Prime Minister’s ICT adviser and son Sajeeb Wazed Joy has said that Digital Security Act 2018 will protect citizen’s data and privacy. Digital security act has been made not to suppress freedom of expression rather to protect citizens and stop spreading of lie or hate speeches in social media, said Joy in an article Published in Washington Times on July,1, 2019.
Joy said, Bangladesh is marching forward towards achieving the reality of ‘Digital Bangladesh’. In order to safeguard people from false digital publication and ensure their security in virtual world the government last year approved Digital Security Act 2018. Such act is a very common phenomenon in first world countries.
But unfortunately misinterpreting the doctrines of the act, many journalists and rights activists have expressed concerns over the new law fearing that the law will curb free journalism and pave the way for mass harassment. This is not true by any means. We have a large number of independent televisions and newspapers and they are fully free to express their agendas and criticise the government. Currently in Bangladesh we have at least nine national dailies, 300 local dailies and more than 200 online news portals. The government of Bangladesh gives its full support to all the media agencies to carry forth their duties. Also the government encourages all media to be mouthpiece of the people including minorities.
He further said, as the doctrines of digital media are changing with the passage of time, we have to bring necessary changes in Digital Security Act 2018. Freedom and democracy are the building blocks of a civilized nation and in order to safeguard freedom and democracy in this modern world, proper enactment of digital security law is inevitable.
According to Joy, there are debates among the journalists and lawyers over the efficacy of the digital security act which is helping the government’s ICT wing to give a new shape to this act. The debate and controversies over the act is giving birth to new suggestions from journalists and lawyers which might help the government to bring about necessary changes in the act.
This is worth noting that we never had any specific law against hacking and theft of data until this Act. Hence, it was not easy to prosecute hacking of data and defend cyber space. In Bangladesh, false news and propaganda have long been used as instruments for creating violence by the anti-liberation forces. We have seen how after August 15, 1975 the BNP and Jamaat distorted the history of our Independence and the true story of the Father of the Nation. BNP and Jamaat used these distortions to justify bringing back war criminals and making them ministers, along with giving the killers of Bangabandhu choice postings abroad. Also in recent times we have experienced conspiracies made by anti-liberation forces to hinder the country’s development and defame the government. We hope Digital Security Act 2018 will help the country prevent such practices in future.
Over the last several years, we not only have gained huge success in ICT sector but we have also experienced many instances of cyber crimes. We have seen misuse of social media littering with propaganda and unauthentic information. Everyday millions of users are becoming helpless victims of cybercrime, which is destroying their professional and personal life. It is however discomforting to note that identifying the actual source of wrongful activity has remained a challenge for us. Against this backdrop, we welcome the Digital Security Act 2018.
