somewhere in... blog
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ফোনেটিক ইউনিজয় বিজয়

Transparency Report : 2014

about somewhere in... blog

somewhere in...blog is the world's first and largest bangla blog community launched on the 15th december 2005. somewhere in... blog exist to enable freedom of expression and healthy debates online, in the bangla language. we invented the bangla phonetic keyboard for web and with our developer hasin haider we had it released as free source code so that other websites could also enable their users to write bangla online. somewhere in... blog is the leading pioneer in the work for the bangla language and freedom of expression on the internet in national and international forums and conferences. we actively lobby against any kind of legislation to limit or criminalize opinions, while we also do our best to bring awareness about responsible blogging and online etiquette.

about rules and moderation

somewhere in...blog is an open platform, an intermediary, where every blogger him/herself is fully responsible for what they publish under their account on somewhere in... blog. the authority of somewhere in... blog respects the difference in opinions in the population, and we work to maintain debates that uphold the spirit of the independence of bangladesh, its cultural and social values, and keep watch against hate speech. together with our bloggers, we have developed a set of rules which we use to avoid abuse of the freedom of expression and limit possible negative effects of postings done by any blogger. we may moderate content and/or restrict access to post content from any account if we are made aware that it violates our rules, and we inform the concerned blogger about such actions as far as possible.

about requests to remove content

while logged in, bloggers may report content or behaviour believed to be in violation of our rules through abuse reports. any person may report by sending an email to [email protected]. governments and organisations may request us to remove content for different reasons, be it allegations about anti-state, anti-religion, hate speech, illegal content, copyrighted content, defamation or other reasons.

transparency report on removal requests

somewhere in...blog released its first transparency report 29th march 2013. this was the first ever transparency report in asia, and before giants like facebook, apple and yahoo released their first transparency reports later in 2013. the laws governing internet are ambiguous and still weak in bangladesh, but in the choice of opening up for freedom of expression or tightening in with stricter laws, bangladesh unfortunately seems to choose the latter path. we continue to publish the requests we get from government agencies and organisations, and our response, to allow a public debate on the appropriate scope and authority of removal requests. in this second version of our transparency report, inspired by google's transparency report, we have shown all official requests received from government agencies and organisations, as far as we could find documentation.

date

requested by

request

reason

our response

may 09

amarblog.com

remove 3 comments

defamation

0 comments deleted

aug 10

e-bangladesh.org

remove 1 image

copyright

1 image deleted

jan 11

marions-kochbuch.de

remove 1 image

copyright

1 image deleted

aug 11

marions-kochbuch.de

remove 1 image

copyright

1 image deleted

apr 11

albd.org

delete 10 posts

defamation

8 posts deleted, 2 posts kept

may 11

albd.org

delete 18 posts

defamation

3 posts deleted, 15 post kept

jul 11

amarblog.com

delete 1 post

defamation

1 post deleted

jul 11

amarblog.com

block 1 account

defamation

0 accounts blocked

jul 11

albd.org

delete 1 post

defamation

0 posts deleted

oct 12

world-guides.com

delete 2 images

copyright

2 images deleted

jan 12

world-guides.com

delete 4 images

copyright

4 images deleted

jan 13

albd.org

delete 1 post

defamation

0 posts deleted

mar 13

btrc.gov.bd

permanently remove content and accounts o f 4 bloggers

anti-religious or anti-state content

< /td>

2 account was blocked earlier
2 remaining accounts deleted.
0 content or archive provided.   

mar 13

btrc.gov.bd

permanently remove content and accounts of 4 bloggers

anti-religious or anti-state content

2 account was blocked earlier .
2 remaining accounts deleted.
0 content or archive provided.

sept 13

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

nov 13

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

nov 13

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

dec 13

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

dec 13

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

dec 13

btrc.gov.bd

indirectly instructed ISPs to block one post on behalf of DGFI

anti-state content

banglalion (a large wimax ISP) +maxnet (IIG) blocked the whole domain www.somewhereinblog.net

jan 14

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

jan 14

btrc.gov.bd

delete 2 posts

anti-state content

2 post deleted

jan 14

GSO1 DGFI

delete 1 post

anti-state content

1 post deleted

the effect of publishing a transparency report

the effect of publishing a transparency report after publishing the first transparency report of somewhere in... blog on the 29th march 2013, there has been no new written request from politically affiliated parties or organisations to remove content. there has also been a significant decrease in threats and intimidation over phone to the blog authorities. the requests received from intelligence agencies (DGFI) and regulators (BTRC) were always conveyed politely and are now also always supported by written requests. the transparency report has earned somewhere in... blog more respect nationally and internationally, and helped align us more with the best international practices.

standards followed by somewhere in... blog

we require a warrant for providing content or data (till today: 0 warrants, 0 content provided) we require a verified written request from government agencies before deleting content classified as blasphemy, anti-state or otherwise deemed illegal by the local law.
we publish an annual transparency report since 2013, now in 2nd year.
we are actively lobbying for freedom of expression and user´s privacy, and against criminalisation of bloggers, with relevant ministries, agencies and legal organisations.
we are actively reporting, informing and fighting against harassment of bloggers through a strong network of national and international organisations, ministries and agencies.

the universal declaration of human rights, article 19, by the united nations

"everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."

you can help protect the freedom of expression in bangladesh

the green line in the graph below represents the global ranking of bangladesh on the press freedom index from 2005 to 2014, using data as found from the website of reporters without borders. the highest ranking of bangladesh since 2005 was #121 of 175 countries in the 2009 index. today, in 2014, we are at #146 of 180 countries. the rank of 2014 for some other selected countries are also shown in the chart. due to the recent trend of censorship and physical assault of bloggers, bangladesh continued to fall on the index, two places down since 2013. the recent amendment of the ICT act and new policies in the making on broadcasting are making the future outlook gloomy. if we jointly can bring about a better understanding and awareness of blogging amongst the policy makers, we can help protect democracy and the positive image of bangladesh globally.

what reporters without borders wrote on bangladesh in its 2014 report

"It was a grim year for freedom of information in Bangladesh as well. Independent bloggers, especially those covering the trials of former political leaders accused of war crimes during the 1971 independence war, have been the targets of constant physical attacks since February. One, Ahmed Rajib Haider, was hacked to death. Another, Asif Mohiuddin, was stabbed by Islamist activists who accused him of blasphemy and insulting the Prophet. Journalists were targeted by both police and rioting protesters during a series of demonstrations from May to October to demand a blasphemy law. The February 2012 murders of journalists Sagar Sarowar and Meherun Runi are still unpunished."

useful links to explore to learn more about blogger's rights and limitat ions

there are a lot of useful resources on the internet regarding protection of bloggers and journalists, and the freedom of expression. we have provided som e to help you better know your rights and limitations as a blogger.

reporters without borders
home page
on bangladesh
press freedom index
hotline for journalists in danger: call +33147777414

electronic frontier foundation
home page
bloggers´ rights
legal guide for bloggers

committee to project journalists
home page

privacy international
home page
on bangladesh

article19
http://www.article19.org
freedom of expression
on limitations
on bangladesh

ifex - international freedom of expression
home page
on bangladesh

internet society
home page

the centre for internet & society
home page

voice bangladesh
home page

internet democracy project
home page

google transparency report
home page
legal