National shutdown
Data and reports show that mobile Internet has been shut down across much of Bangladesh amidst protests against the government. Media reports state that much of the protest activity is around the capital, Dhaka, and is related to quotas and hiring rules for civil service. Protests against the hiring practices have been ongoing for several days but have increased over the last day or so. Cloudflare Radar and IODA both showed the disruption of Internet connectivity starting with mobile networks early on 18 July and advancing to a complete loss of connectivity within the country around 15:00 UTC. The government of Bangladesh confirmed that they have ordered this shutdown. Over 40 civil society organizations that are part of the KeepItOn Coalition have signed a letter calling on the government of Bangladesh to restore Internet connectivity. The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) indicates that they have seen blocking of social media sites beginning back on 16 July. If you are located in Bangladesh, you can help test Internet connectivity by running OONI’s mobile probe app on your mobile device. If the shutdown continues, our NetLoss calculator estimates there will be a loss to the Bangladesh economy of over USD $3,500,000 per day. Read more about Bangladesh's Internet infrastructure in our country report.
- Total Duration 5 days, 12 hours
Bangladesh
- Population
- 171,466,990
- UN Classification
-
- Least Developed Country
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Partly Free
Local impact
Data and reports show that mobile Internet has been shut down across much of Bangladesh amidst protests against the government. Media reports state that much of the protest activity is around the capital, Dhaka, and is related to quotas and hiring rules for civil service. Protests against the hiring practices have been ongoing for several days but have increased over the last day or so. Cloudflare Radar and IODA both showed the disruption of Internet connectivity starting with mobile networks early on 18 July and advancing to a complete loss of connectivity within the country around 15:00 UTC. The government of Bangladesh confirmed that they have ordered this shutdown. Over 40 civil society organizations that are part of the KeepItOn Coalition have signed a letter calling on the government of Bangladesh to restore Internet connectivity. The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) indicates that they have seen blocking of social media sites beginning back on 16 July. If you are located in Bangladesh, you can help test Internet connectivity by running OONI’s mobile probe app on your mobile device. If the shutdown continues, our NetLoss calculator estimates there will be a loss to the Bangladesh economy of over USD $3,500,000 per day. Read more about Bangladesh's Internet infrastructure in our country report.
Related documentation
In a press event on 18 July, Bangladesh minister for posts, telecommunications, and information technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak confirmed that the government had ordered the shutdown. From a media report:
The state minister explained that the suspension was necessary to curb the spread of rumors and maintain stability amid the protests. ‘Various groups with vested interest have been spreading false information on social media, contributing to the instability. Hence, the decision to shut down mobile Internet services was made without prior notice, based on the evolving situation,’ he added. Palak also highlighted the government’s communication with major social media platforms like Facebook, Google, YouTube, and TikTok. He expressed dissatisfaction with their privacy policies concerning the removal of controversial content. ‘We have contacted these companies, but their privacy policies regarding content removal are not satisfactory. If their actions lead to any casualties, they will not be exempt from accountability. These companies must establish data centers in Bangladesh and operate in compliance with local laws,’ he said.
Other supporting information
[UPDATE - 23 July 2024, 17:00 UTC] - After 5 days without Internet connectivity, IODA is now showing a gradual return of connectivity across Bangladesh. Internet access is not yet available everywhere, but it is increasing.
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[18 July 2024]
Cloudflare Radar shows that mobile provider Robi shut down all connectivity as of 1:00 UTC on 18 July 2024:
Initially, Cloudflare Radar did not show a major impact to overall traffic coming out of Bangladesh, but as of 15:00 UTC on 18 July we saw a drop in all traffic out of the country. At this time, social media reports were also indicating that Internet connectivity was not available on either fixed or mobile networks.
The shutdown has continued since that time.
IODA also shows drops in connectivity earlier in the day on the Robi network and now shows a complete drop in connectivity on that network as of around 15:20 UTC.
IODA also shows disruptions in Internet connectivity for the whole country beginning on 18 July 2024 around 11:00 UTC and then a complete drop in connectivity beginning around 15:30 UTC.
Further to this, OONI data suggests that Facebook has been blocked by AS24432 (Axiata) and AS24389 (grameenphone) networks in Bangladesh since 16 July. ONNI is also reporting suspected blocking of WhatsApp since 17 July. People in Bangladesh are encouraged to download and run OONI probe tests to validate the accessibility of these and other popular social media and messaging services.
