Govt plans to introduce lawful interception system to monitor social media: HM

The government has taken initiative to introduce an “Integrated Lawful Interception System (ILIS)” in a bid to monitor social media platforms and thwart various anti-state and anti-government activities, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said on Thursday.

The home minister divulged the matter in parliament while replying to a tabled question from ruling Awami League MP from Dhaka-10 Md Shafiul Islam.

Shafiul wanted to know whether the government will increase vigilance to thwart local and foreign conspiracy inside the country. 

In reply, the home minister said that law enforcement and intelligence agencies are working relentlessly to thwart any kinds of conspiracy against the country. 

“Besides, modern technology like Open Source Intelligence Technology (OSINT) has been included in the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC) to prevent different anti-state and anti-government activities through monitoring social media platforms on the Internet,” he said.

Asaduzzaman also said that efforts were also made to introduce ILIS in this regard.

Explaining the logic behind placing the activities of National Identity Card (NID) under his ministry, Khan said that the Election Commission (EC) has no involvement with the usage of NID except for voting purposes.

In reply to a query from Gonoforum MP Mokabbir Khan the minister said that the national identity registration process is done under the executive department in almost all the countries of the world. 

“In view of the reality, it should be under the executive department in Bangladesh like other countries,” he said.

For this reason, he said that the process of bringing it (issuance of NID cards) under the security service department of the Ministry of Home Affairs is ongoing.