Bangladesh Posts World's Biggest Internet Freedom Gain for a Second Straight Year, but Media Concerns Remain: Freedom House
Bangladesh has recorded the world's biggest improvement in online civil freedom for the second consecutive year — yet concerns over media freedom persist. The findings come from 'Freedom on the Net 2026', a report by the Washington-based research organisation Freedom House.
The report was published on Freedom House's website on Thursday. It is based on conditions over the 12 months from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.
According to the report, Bangladesh scored 50 out of 100 for online civil freedom this year, up from 40 and 45 in the previous two years. Despite two straight years of progress, Bangladeshis remain only 'partly free' in their use of the internet.
The report reviewed internet freedom in 38 countries. Of Bangladesh's five-point gain, four points came from expanded access to the internet, while the remaining one point came from reduced restrictions on online content.
Globally, internet freedom declined for the 16th consecutive year, the report noted. But for the first time since 2016, Bangladesh went a full year without an internet 'shutdown' — a complete suspension of internet services.
Freedom House credited the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government in the July mass uprising, and the reform initiatives taken afterwards, for Bangladesh's progress on internet freedom.
The report assessed the experience of about 71 percent of the world's internet users. Of them, 30.8 percent live in 'not free' environments and 31 percent in 'partly free' ones, while only 9.1 percent enjoy a free internet environment.
Estonia topped the list with a score of 91. China, Iran and Myanmar sat at the very bottom with 9 points each. Russia scored 16, Pakistan 27 and India 50.
Under the report's scale, a score of 70 to 100 counts as 'free', 40 to 69 as 'partly free', and 0 to 39 as 'not free'. Bangladesh's 50 places it in the middle of the 'partly free' band.
Freedom House said that under former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government, internet connections were frequently shut down during opposition rallies and movements. The internet was also shut down during the 2024 student-led movement, and such measures had narrowed the space for internet freedom in the country.
Yet even as internet freedom improved, Freedom House expressed concern over the situation of journalists. According to the report, from the fall of the Awami League government in the July uprising through May 2026, more than 280 Bangladeshi journalists faced cases on politically motivated charges — including journalists working for online news outlets.
Most of those cases were linked to coverage of the 2024 mass uprising, which was deemed excessively sympathetic to the Awami League.
The report also highlighted the December 2025 attacks on the offices of Prothom Alo and The Daily Star. It said the two most influential and independent newspapers in Bangladesh were branded pro-India on social media, after which a group of people attacked their offices and set the buildings on fire, endangering the journalists working there. Freedom House described the incident as alarming for media freedom and journalist safety.
The report also mentioned the restrictions imposed on the Awami League during the interim government, noting that in this respect the interim government at times used repressive tactics similar to those of the Awami League government itself.
The report noted the BNP's victory in the February 2026 national election. In Freedom House's assessment, Bangladesh showed how a mass movement can end long-standing digital repression and bring positive change. But sustaining this progress and building a durable democratic system remains a major challenge for the new government, the organisation cautioned.
