Govt urged to protect people in digital security act
Speakers at a roundtable urged the government to pay more attention to the protection of mass people and journalists before finalizing the draft digital security act.
Pen International Bangladesh organized the roundtable on 'Proposed Digital Security Law: Further Thoughts' at the National Press Club on Saturday, reports UNB.
The Daily Star editor Mahfuz Anam said the rumour spreads in absence of reliable information and it can be curbed with the spread of free media.
"The draft digital act will work as a bureaucratic process which does not promote the freedom of expression. It is urgent to establish a law to stop the reckless use of social media and online media but this draft will not serve that purpose. That's why we need to bring fine balance which will ensure the safety of the social media's freedom of expression and press freedom," he said.
The Daily Star editor was also critical about a section of the law that acts as censorship to the freedom of expression and harassment of the innocent people permitting search, seizure and arrest without a warrant.
Chief advisor to Pen International's Bangladesh chapter poet Mohammad Nurul Huda said that creative writers may face the challenges in many ways as there is a conflict of reality with the creative imagination. That's why the authors need to be protected.
"The government has also the responsibility to protect the freedom of expression. For the prosperity of society, there is a need to develop talent, thoughts through discussion and criticism," Chief Executive Officer of Brotee Sharmeen Murshid said.
Jatiya Press Club President Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman said society fails to advance when it decreases the freedom of press.
Executive president of Pen Bangladesh Kazi Rozi MP, daily Ittefaq editor Tasima Hossain, President of Pen International Bangladesh Masud Ahmed, a former president of Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ) Monjurul Ahsan Bulbul and Secretary-General of Pen International Bangladesh Dr Syeda Irene Zaman also spoke at the function.
