It is disheartening to see that, as journalists, we are losing both our inquisitiveness and our capacity for critical thinking. Instead, our work is increasingly tilting towards relaying and amplifying pre-processed information—much like the growing fascination with processed foods. Laziness may be partly responsible for this habit. Cooking requires thought, preparation, and labour; processed food, by contrast, sits on shelves or in freezers waiting to be consumed with minimal effort. Lazy journalism is just as convenient: communication experts package information that advances their employers' political or commercial interests and deliver it to journalists—often to familiar faces—through digital communication or courtesy visits.
Professional training and ethics require journalists to examine such processed content critically, rigorously analyse it, ask pertinent questions, verify both current and historical facts, and then reprocess the information for publication or broadcast. In doing so, misinformation, untruths, and unsubstantiated claims should be filtered out, and necessary context added. Unfortunately, the current trend in the media industry appears to abandon these basic principles of a profession fundamentally rooted in public service.
The reporting on the government's new mandatory registration of mobile handsets and the protests by sellers illustrate our waning curiosity and failure to ask critical, public-interest questions.
Bangladesh's telecom regulator, BTRC, is set to launch the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) on December 16, under which every mobile phone must have its International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) registered. One would naturally ask why the authorities are making this registration mandatory 32 years after mobile phones first appeared in the country.
According to reports, BTRC Commissioner Mahmud Hossain told a Dhaka seminar that the registration drive is intended "to restore market discipline and enhance security." Citing a flood of cloned handsets, BTRC's director general, Brig Gen Md Aminul Hoque, claimed that around 50 lakh devices are active under only five valid IMEI numbers. How 50 lakh fake mobiles can enter a market evading customs and other law-enforcing agencies is quite mind-boggling.
The idea of mandatory IMEI registration was originally floated during the previous autocratic regime of Sheikh Hasina in 2020. The justification was the same even then: curbing cloned, or fake devices, allegedly used in crimes. Authorities also claimed that unscrupulous traders smuggle refurbished or low-quality phones, and even top-tier brands, by evading taxes. But facing some resistance, that initiative was then frozen.
It is evident that NEIR is being imposed on consumers for two reasons: (i) to mask the failures of agencies responsible for combating phone cloning and device-related crimes, and (ii) to curb tax evasion and boost government revenue.
Both arise from governance failures, yet consumers are the ones expected to endure the inconvenience of registering their phones.
Registering a phone's IMEI—a unique 15-digit identifier—against a National Identity (NID) Card is nearly impossible for many low-income earners and for people with limited numeracy. They will need assistance, which will cost money.
Undoubtedly, tech-literate users do understand the value of knowing their phone's IMEI, especially for reporting losses. But police rarely recover stolen phones. In my own experience, they do not even follow up with investigation updates. This is not unique to Bangladesh; globally, recovering stolen phones is uncommon because the cost of policing often outweighs the value of the device—unless the victim is a prominent figure.
Officials claim that NEIR is a global practice. A simple check of open-source information would show otherwise. In most of Europe, NEIR is not mandatory, just as SIM registration is not required. One can buy a phone at duty-free upon arrival at Heathrow or Vienna airport, and upon exiting immigration, can pick up a SIM with a data or voice package from any convenience store—no questions asked, no ID required. If the government insists on enforcing NEIR, existing mobile subscribers will again face identity verification, similar to when purchasing SIM cards.
We all know the government's poor record in safeguarding citizens' personal data. In 2015, BTRC compelled biometric SIM registration, claiming it would prevent SIM cloning and related crimes. Not only did the scheme fail, but it also exposed users' personal information through repeated data breaches. Misuse of subscriber data became so rampant that BTRC had to issue a directive to mobile operators to ensure data protection. Breaches were not limited to telecom operators; the NID database was also compromised.
It can also be argued that the NEIR is an expansion of the government's surveillance capabilities—a power that has long been a cause of concern for its abuse, violating fundamental privacy rights, particularly against dissenting voices. Investigations into abusive and criminal behaviours by members of security agencies during the previous regime have shown that surveilling mobile phones was a common practice to crack down on opposition activists.
Now, as the government attempts to impose yet another unnecessary scheme to conceal the incompetence of enforcement agencies—BTRC, police, customs—citizens are once again expected to bear the burden. Is this not déjà vu?
A final curiosity: why would a group of journalists, under the banner of the Telecom and Technology Reporters' Network Bangladesh (TRNB), organise a seminar on NEIR without questioning its risks or relevance? Why provide a platform for BTRC officials and industry representatives to promote NEIR rather than subject their claims to scrutiny?
Kamal Ahmed is consulting editor at The Daily Star. He led the Media Reform Commission under the interim government. His X handle is @ahmedka1.
Views expressed in this article are the author's own.
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