Internet must be declared a basic human right

The recent internet shutdown disrupted lives and livelihoods across all levels of society. For 10 days, mobile internet services, along with popular communication apps and social media channels, were suspended.

The shutdown nearly brought the communications system to a halt, marking an unprecedented event in the country's telecommunications history. This incident has highlighted critical issues surrounding internet access and the laws that enable the authorities take such arbitrary decisions.

In this age of massive digitalisation driven by state-of-the-art technologies and innovations, the world is heavily dependent on internet and all other digital services supported by internet.

Internet has played a crucial role in turning the whole world into a global village, opening up new windows of opportunities for businesses and industries throughout the world.

Given such scenario, one can easily understand the importance of uninterrupted access to internet or connectivity facilities.

Going against the tide, Bangladesh kept internet services suspended for quite some days, which has dealt a heavy blow to public life, industries and service sectors.

Antithetical to the Digital and Smart Bangladesh vision of the former government, this sudden blackout had serious fallout effects. Within the first few days of the blackout, the country's economy incurred a loss of around $1.2 billion, bringing the local economy to a screeching halt.

As per estimates by the ICT and telecommunications ministry, this sector's loss amounts to around Tk 18,000 crore.

However, the biggest loss caused by this abrupt suspension was not something related to economic factors, rather it's a loss of image at the global stage.

This had a very negative impact on the country's image in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and was a devastating blow for the freelancers providing support to many global clients as this happened without any prior notice and no one could give any clarity on the internet restoration.

The news of internet blackout ordered with an intent to muzzle the people and contain all means of communication hit the headlines in almost all major international dailies with global experts calling it a sheer violation of basic human right.

While many may argue about the acceptance of internet as a human right, it is mentionable that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by United Nations (UN), recognises internet access as a basic human right.

Article 19 of the UDHR says, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

This resolution was further ratified through another provision clarifying the idea of "The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet" (Section 32) and underscoring the instrumental role played by internet in upholding the essence of these resolutions.

Responding to such universal declaration, many countries have already declared access to internet a basic human right.

Back in 2009, France's highest court the Constitutional Council declared that access to the internet will be regarded as a basic human right, abolishing the system of cutting off network access arbitrarily.

Even in the neighbouring country, the Kerala High Court in 2019 delivered a verdict, declaring the right to access the internet a part of the fundamental right to education and privacy.

Bangladesh is currently at a crossroads as it seeks to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to sustain its economic growth momentum. The recent internet shutdown sent the wrong signal to everyone, including foreign investors and the telecom operators' parent companies.

They were surprised by the shutdown, especially since internet access is regarded as a basic human right in other parts of the world. To regain the confidence of the global business community and local stakeholders, it is crucial to implement measures that prevent the recurrence of such incidents in future.

Many believed that the internet blackout was done by the access network service providers, i.e. mobile network operators and the internet service providers. In reality, there are many stakeholders/licensees in the internet service value chain. The issue is that all these providers are governed by a very strict telecom act and relevant licences provided to them, which give a huge power to the government, law enforcing agencies and the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to force the licensees to follow orders leaving no room for resistance.

According to Sections 66 (ka), 97(2) and 97A of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act 2001 and Clause 26.03.01 of the Unified licence, telecom operators are obligated to comply with all instructions of the government and law enforcement agencies relating to national security and public safety.

Otherwise, the same shall be considered as a punishable criminal offence for the companies and its officials and may be subject to fine up to Tk 300 crore and/or cancel licence as per sections 66A and 73 read with 76 of said act.

This kind of arbitrariness granted to the regulators and various agencies through laws deserves an urgent review as this can be used to impose restrictions not only on internet but also for all sorts of services dependent on telecommunications.

While the country is taking great strides in different sectors, we hope that all the stakeholders will play responsible roles in the days ahead and work collectively towards achieving excellence in telecommunications services by bringing in required reforms to catalyse further growth through ensuring transparency, good governance and fundamental human rights in Bangladesh.

The writer is the chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer at Banglalink.