The government has moved to expand the content blocking and filtering infrastructure of the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), reversing an earlier interim administration plan to dissolve the agency and replace it with a new oversight-based interception body.
The cabinet committee on government purchase on Wednesday approved procurement of an extended filtering system for NTMC at nearly Tk95 crore from Global Brands PLC, a Dhaka-based technology firm.
Officials, however, did not disclose technical specifications or the operational scope of the new system.
The move marks a policy shift from reforms initiated by the interim government, which on 24 Dec last year approved the Telecommunication Ordinance 2025 proposing abolition of NTMC and creation of the Centre for Information Support (CIS).
Under that framework, CIS was to operate under the Ministry of Home Affairs with lawful interception powers subject to authorisation from a semi-judicial council.
Authorities at the time said the draft defined clear legal boundaries for surveillance, including judicial and emergency use cases, and required compliance with personal data protection standards.
However, the reform process lost momentum after election, with the current administration opting to reinforce NTMC’s existing monitoring capabilities instead.
The earlier CIS proposal limited interception to authorised officers acting for specific purposes and fixed durations, based on necessity, proportionality, legality and accountability principles, and barred use for political or ideological suppression.
It also proposed a quasi-judicial approval council comprising representatives from the offices of the prime minister, president and speaker, along with a retired supreme court justice and a retired district judge, meeting twice weekly to review interception requests from law enforcement agencies.
The proposed framework had also included audit and accountability provisions requiring automated logging of all interception requests, approvals and executions, with judicial access to records at any time and mandatory annual reporting to parliament.
