The National Telecommunications Monitoring Center (NTMC) was established on July 31, 2013. Its purpose was to control cybercrime in the country, provide telecommunications-related guidance for national security, and monitor and assist other government intelligence agencies. However, the agency has primarily been used for eavesdropping on citizens' phone calls and communications on various internet apps on behalf of the government, as well as for controlling internet systems and operators. Its activities have also been regulated under a specific intelligence agency. In light of recent events in the country, there have been calls to bring the agency under civilian authority with a new regulatory framework.

During a recent anti-discrimination student movement, mobile internet services were disrupted from the night of July 17, and broadband internet services were cut off around 9 pm on July 18. All types of internet were unavailable for five consecutive days, and mobile internet was down for ten days. Services like Facebook and WhatsApp were inaccessible for 13 days. Before July 17, instructions to shut down the internet generally came from the Bangladesh Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC). However, according to mobile operator sources, from July 17 onwards, the directives to suspend internet services primarily came from the NTMC, an agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

It has been learned from conversations with relevant officials at mobile operator companies that on the night of July 17, around 11.30 pm, the NTMC informed the mobile operators that Facebook and YouTube were beyond the reach of the NTMC's content blocking and filtering devices. As a result, the two apps had to be shut down from midnight. Two hours later, the NTMC issued a directive to shut down all mobile internet services. Subsequently, mobile internet services in the country were restored according to NTMC's directives.

When asked about this, interim government advisor for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, Nahid Islam, told Bonik Barta, "In our investigation into the internet shutdown, we found that the NTMC was involved in the nationwide suspension of internet services for over ten days. This agency directed the shutdown across the country. We also discovered that the directives of the former Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, and the involvement of the BTRC were linked to this issue. The NTMC is an agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs and is not under the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology. The preliminary investigation has been conducted, and necessary actions will be taken based on the findings."

According to sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs, the NTMC operates under a government special intelligence agency. The NTMC has the capability to eavesdrop on mobile phone voice calls and SMS, landline voice calls, and social media platforms. It can monitor social media applications such as Facebook, Twitter (now X), Telegram, Viber, IMO, Skype, and others. The agency also has full eavesdropping capabilities on online communication mediums, including websites, blogs, and emails.

The NTMC uses surveillance equipment such as vehicle-mounted data and mobile interceptors. The agency also purchased Pegasus spyware from the Israeli cyber intelligence company NSO Group. This software allows mobile phones to be hacked. Once the app is installed on a phone, the surveillance agency can access messages, photos, or emails from the device. Additionally, it can record conversations and secretly activate the phone's microphone and camera. Recently, NSO Group has faced allegations that their Pegasus software was sold to autocratic governments around the world and that these regimes misused it.

In 2018, the Awami League-led government approved a purchase order worth 23.6 billion Taka for increasing surveillance on mobile phones, the internet, and social media. The approval was granted to acquire new surveillance equipment due to the obsolescence of the equipment used by the NTMC. Subsequently, in 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Government Purchase approved a budget of 6.556 billion Taka for the purchase of vehicle-mounted mobile interceptors.

Another eavesdropping device used by the NTMC is the Spearhead system. In 2022, Bangladesh purchased this system from Switzerland. The Spearhead, weighing almost 1,000 kilograms, was sold to the NTMC by the Swiss company Passitora. In the same year, the government dismissed seven police officers as a result of surveillance conducted using this system. Additionally, the NTMC uses two other surveillance devices: the Web Intelligence System and the Cellular Tracking System.

The NTMC used these hardware and software systems to monitor citizens' activities, which is a severe violation of privacy. They even observed the types of communications people were having through mobile phones and the internet. With the equipment stored at the NTMC, it was possible to record all incoming and outgoing phone calls for a specific phone number. This allowed for the monitoring of mobile phone activities as well.

Recently, two police officers sold critical citizens' information from the government's 'susceptible server' to criminal networks on an online platform. They accessed the NTMC's server and sold sensitive data to a Telegram channel-based gang. According to NTMC sources, critical citizens' information is also stored with the NTMC. During the recently ousted Awami League government, this information was used for political purposes.

According to some confidential reports leaked from the Prime Minister's Office after Sheikh Hasina's ouster, former Minister of State for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Minister of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anisul Huq, Chief Secretary of the Prime Minister's Office Tofazzel Hossain Miah, former Bangladesh Bank Governor Abdur Rouf Talukder, Law and Justice Department Secretary Md. Golam Sarwar, DIG Harun-or-Rashid, BELA Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, Chhatra League President Saddam Hossain, Dhaka University Madhur Canteen shopkeeper Arun, anti-discrimination student movement leaders, media workers, and other political party leaders daily call monitoring reports were submitted to the Prime Minister.

When asked, cybersecurity expert Suman Ahmed Sabir told Bonik Barta, "In any civilized country, eavesdropping on phone calls is considered an intrusion into personal freedom and a violation of privacy. However, in Bangladesh, this human right has been violated through legal means. Eavesdropping has been legitimized through the Information and Communication Technology Act of 2006, the Digital Security Act of 2018, and the Cyber Security Act of 2023."

He said, "Eavesdropping on the internet exists in some undemocratic countries. The NTMC does this with legal validity. However, violations of personal freedom and privacy are a direct breach of the UN Human Rights Charter. I am personally against it. If eavesdropping on the internet is related to national security, that is a separate issue. But here, eavesdropping is being used more for average political purposes rather than national security. In advanced countries, eavesdropping is done only with court documents and approvals if there are allegations against someone. We cannot randomly conduct eavesdropping. However, here, it is the exception. Although there is an opportunity for eavesdropping, it should have been done legally and within the bounds of the law. Instead, illegal eavesdropping has been given legal validity."

The NTMC is an agency under the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs. It was established in 2008 as a small-scale operation under a government initiative and private funding, initially named the "National Monitoring Center" (NMC). On January 31, 2013, its name was changed to the "National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC)." After becoming an independent entity, the Ministry of Public Administration created positions for the agency in 2014, and 44 personnel were recruited from various law enforcement agencies in Bangladesh. That year, Brigadier General Ibn Fazlul Shayekhuzzaman took on the role of the first Director of the NTMC. On March 6, 2017, Brigadier General Ziaul Ahsan assumed the role of Director of the NTMC. Following the recent ousting of the current government, Ziaul Ahsan was relieved from his position on August 6 and was arrested the next day at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. On August 6, Major General A S M Ridwanur Rahman was appointed as the Director General of the NTMC.

When asked, Badiul Alam Majumdar, the Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (SUJON), told Bonik Barta, "Until now, the NTMC has been used as a tool of the authoritarian government. It was used to carry out activities like criminal operations. Major General Ziaul Ahsan, who recently retired from the army, was in charge of it. As far as I know, some people are still being monitored using this system. I saw a document showing that daily reports of eavesdropping on the former Prime Minister were submitted. This is a blatant violation of human rights. The time has come to put an end to this tool of human rights violations."

He said, "First, it is necessary to examine whether the NTMC has any functions other than eavesdropping. If it does, then it should be brought under civilian authority. In this case, it should be investigated whether the NTMC is used for any state purposes other than eavesdropping. If it is used for state purposes, it must definitely be brought under civilian authority. It should not be kept under any intelligence agency."