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Published : 29 Nov 2025, 12:33 AM
The interim government has offered an explanation for the content-removal requests sent to Google between January and June, rejecting media reports that it asked the platform to remove material critical of the administration.
It also expressed disappointment over news reports on the matter.
A statement from the Chief Advisor’s Office (CAO) on Friday said, “The government assures citizens that outside of character assassination involving misinformation, propaganda, or fake content, it has not asked any platform to remove news from newspapers, posts on social media, videos, reels, online articles, or any politically critical content by internal critics.”
Several media outlets had reported that Bangladesh made 279 requests to Google in the first six months of the year, with 181 relating to content critical of the government. Google’s response to these requests has been limited.
The CAO said, “Requests to remove illegal, defamatory material related to misinformation, propaganda, or character assassination are handled by law-enforcing agencies and the National Cyber Security Agency via BTRC.”
It added that the current government does not run any social media control operations like the previous Awami League’s “CRI” or similar bot programmes.
“No Bangladeshi agency has the authority to take down content on social media platforms; all requests are communicated to the platforms directly.”
According to the government, analysis of Google’s transparency report shows that the 279 requests from January to June are significantly fewer than during the Awami League government, which sent 867 requests in the same six-month period of 2022.
From July to December 2022, Bangladesh made 153 requests, less than one-fifth of the previous government’s peak, and fewer than half of the lowest six-month tally under the Awami League in June–December 2023, when 591 requests were sent.
Following the fall of the Awami League government, the interim administration repealed the previous cyber security law and enacted the Cyber Security Ordinance. Section 8 allows the National Cyber Security Agency to request content blocks from social platforms.
The CAO said the new ordinance adds transparency measures, ensuring all blocked content is publicly reported.
The statement noted, “Requests from the current government are minimal compared with the previous Awami League administration. Google’s transparency report shows 65 percent of requests fall under ‘Not enough information’, indicating these were not targeted for specific purposes.”
The government said Bangladesh faced “unexpected misinformation campaigns” from domestic and foreign sources during the first half of the year.
“Neighbouring countries’ media launched continuous misinformation and propaganda campaigns against Bangladesh. Some reports were submitted to Google to counter these efforts,” the office said.
It added that the Awami League, banned under anti-terror laws, launched misinformation campaigns online during the July Uprising trials at the International Crimes Tribunal, including calls for violence against the government.
The statement stressed that protecting cyberspace, political stability, communal harmony, and safeguarding religious, ethnic, and racial groups online and offline is a daily government responsibility.
“Social media and cyberspace are key to the country’s social and political stability. Like other countries, Bangladesh reports certain content for policy reasons. Requests have also been made regarding online gambling,” it read.
The CAO noted that Google’s transparency report does not separate categories for misinformation, propaganda, or character assassination. “These reports appear under government criticism categories.”
It expressed disappointment over media coverage, saying: “Reports were published without seeking government comment. Presenting partial or misleading information on sensitive issues affecting social stability cannot be considered responsible journalism.”
The statement highlighted incidents in the first six months that threatened internal stability, including over 100 large protests, several “mob” attacks, shrine vandalism, and communal incidents.
It added that the political field had displayed increasing intolerance and retaliatory tendencies, requiring the government to file responsible reports to safeguard social harmony and stability.
The CAO claimed global rankings have recorded “remarkable progress” in Bangladesh’s freedom of expression and internet indicators, citing recognition from the World Bank and the International Telecommunication Union.
