Transfer of personal data in Bangladesh
Bangladesh does not specifically regulate data transfers within Bangladesh or from Bangladesh to outside of Bangladesh. In our opinion, transfers would be permitted provided consent of the data subject is obtained.
While there are no general restrictions on transfer of data outside Bangladesh, please note that there are certain industry specific restrictions that are discussed below.
Banks
Section 12 of the Bank Companies Act, 1991 has imposed a restriction upon bank companies with regard to removal of documents and records outside Bangladesh without prior permission of Bangladesh Bank (i.e. the central bank of Bangladesh).
The requirement for obtaining prior written permission from Bangladesh Bank is upon the transferor, i.e. the bank company. Banks must also maintain confidentiality in banking transactions.
Telecommunication companies
The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission ("Commission") is the authority that is responsible for regulating telecommunications companies ("telcos") in Bangladesh and issuing licenses to telcos for providing mobile phone services.
The license which is granted to the telcos contains a provision regarding subscriber confidentiality. The confidentiality requirement applies to "all information provided by the subscriber". As such, telcos will be prohibited from sharing any subscriber information (to entities or persons located inside or outside Bangladesh) that does not come within the exemptions listed above. Furthermore, in our opinion, subscribers would not have the option of giving consent to the telcos to share their data, instead for such sharing, approval from the Commission will be required.
