Bangladesh's internet freedom has improved significantly, rising to a score of 45 out of 100 in the Freedom on the Net 2025 report by Freedom House.

This marks a five-point increase from the previous year, the biggest improvement among all 72 countries assessed.

The most significant improvement came in the category "Obstacles to Access", where regulatory changes under a new interim government helped curb internet shutdowns.

The July uprising played a central role in driving reforms, said Freedom House, a Washington DC-based non-profit working on issues of democracy, political freedom and human rights.

The report says Muhammad Emdad-Ul-Bari, who was appointed as chair of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in September last year, "pursued policy changes to prevent internet shutdowns and pledged to treat internet access as a human rights concern".

A major legal reform came in May, when the Cyber Security Act (CSA) was repealed and replaced by a Cyber Security Ordinance (CSO). The new ordinance "featured some positive provisions, including safeguards against harassment and sexual exploitation online".

But they also caution that "the CSO retained concerning rules related to content removal, criminal penalties for online speech and surveillance".

On political repression, the report points out retaliatory actions by the interim government: it says prosecutors obtained a court ruling in December last year that "prohibited the online dissemination of former Prime Minister Hasina's speeches".

Then in May, the government "banned all AL party activities under an antiterrorism law".

Freedom House also questioned the arbitrary arrests.

"Security forces arbitrarily arrested hundreds of people based on their real or perceived support for the AL, including online journalists. Others were detained in connection with their social media activities."

In the detailed scoring, under Violations of User Rights, the report notes that repealing the CSA improved that subcategory.

The score improved because of the repeal of the CSA, which prescribed severe penalties related to online speech.

However, the CSO "retained an overbroad 'cyber terrorism' provision that carried significant criminal penalties".

Despite the reforms, Freedom House still classifies Bangladesh as "Partly Free" in terms of internet freedom.

After taking office, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the Special Assistant to the chief adviser with executive authority over ministry of posts, telecommunications and Information Technology, introduced a new telecom ordinance, initiated fundamental reforms in the surveillance framework and oversaw the passage of the Personal Data Protection Ordinance and the National Data Management Ordinance, said the ICT Division in a statement.

These measures collectively contributed to the improvement in Bangladesh's internet freedom score.

A World Bank delegation has already described the Personal Data Protection Ordinance and the National Data Management Ordinance as "world-class", the statement added.