While online freedom has declined globally, it has made significant improvements in Bangladesh, according to the US-based organization Freedom House.

Bangladesh has made the most progress in internet freedom among the 72 countries assessed this year, according to the ‘Freedom on the Net 2025’ report, released last Friday. The study reviewed the situation from June 2024 to May 2025.

Freedom House, a US-based democracy watchdog, says that an authoritarian government in Bangladesh lost power in a student-led coup in August 2024. The interim government then introduced some positive reforms in the digital sector. As a result, Bangladesh’s Internet Freedom Index rose by 5 points to 45 out of 100. Last year, the score was 40. This is the best position in the last 7 years.

However, despite all this progress, Bangladesh still remains on the list as a ‘partly free’ country. Bangladesh has been on this list since 2013.

Freedom House determines the score based on three major factors. These are:

1. Barriers to access the Internet,

2. Control over content published online,

3. Violation of user rights.

A total of 21 indicators are used in these three categories to determine each country’s level of online freedom.

The report also said that Bangladesh’s interim government adopted a policy of not shutting down the internet and said that internet access is a human right. In May 2025, the government repealed the controversial Cyber ​​Security Act (CSA). In its place, the Cyber ​​Security Ordinance (CSO) was promulgated. It has some positive aspects, such as protections against online harassment and sexual assault. However, some concerns remain, such as penalties and surveillance for online speech.

According to the Freedom House report, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan in South Asia. However, it lags behind India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan is classified as ‘not free’ with a score of 27. Sri Lanka and India are both in the ‘partly free’ category with a score of 53 and 51, respectively.