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Media Laws, Freedom of Expression, and Press in Bangladesh

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FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 1

Do media laws restrict the freedom of expression,

and press in Bangladesh?

Sujan Sen Gupta

Department of Mass Communication and Journalism
University of Dhaka
MCJ 302 : Media Laws and Ethics
Dr. Abul Mansur Ahmed
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 2

Do media laws restrict the freedom of expression, and press in Bangladesh?

The morning of June 13, 1971, turned out to be quite a shocking one for the people of
the United States of America. A big lie came to light, thanks to the journalist Neil Sheehan of
the New York Times. From the report of the aforementioned newspaper, people began to know
how the then government of the Nixon administration fed lies and false hope to the nation about
the Vietnam war. How they almost lost it but pretended everything had been going fine. The
nation of America realized how their youths were being wasted in the muds, jungles of Vietnam
while fighting for a useless cause.

It was the media that busted the government’s conspiracy behind the Vietnam war. The
Pentagon Papers became a cause célèbre at that time not only in America but also around the
world. Daniel Ellsberg, a former military analyst in the RAND Corporation, pulled out the
mission of exposing the secret documents to the media. Although he cracked the hard nut by
revealing the classified information, he was not able to make them public without the help of
the press; the New York Times, the Washington Post, and a bunch of other newspapers (Nixon
and the Pentagon Papers, 2016).

It was not a walk in the park for people who were behind the publication of the Pentagon
Papers. The Nixon administration tried their best to prevent the publication of the documents.
However, the good, brave people in the press stood against the tyranny of the government and
kept publishing the reports. From Neil Sheehan to Benjamin C. Bradlee, the avant-garde
journalists of that time denied every possible request or threat from the government regarding
the Pentagon Papers. The freedom of the press prevailed, despite all the laws and regulations
from the US government (Kaiser, 2014). This instance stays as a classic example of the freedom
of the press versus governmental regulations to this day.

Definition of the freedom of expression

Every individual has their own beliefs, thoughts, ideas, and emotions about different
issues. Furthermore, everyone has a right to speak out about what they think of specific issues.
And, to express someone’s views aloud, without any hindrance or fear of censorship from
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 3

anybody or organization, more particularly from a government is regarded as freedom of

expression (WHAT IS FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION?, n.d.).

Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly defines
freedom of expression as a right to be bestowed upon every human being on this planet.
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 (Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, n.d.).

Although freedom of expression should always be provided, in some cases, to restrict

chaos in the society, a government can limit someone’s freedom of expression, given that such
expression may bring hatred and eventually violence in the society. But, to do that, the
government still must enact all the restrictions by the book (What Is Freedom of Speech?,
2020).

Definition of the freedom of the press

The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.
-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black in the New York Times Co. v. the United
States (1971) (Hays Free Press, 2018).

To ensure the continuity of a democratic country, freedom of the press is a fundamental

issue to address. Freedom of the press gives the media the freedom of working freely in a
society, while doing the job without any restriction or censorship, either self-regulated or from
the government. The media must not be controlled by any powerful body of society.

A free media works as a watchdog, preventing the wrongdoing of those in power

(American Civil Liberties Union, n.d.). In the name of national security, counter-terrorism,
freedom of the press is often hindered. But, the free press is the precondition of a rightful
society. Because it is the press that looks after the underdogs of the society. If the press cannot
operate freely, then who would voice for those poor people, and eventually, justice shall not
prevail.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 4

The origin of press laws in the subcontinent

The history of press laws goes back to the British period, almost as contemporary as
the time of the first published newspaper around here. James Augustus Hickey was the pioneer
of newspaper publications in India. Hickey’s Bengal Gazette was the first published newspaper
in the Indian subcontinent (The British Library, n.d.). Although, it lasted only for two years
when the government seized the paper in 1782 by order of the Supreme Court because of its
criticism of the administration (NeoStencil India Pvt Ltd, n.d.). That was the first time the
British Raj applied a restriction to the freedom of the press.

After that, several other newspapers were published in India. To name a few, The
Calcutta Gazette (1784), The Bengal Journal (1785), The Oriental Magazine of Calcutta
(1785), The Calcutta Chronicle (1786), The Madras Courier (1788) were the leading
newspapers of that time (Censorship Act 1799, 2011).

As the journalism practiced flourished in the Indian subcontinent, the government felt
the necessity of sanctioning press laws to control the newspapers. Some of the laws are
mentioned below.

Censorship of Press Act, 1799

Enacted by Lord Wellesley, the Censorship of Press Act had a unique target, the French.
It was authorized to prevent the French from publishing anything that could deem to be a threat
to the British government. The act demanded pre-censorship on the press, and it required the
newspapers to print the name of the printer, the editor, the proprietor, and also the publisher in
every issue. In 1818 the pre-censorship provision was abolished as Lord Hastings relaxed some
of the restrictions (NeoStencil India Pvt Ltd, n.d.).

Licensing Regulation Act, 1823

This law was imposed by John Adams. It turned out to be a cruel one as the aftermath
of this law included the shut-down of several newspapers. The law demanded that every
publisher, as well as printers, had to earn a license to run a press; otherwise, there would be a
fine of Rs. 400 for each publication without a license. The Calcutta Journal was a victim of this
law as it lost its license because of its criticism of the government (NeoStencil India Pvt Ltd,
n.d.).
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 5

The Press Act, 1835 or Metcalfe Act

Lord William Bentick (1828-1835) held a liberal view towards the press, but he did not
care to revoke the Licensing Regulation Act, 1823. It was the then officiating Governor-
General Sir Charles Metcalfe (1835-1836) who repealed the 1823 regulations. Metcalfe was
known as the Liberator of the Indian Press as he initiated the Press Act of 1835 (NeoStencil
India Pvt Ltd, n.d.). The result was a rapid growth of newspapers (Mondal, 2014).

The Licensing Act, 1857 or ‘Gagging Act’

As the 1857 revolt emerged, the government found the newspapers disturbing with their
provoking contents. Lord Canning found that not only the Anglo-Indian newspapers but also
the Indian newspapers were trying to take sides of the revolt, so he enacted new regulations
regarding the press, which was known as the ‘Gagging Act’. Later that year, a new act, the
Licensing Act of 1857, was on the go. The act was operative for one year (Singh & State
University of Iowa. School of Journalism, 2019).

Vernacular Press Act, 1878

Lord Lytton was appointed Viceroy of India in 1875 and served from 1876 to 1880. He
failed to handle the 1876-77 famine incident effectively. Again there was the continuity of
racial bitterness from the revolt of 1857 (NeoStencil India Pvt Ltd, n.d.).

At that time, the growth of the Indian-language press was mesmerizing. There were
almost 169 local newspapers in British-ruled India (Singh & State University of Iowa. School
of Journalism, 2019). The estimation says there were a hundred thousand readers of these
papers. They helped grow the public voice against the government.

The British had to resolve this criticism of the government, and thus they came up with
the Vernacular Press Act. While Lord Canning’s Press Act of 1857 included both the English
and the oriental newspapers, this new Vernacular Press Act was enacted only to control the
vernacular newspapers (Singh & State University of Iowa. School of Journalism, 2019). The
target of this act was to curb ‘seditious writing’ in ‘publications in oriental languages’. To ditch
the law, the Amrita Bazar Patrika, originally a bilingual newspaper, turned itself solely into an
English weekly. The newspaper caught the British-raj’s attention after reporting about the
exploitations of the indigo farmers (Iyengar, 2017).
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 6

The constitution of Bangladesh and press freedom

When it comes to the press freedom of Bangladesh, the constitution of the country has
something to say. Section 39 of the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh states:
39. (1) Freedom of thought and conscience is guaranteed.
(2) Subject to any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the interests of the security
of the State, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or
in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence-
(a) the right of every citizen to freedom of speech and expression, and (b) freedom of
the press are guaranteed. (The Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh |
39. Freedom of Thought and Conscience, and of Speech, n.d.).

The constitution clearly provides the freedom of the press, which is expected, but the
dilemma starts when there are some conditions attached to the section. Anything about the
security of the state, relations with foreign states, defamation, contempt of court that goes
against the existing laws will be regarded as a punishable offence; press freedom will not be
considered in these regards.

The problem with this situation is, a country or a government can really not limit the
freedom of expression of its nation except for enormous disorder (2017, p. 97). Some of the
restrictions here do not really hold enough ground to limit the freedom of the press. For
example, if a press can change the friendly relation with a foreign country into a bitter one, that
indicates the weakness of the country’s diplomatic ability, not the
the mischief of that press.

A country’s constitution does not have to make sure that the state of the country’s
decency or morality remains acceptable by imposing restrictions on the press. Decency or
morality should be measured by social norms; it is not to be shaped by the constitution.

The whole thing is messed up as there are several laws and acts that contradict each
other. And this starts with the constitution of the country.

Press laws in Bangladesh

The following section will study the existing press laws of Bangladesh.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 7

Digital Security Act, 2018

The Digital Security Act (DSA), 2018 is one of the most controversial press laws in
Bangladesh. The goal of this law is to make provisions for ensuring digital security and
identification, prevention, suppression, and trial of offences committed through digital devices.
In section 28 of the DSA, it is stated that if anybody and/or any organization publish anything
in any electronic format that might hurt someone’s religious values or sentiments, it will be
considered a punishable offense under this law. The punishment contains both jail time and
financial penalties.

Similarly, in section 29, the publication of defamatory information on websites or any

other electronic format is another offense based on section 499 of the Penal Code. The
punishment is ending up in jail for a maximum of three years and paying taka three lac.

According to section 32 of this law, breaching the secrecy of the government by means
of digital device is another punishable offense under the Official Secrets Act of 1923. The law
gives the power to legislative forces to seize, search, and arrest even without a warrant.

Right to Information Act, 2009

The Right to Information Act (RTI) is a kind of act where the people practice power on
the authority of the state. The aim of this law is to help ensure the enactment of section 39 of
the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

The act ensures that the people of Bangladesh have access to the information of
governmental organizations, as the right to information is regarded as a basic right by the
United States. Everything deems to be all right with this act until the restrictions on specific
information come into play.

According to section 7, publications of or providing certain types of information are

not mandatory. These include any such information that causes a threat to the security of the
country, affects the foreign policy or enforcement of the laws, etc.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 8

What makes the act more unreliable is its section 32, where some law-enforcement
organizations and institutions are given the freedom of not disclosing information to anybody.
These organizations are National Security Intelligence (NSI), Directorate General Forces
Intelligence (DGFI), Defence Intelligence Units, Criminal Investigation Department (CID),
Bangladesh Police, Special Security Force (SSF), Intelligence Cell of the National Board of
Revenue, Special Branch, Bangladesh Police, Intelligence Cell of Rapid Action Battalion
(RAB).

The Printing Presses & Publication Act, 1973

The act requires licensing for the newspapers and periodicals from the government.
According to this act, without a license or registration forms, the right to publish a newspaper
can be canceled by the district magistrates. Without registration, a newspaper owner or
publisher is to be punished, either imprisonment or financial penalty or both.

Special Powers Act, 1974

The act works to prohibit prejudicial acts, and if a journalist publishes any prejudicial
report, that will be considered as a punishable offense (Sajen, 2015).

Official Secrets Act, 1923

Based on the English Official Secrets Act of 1911, the Official Secrets Act prohibits
journalists from accessing any government information (Sajen, 2015).

Other press laws

Several other press laws are enacted in Bangladesh. They include National
Broadcasting Policy, 2014; Community Radio Policy, 2017; Bangladesh Press Council Act,
1974; National Online Mass Media Policy, 2017, etc. All of these laws and acts are criticized
by the journalists, editors, and civil society of Bangladesh, but the use of these laws keeps a
barrier upheld to the practice of free media in Bangladesh.

Press laws and the freedom of Bangladeshi press: an overview

With the instances that happen much frequently, we can see the practice of these laws
makes the press more vulnerable in terms of the duty of free press in society. It is understood
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 9

that some laws are often used to stop the press from publishing things about which the
government does not share much of likeness.

One of the frequently used laws is the Digital Security Act. We live in a digital society.
Our society is being technologically advanced as every day passes, and we are gradually
becoming dependent on digital systems. As the minister, Mustafa Zabbar once remarked in a
conference that the digital security act is an inevitable part of living in a digital society. That
makes sense, and we need to be serious about the world of digital technology (‘ডিডিটাল দু ডিয়ায়

বাস করতে ডিডিটাল ডিরাপত্তা আইি লাগতবই,’ 2021).

That’s why the laws, acts, regulations regarding these digital systems need to be more
precise and clearer. The Digital Security Act gives the scope to the government to sue people
with different ideologies. Controlling the world of the Internet is a tough business. So, it’s hard
to imply the laws with equality, as we see, most often only the people from opposite ideologies
get to see the power of the Digital Security Act, while the powerful, majorities in terms of
number, escape the law. It is often seen that people from minority groups are sued under Digital
Security Act because of their 'religiously hateful' posts on social media, which are arguable
regarding their authenticity, but when it comes to the majority defaming other religions, no
steps are taken. It’s not only true about religious contents but also the political treatment goes
the same way.

The use of the Digital Security Act became so serious and frequent that in one particular
case, the aftermath happened to be the death of the accused person (“Mushtaq’s Death: Ensure
Justice, Scrap DSA,” 2021).

It is obvious that a digital security act is needed, as we can see how disturbing and
disordered social media is turning day by day. But, the problem lies within the act; it’s not
precisely crafted. The act needs to be reviewed; it deserves to be more precise, clearer in
definition, and a little bit liberal, maybe. The most important thing, not only in this case but
also regarding every other law, is that the laws must not be used for political gain.

The Right to Information act may stand alone from the other press acts since it is all
about ensuring the people’s right to access information. Journalists can use this act to learn
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 10

information that could not be obtained by just asking. This act could be a great help to people,
from a regular farmer to a senior correspondent of a newspaper, but going through all the
procedures to access any information, can sometimes be really troublesome. The act loses its
effectiveness because of its too many bureaucratic procedures for acquiring information.

The loophole of RTI is its section 32, where some legislative organizations are
restricted from getting information. This means there is no way to question these organizations
about their wrongdoing unless it's corruption or violation of human rights. But, there is no
notion that what kinds of crimes will be defined as corruption or abuse of human rights.
Confusions are in almost every section of these acts, and thus these acts are being manipulated
by the authority in power.

Both the colonial laws and modern-day laws limit the freedom of the press in
Bangladesh. The frequently-used old colonial laws are the Special Powers Act of 1974, Official
Secrets Act of 1923, Contempt of Court Act 1926, Copyright Act 2000, and the Code of
Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The modern laws that are in the play are the Printing Press and
Publication Act, DSA, RTI, National Broadcast Policy, National Online Mass Media Policy,
etc. (Bangladesh, n.d.-b).

Al Jazeera instance and the Boogeyman of press laws

On February 1 of 2021, Qatar-based international news channel Al Jazeera released a
documentary accusing the collaboration of the prime minister and the army chief of staff of
Bangladesh in political gain. It became a buzzword on the social media of the country, but the
mainstream media seemed to remain silent regarding the documentary. The reason behind this
silence was simple, as Dhaka Tribune put it: “the current state of media and defamation law in
Bangladesh, and how it is interpreted by the judiciary, makes it unwise for any Bangladeshi
media house to venture into any kind of meaningful comment on the controversy” (“ED: Why
the Silence?,” 2021).

Moreover, the government labeling the report as ‘yellow journalism’, made the whole
situation more critical for the local press to say anything on this. It was all about getting
harassed legally, thanks to the existing media laws in the country, that made the local press say
nothing much but just some smartly crafted pieces of news or op-eds. The most feared act on
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 11

this matter that made it possible for the local press to remain silent was the DSA. With all the
existing cases of journalists being imprisoned under this law, no one thought it would be wise
to make things worse by reporting on this circumstance (The Daily Star, 2021).

The verdict
Bangladesh is 151th in the 2020 World Press Freedom Index, which clearly shows how
disappointing the freedom of the press is here in the country (Bangladesh, n.d.). There are
several reasons behind this situation, but it’s the press laws that curb the freedom of the press
for the most part. Nonetheless, is it all because of the press acts, or are there some other causes
at play? We will discuss it in the next part.

Lack of operational definitions

A dictionary definition of something is based on synonyms, while the operational
definition clears the actual meaning of any concept. The lack of clarity in definitions of the
terms and concepts of our press laws is one serious loophole that favors the authority to use the
laws even in places they don’t suppose to be used. It starts with the constitution, as the
‘reasonable restrictions’ of section 39 do not have clear definitions (The Daily Star, 2016).

Lack of these operational definitions gives the opportunity to the authority to be not
accountable to anybody to a great extent. To give an example, who defines the term ‘religious
sentiment’? It can be relative from person to person. The RTI act doesn’t do any good to the
applier in some cases because some definitions in the act give the authority the power of not
providing the information (হাডলম, 2014). That’s why these acts need to be revisited, edited,

repealed if necessary (Ahmed, 2013).

Misuse or intentional use of the laws

Misuse of these laws is a common scenario in the country. Sometimes to oppress the
political opposition, the authority intentionally uses the media laws to harass the rival. As
Ahmed (2009) argues, not only politically vulnerable but also the successive governments use
colonial laws and regulations to control the press. They make new laws that are in favor of
them. The media play a watchdog role that makes the government accountable to the citizen.
That can be threatening to the existence of a government in a developing country where
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 12

democracy is not practiced at its best. To keep the media silent, it is often seen that the press
laws play an important role in this regard.

Political polarization
As Bangladesh is not a country of remarkable democratic status, the political
institutions of the country are fragile (Ahmed, 2009, p. 54). Some media organizations are
connected to political agendas and thus are biased. The state-owned television channel is the
perfect example of this kind of nature of media in the country. Ahmed (2009) finds that the
professionalism of the local media is threatened by political instrumentalization.

Political analyst Zia Hassan claims that there are three types of media in Bangladesh.
The serious types of professional journalists who seem to be real threats to the government and
are often restricted and tortured by the government under the press laws. The second types are
those who are apparently against the government but eventually, they work for the government.
The third type is those who are kind of independent and try to maintain objective journalism.
They are the showpiece of the country’s media situation that displays a symbol of functioning
democracy (Mahmud, 2021).

The journalists themselves are divided into two major political groups. Political
polarization is too much obvious in the country’s media scenario. That’s why media that favor
the government get the free pass every time while the pro-opposition media houses are often
taken out under the press laws.

Lack of media-literacy
It’s not that the media laws don’t curb press freedom, but sometimes we get to see how
unprofessional some media houses become in their job. It’s because not all of the journalists
of the country are well-trained; they tend to make mistakes that end up getting legal actions
under the laws. Misleading information, fake news are often seen in the country’s media, which
are published and taken down later on without any explanation or apologies.

While speaking to a newspaper, former Dhaka University Vice-Chancellor and

Professor of Mass Communication and Journalism AAMS Arefin Siddique once commented
that the role of media must be more responsible as and based on truth and facts. He opined that
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 13

very often, the media of Bangladesh publish news based on fake and fabricated information
(Kamruzzaman, 2020).

It’s true that currently, there is a huge number of media in Bangladesh. But, the problem
is, are all those media ready to be effective professionals? When unprofessional and untrained
journalists do the job, it’s likely they get to fall into the trap of media laws.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, PRESS, AND MEDIA LAWS 14

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https://www.amnesty.org.uk/free-speech-freedom-expression-human-right

‘ডিডিটাল দু ডিয়ায় বাস করতে ডিডিটাল ডিরাপত্তা আইি লাগতবই.’ (2021, April 11). Bangla Tribune.

https://www.banglatribune.com/675557/%E2%80%98%E0%A6%A1%E0%A6%BF

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হাডলম স. (2014, September 27). িিগতের ক্ষমোয়তি েথ্য অডিকার আইি. মোমে.

https://opinion.bdnews24.com/bangla/archives/20975

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