The government of Bangladesh has released a statement that clears up the numbers about requests to Google to remove information. They strongly deny charges that they are trying to control or censor media and politically sensitive content.
On Saturday, the administration made it clear that no platform has been requested to take down reports from Bangladeshi publications or general social media information, except for certain types of damaging materials.
“The government didn’t ask any platform to take down news from Bangladeshi newspapers, social media posts, videos, reels, online articles, or politically critical content by domestic critics, except for false information, propaganda, and character assassination campaigns based on false information,” the official statement said.
Important clarifications about takedown requests
Requests to take down content are mostly for false information, propaganda, or content that hurts someone’s reputation. Law enforcement and the National Cyber Security Agency are said to send these to the BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission).
The administration strongly denied running any “bot network”, like the Awami League’s CRI or other groups, to change what people say on social media. It further said that no government body, including BTRC or NTMC, has the power to directly take down content. Instead, all demands must be sent to the social media and internet companies themselves.
A look at the number of requests
The government used an analysis of Google’s Transparency Report to show that there were a lot fewer requests than there were under the last administration.
Bangladesh sent in 279 requests from January to June 2025. A lot of requests were made during the Awami League Government’s time in office, from June to December 2022.
There were just 153 requests made between July and December 2024. The Awami League Government from June to December 2023: The last administration had the fewest requests in six months: 591.
The statement said that these numbers “clearly show that the current government is sending far fewer requests than the previous Awami League government.”
It also said that Google’s data shows that 65% of all requests fall into the “not enough information” category, which means that “these issues were not purposefully targeted.”
Why People Submit
The government said that between January and June 2025, it sent Google a number of notifications because there were “highly undesirable levels of misinformation campaigns” going on both inside and outside the country, even from “media in a neighbouring country”.
Other grounds given for requests include:
The Awami League has been spreading false material online, including demands for terrorist attacks, since the party was banned under the anti-terrorism act and prosecutions began at the International Crimes Tribunal.
Keeping people secure online, keeping politics stable, keeping communities peaceful, and keeping all kinds of people safe.
Requests to take down online gambling sites. The government said that because Google’s transparency report doesn’t have a separate section for misinformation and character assassination, these reports are commonly put in the “government criticism” section.
Freedom on the Internet is getting better
The government ended by saying how proud they were of the country’s reported growth in international rankings for freedom of speech and the internet.
The statement mentioned Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net 2025 report, which said that Bangladesh made the most progress in internet freedom as a single country this year. The country is said to have improved its score from 40 to 45, which is its greatest score in seven years.
The study said that this improvement was due to the resignation of the previous administration in August 2024 after a student-led protest and the interim government’s efforts to stop internet shutdowns and make good changes to cyber security.
