Surveillance Study Suggests Two-Layer Transparency Model to Balance Security and Privacy

A comprehensive report on surveillance technologies currently used in Bangladesh has been prepared by the Committee for Review of Surveillance Technology Collection and Usage. The study, based on factual, comparative, and policy-driven analysis, assesses the country’s existing incomplete and opaque frameworks and proposes reforms. The report also provides a detailed roadmap for the repeal of NTMC and the amendments to Sections 97, 97A, 97B, and 97C of the Telecommunications Act 2001.

On Wednesday, 11 February, the committee submitted the final report to Interim Chief Adviser Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The submission was confirmed by his Deputy Press Secretary, Abul Kalam Azad Majumdar. The report was handed over to the Chief Adviser by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant on Telecommunications and ICT.

Citing the report, officials noted that it was drafted in the context of two realities: allegations of serious human rights violations, enforced disappearances, and illegal detentions in Bangladesh, alongside the state’s success in crime prevention and counter-terrorism through surveillance. The primary goal was to identify structural risks, governance gaps, and necessary reforms in the surveillance system in light of existing laws, policies, institutional frameworks, and technological arrangements.

The high-capacity committee appointed by the interim government reviewed the legal and technical aspects of the state’s surveillance capabilities and limitations. It also proposed eight recommendations based on eight standards, taking into account national security, emergency life protection, public safety, judicial necessity, citizens’ constitutional right to privacy, and freedom of expression.

The report recommends a modern surveillance system incorporating a “two-layer transparency model” designed to function as a globally benchmarked component of state capability. It draws on International Telecommunication Union (ITU) guidelines, experiences and practices of other countries, human rights standards, and Bangladesh’s administrative realities to present a practical reform path.

Among the committee’s proposals were the repeal of NTMC and a detailed roadmap for amendments to Sections 97, 97A, 97B, and 97C of the Telecommunications Act 2001. The interim government has already gazetted a revised version of the telecommunications law. The committee also suggested additional state-level investigations and inquiries.

Experts and stakeholders believe that the report represents an effort to construct a principled framework where state security and citizens’ rights are not seen as conflicting but as complementary.

DBTech/SH/IH/OR