor and intercept private communication. Therefore, communication surveillance probably happens at a level we are not aware of. There was a report11 recently that Bangladesh is buying advanced communication surveillance equipment, which certainly validates this supposition. This came out more publicly in 2007 when, in a circular, the BTRC requested all internet service providers (ISPs) to submit the names, addresses, logins, location and other usage statistics of their users.12 What they did with that information is still unknown. It has been reported that the BTRC often serves informal orders to different domestic service providers to provide information or block certain content – the ISPs are legally bound to do this through their licence and operations agreements with the BTRC. However, there is the problem of cyber crime too. For example, a number of district web portals that were inaugurated by the prime minister in January 2010 were hacked immediately afterwards. 10 Siddiqui, M. S. (2013, September 29). ICT Act and freedom of expression. Financial Express. www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/ old/index.php?ref=MjBfMDlfMjlfMTNfMV85Ml8xODUxMDM= 11 Privacy International. (2014, May 5). Who is selling surveillance equipment to a notorious Bangladeshi security agency? IFEX. www.ifex.org/bangladesh/2014/05/05/security_agency_ surveillance 12 Rezwan. (2007, October 5). Internet user profiling and surveillance process initiated in Bangladesh. Global Voices Advocacy. advocacy. globalvoicesonline.org/2007/10/05/internet-user-profiling-andsurveillance-process-initiated-in-bangladesh bangladesh / 71