Prime Minister’s Adviser on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Rehan Asif Asad today said that 60-70 percent of online social traffic is bot traffic, not genuine user activity.

He made the remark while speaking at a discussion titled “Cyber Security Legislation, Freedom of Expression, and Platform Governance in Bangladesh” at Lakeshore Hotel in Dhaka's Gulshan, jointly organised by Drik, Nagorik Coalition, and Unesco.

Addressing the country's cybersecurity landscape, Asad said Bangladesh has a long way to go in protecting public and private information.

He noted that in critical systems, administrators still use “admin” as usernames and “password123” as passwords, adding that such negligence is a crime in today’s world.

He added that the government has shifted from criminal prosecution to civil liability in personal data protection laws.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Emdad‑Ul‑Bari reported that last year the commission requested platforms to remove about 27,000 posts or links, of which 63 percent were taken down.

Suicide and child abuse content saw removal rates of 100 percent and 98 percent repsectively.

Despite the highest volume of requests concerning misinformation, disinformation, and fake news, these had a takedown rate of only 56 percent.

The BTRC chairman identified poor inter-agency coordination as a key obstacle to the country’s progress in digital security. He also warned that deepfake videos have eroded public trust, making people increasingly sceptical even of genuine content.

He added that non-regulation is not an option, as it carries the risk of increasing communal violence, fraud, and gender-based harassment.

The event, moderated by renowned photographer and Drik founder Shahidul Alam, also featured Dr Jan Barata, an international legal expert working with Unesco; Susan Vize, Unesco representative; Fahim Mashroor, co-coordinator Nagorik Coalition; and rights activist Nabila Idris.