On Sunday (August 4), when the Bangladesh government announced the second round of mobile internet restrictions in three weeks by blocking social media sites and apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, YouTube and Telegram, a student activist from Dhaka still managed to communicate with Decode.
He used the Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology that allows users to access websites or platforms blocked in a country. “I can’t speak over WhatsApp calls but I can keep messaging using VPN,” said the activist as he described the day’s rapid developments.
Tension had peaked on August 4. In the morning, student agitators and their supporters who gathered at Shahbag Square in Dhaka used a pocket router to provide free Wi-Fi service to the members of the gathering. They were anticipating the government could shut down mobile internet at any time. The pocket router at Shahbag had 8,000 gigabytes (GB) of pre-loaded data. The username was ‘Save Students’ and the password was ‘Free’.
Such pocket routers were used at various gathering points not only in Dhaka but also in other major cities like Chittagong, Rangpur, Jessore, Khulna and Comilla. Organisers or facilitators shared on social media platforms the usernames and passwords of those free Wi-Fi signals.
“When the government imposes an internet shutdown, it restricts mobile internet but broadband and Wi-Fi networks can be used to browse websites and make calls. That’s why pocket routers were used for main gathering points where students could come and stay connected. Once connected, one could access blocked sites using VPNs,” said one of the organisers, who wished to remain anonymous.
Such access using VPN proxies, however, is only possible when the government has blocked only mobile internet but not broadband services.For 10 days since July 17, the government enforced a complete internet shutdown, including broadband services. Even after lifting the restrictions, platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram remained blocked.
On Sunday, at first, the anti-government protesters called for a march to the national capital of Dhaka on August 6. It was followed by the government’s announcement of a nationwide curfew and mobile internet shutdown from Sunday evening. Subsequently, protesters announced advancing the programme to Monday.
This shutdown was not ‘complete’ in the sense that only mobile internet was blocked. The government was under pressure from business and industry captains not to shut down broadband, which would impact internet banking.
As the protesters were equipped with pocket routers and VPN apps, the mobile internet suspension and blocking of specific sites/platforms did not impact communication between the protesters the way the government wanted to.
For example, Asif Mahmud, one of the student coordinators of the movement, kept posting updates and programme details on his Facebook page. In one, he appealed to Dhaka residents to keep their Wi-Fi signals open for anyone to connect.
The Hindu quoted a report from the vpnMentor research team that found that demand for VPNs in Bangladesh shot up by 5016% during the five day internet shutdown.
On Monday morning, as millions took over the streets, the Sheikh Hasina government again imposed a complete internet shutdown at 10.30 am local time. This was lifted two hours later. By that time, she had resigned and left her residence for a safe passage out of the country.
This marked the end of her 16-year rule marred by frequent controversies over suppressing opposing/ critical views, including blocking websites and suspending mobile internet.
A Draconian Act
The Digital Security Act of 2018 was widely criticised as the government's tool "to crack down on its critics and dispel online dissent."
As pointed out by human rights defenders, including Amnesty International, Section 21 of the Digital Security Act (DSA) authorised life imprisonment, along with a hefty fine, for engaging in “propaganda” or a “campaign” against the “spirit of the liberation War”, “father of the nation”, the “national anthem” or “national flag”. The agency can also order the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to remove and block any information or data on the internet.
The Act provided absolute power to the government’s Digital Security Agency to initiate investigations into anyone whose activities are deemed harmful or a threat. The police got absolute power to arrest anyone, without a warrant, simply on suspicion that a crime may be committed using digital media.
The Act also read "in a manner that allows investigating officers to ask service providers and other intermediaries for data without requiring a court-obtained warrant or subpoena." A 2022 report revealed that at least 842 people were detained or arrested between January 2020 and February 2022, including 80 politicians, 59 journalists and 47 students, including charges like "defaming" the prime minister, ministers, and political leaders, mostly of the ruling party. Journalists have been among the major victims of the law.
In the face of international criticism, the government brought a new legislation in 2023 - the Cyber Security Act - to "tone down" the DSA. However, internet freedom watchdogs and civil society members alleged it was "old wine in a new bottle."
VPNs: An Old Tradition
In Bangladesh, VPNs started gaining popularity several years ago. a Dhaka-based student told Decode, requesting anonymity, that VPNs became popular as a result of the government’s practice of blocking websites and digital platforms at its will.
At the initial stage, the government used to block sites of atheist bloggers arguing that contents in these sites were hurting religious sentiments. Rationalist/ atheist bloggers and activists were among the first to start using VPNs. Gradually, all critical voices came to face suppression.
“They did not want to allow any critical space. That is why VPN apps have become so popular. From school students to elderly homemakers have multiple VPN apps on their mobiles,” said the student.
He added that his mother, aged in her late 50s, knows using only two mobile apps, Facebook and WhatsApp. “The third application she knows is using VPN apps,” the student said. The VPN helps her access Facebook and WhatsApp when these platforms are blocked in Bangladesh.
The Freedom on the Net index’s 2022 report described Bangladesh as ‘Partly Free’ and so did its report for 2023 and 2024. However, while the country scored 43 out of 100 in the internet freedom index in 2022, the scores in 2023 and 2024 came down to 41. The worst score was from the perspective of ‘Violations of User Rights’, with the index giving Bangladesh only 12 out of 43 in 2022.
According to Minhaj Aman, a fact-checker and digital integrity researcher in Bangladesh, the history of the internet shutdown in Bangladesh is at least a decade old. “Initially, it involved blocking only one or two platforms to prevent the spread of communal tension. However, later shutdowns became deeply associated with political unrest,” Aman told Decode.
Aman added that the Hasina government had imposed internet shutdowns, either locally or nationally, every time there was political unrest. Obstructing internet access amounts to the denial of access to one of the means of exercising the constitutional rights of the freedom to share information and express opinions, he said.
Digital access watchdog Access Now’s data for 2023 shows three instances of mobile internet shutdown in Dhaka – July 7 and 28 and October 28. All of them were over political unrest.
“Bangladesh has had seven internet restrictions since 2015, all happening in different circumstances, but all related to political unrest,” said Lina Survila, a spokeswoman for the cybersecurity company Surfshark.
Aman pointed out that during the 10 days of the complete internet shutdown, almost all media outlets in Bangladesh were closed online, with only two foreign media outlets able to transmit their news using alternative technologies.
During the complete internet shutdown, protesters in cities like Dhaka tried to use a new technology to spread their message. Some of them used apps like Briar that operate on mesh technology that allows many-to-many connections through Bluetooth. “However, the limitation of mesh technology is that for the chain to continue, the app must be installed on a mobile every 80 metres. That’s why it works for group messaging only in densely populated areas,” one of the anti-government protesters told Decode.
She feels that such apps may become effective when they get as popular as WhatsApp – which can be found in the 80-meter range continually for a few kilometers in many cities – but currently, it is not effective enough to bypass a complete internet shutdown.
After Monday’s development, a section of student-agitators expressed hopes that they can force the new government – whenever it is formed – to ensure that internet access is never blocked to curb political expressions.