The technology to identify people’s geo location through mobile phones is going to be launched in Bangladesh from November. The technology will be implemented by the government’s National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC) through mobile operators.
Through the news of the international media BBC, the issue of launching this technology suddenly came into discussion at the beginning of this week in the context of upcoming parliamentary elections of Bangladesh. According to the news, when it is launched, with or without the help of operators, law enforcement agencies or organizations involved in surveillance will be able to identify the specific location of one or many people simultaneously. That is, it will be possible to identify exactly where the person is.
Again, by combining artificial intelligence with this technology, apart from the geo location of the person, the organizations involved in the surveillance will also be able to know about the movement of many people at the same time.
For this reason, the mobile operators have been pressured to add new software and necessary materials at their own expense, but BTRC or the government’s Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has no involvement in this matter, said the Minister of the Ministry, Mustafa Jabbar.
“The matter is a matter for concerned agencies of the government under the Ministry of Home Affairs. They do what can be done in the interest of the country and the people according to the existing laws. We don’t know anything about it,” he told BBC Bangla.
However, in the context of Bangladesh’s political reality and parliamentary elections, and in light of the civil rights situation, many people are concerned about this new technology. Because many fear it could be misused for ‘mass-based surveillance’ to suppress the opposition before elections.
ICT experts say mass surveillance is creating an opportunity for state security in Bangladesh and they fear it could be misused to suppress dissent.
According to the Telecommunication Act of Bangladesh, telecom operators are obliged to provide necessary assistance as per the demand of government agencies. However, the operators refused to comment on these issues.
What is new technology?
The official name of this new technology is Integrated Lawful Interception System. Basically, it is a coordinated effort for tracking or surveillance, in which the telecom service providers will also be involved with the law enforcement agencies to identify the location of the person.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said in the question and answer session in the National Parliament in January this year that the government is going to introduce an integrated lawful interception system.
He then said that modern technologies like Open Source Intelligence Technology (OSINT) have been added to NTMC (National Telecommunication Monitoring Center) to stop anti-national and anti-government activities through social media monitoring on the Internet. At the same time an initiative has been taken to launch an integrated lawful interception system.
It is known from various sources that this is finally being launched from next month. In particular, the relevant authorities of the government have instructed the telecom operators to take necessary measures for this. Also, related materials have also been purchased from a French company for government agencies to introduce the new system. Apart from this, mobile operators have to spend another two hundred crore taka to buy software and various materials.
According to the decision of the authorities, through this technology, law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies of the government will be able to take advantage of geo location (specific location of the person) as needed. However, some government documents say that the process started in 2016. Later in 2018, a government letter said that the new technology would be used to fight crime.
Following this, last year in June, the Government Procurement Committee approved the procurement proposal. It was said then that they will be bought from a French company at a cost of 172 crore taka.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies, however, will receive information from telecom operators about geo-location of their subscribers. Again, the government agency will be able to directly enter the database of the operators to monitor any person.
How will the new surveillance technology work?
From a government letter, it is known that in this system of surveillance, apart from mobile operators, service providers like Internet Service Providers (ISP), International Internet Gateway (IIG) and National Internet Exchange (NIX) will be connected with government agencies.
Technology expert Sumon Ahmed Sabir, however, says that this technology of surveillance is new in Bangladesh but very old in the world.
What is the cause of discussion or concern
Experts say the cause of concern is – fear of abuse. Especially considering the upcoming election and political situation, it can be used to suppress the opposition.
Because, if an organization thinks they want to know the location and movement of 20,000 phone numbers all at once. It will be possible in this way. It will also be possible to identify where those 20,000 numbered phones are going through the new system.
As a result, if someone thinks that he will bring his leaders, activists and supporters from all over the country to protest in Dhaka, then with the help of new technology it will be possible to easily know who is coming to Dhaka and how exactly they are.
Muhammad Ershadul Karim, a lecturer in the Department of Law and Emerging Technologies at the University of Malaya in Malaysia, says that this is where the concern lies.
“Suppose 10 lakh people go outside Dhaka or come to Dhaka from outside – it will be possible to identify the specific location of each of them. Surveillance can be done with the permission of the court based on specific allegations for the security of the state. But surveillance on such a mass scale is outrageous and a violation of human rights,” he said.