Bangladesh to setup vigilance system to monitor social media

Rights and corruption watchdog Transparency International earlier issued a statement saying vigilance on people's activities was contrary to human rights

Bangladesh authorities are set to introduce a system to enforce a vigil against anti-state or anti-government activities in a lawful manner, a senior minister told parliament on Thursday.

“Modern systems like Open source Intelligence Technology (OSINT) was introduced earlier and initiatives have been taken to introduce the Integrated Lawful Interception System (ILIS) to monitor social media platforms and thwart various anti-state and anti-government activities on the internet,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said.

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Khan said National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) was currently running the OSINT while official sources said the NTMC uses OSINT to track mobile and landline phones to identify and locate suspects.

The minister said the government also planned to bring the task of issuing national identity cards (NID) under the home ministry which was currently under the jurisdiction of the Independent Election Commission (EC) “in view of the reality” like other countries.

"The national identity registration process is done under the executive department in almost all countries in the world. In view of reality, it should be under the executive department in Bangladesh."

Rights and corruption watchdog Transparency International’s Bangladesh chapter (TIB) earlier issued a statement saying vigilance on people's activities was contrary to human rights.

The TIB concern came as media reports earlier this week said the authorities were planning to procure the spyware from Israel, the country which does not have diplomatic ties with Dhaka.