Deputy Minister for education Barrister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel has urged the youths to understand the Digital Security Act (DSA) and its use to contribute to making cyberspace safer for all.
Speaking at a seminar on “With or Without Digital Security Laws in Bangladesh in the Digital Era” at the North South University, he said young law students tend to hold a view that the DSA is being misused by the government to suppress opinions in cyberspace.
“But in reality, most of the time, individuals are filing cases against other individuals. The government, the police or political parties are not filing cases,” he said.
The Department of Law of the University organised the seminar on Tuesday. Registrar of the Appellate Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court Mohammad Saifur Rahman presented the keynote paper while Chief Executive Editor of ATN News MunniSaha attended the programme as distinguished discussant.
Prof. Abdur Rob Khan, Dean of North South University’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and Barrister Arafat Hosen Khan, chairman of the department of law, also spoke at the seminar chaired by Vice-Chancellor Professor Atiqul Islam.
Barrister Nowfel said people who institutionally spread rumors, misinformation or project attacks against women and children online cannot be regulated without a strong legal instrument.
In the western world, defamation law is very strong and so such activities are well regulated. People doing such activities are usually sued. But in Bangladesh, defamation cases are usually lost in the court process without conviction, he said.
“Cyberspace is being misused to vent out inner toxicity and suppress women and minorities. This toxicity is spreading out to cause victim blaming, riots, crimes including rape and other social problems,” he said, urging young people to raise their voice and demand stronger cyberspace regulation. “Otherwise, they would be the future victims of such crimes.”
He also said that owners of big online platforms probably don't care about the social consequences of the activity on their platform. They don't comply with the police or regulators citing freedom of speech.
“They only respond to takedown requests only when there is a court order involved. He concluded his speech with the remark that political activists and western diplomats opposing the digital security act don’t realize how what they view as freedom of speech is being used to control, harass, victim blame and bully women online,” he said.
Chair of the law department Barrister Arafat commented that the internet has both benefits and risks.
“There are opinions both in favor and against the digital security act. It is the right time to start intellectual discourse and debate on security in the digital environment.”
Registrar Saifur Rahman said it is easier to do cyber attacks than to defend against them. “Cybercrime is increasing and physical crime is decreasing,” he said, highlighting the role of treaties or conventions in preventing cyber crimes. “In Bangladesh 2018 digital security act is the primary law on cyber crime.”
Journalist MunniSaha shared her personal experience as a “victim of cyberbullying”.
She commented that studies on cases filed under digital security act only report the number of cases but not the numbers of crimes committed.
According to her, digital crimes should be covered in a more digital manner rather than analogue ways. There should be digital policing to regulate the digital sphere.
Vice-chancellor Prof Atiqul Islam described how he was a victim of stolen credit card information in 2003, and the legal system failed to provide him remedy.
But in recent years, when he was a victim of online threats, the legal system was more robust in catching the perpetrators, he said.
