Dated: 19/04/2022
Dear Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
Dhaka
I seek your urgent concentration on the draft bill of the Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Authority (BRTC), an independent commission that was founded in 2002 under the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act of 2001 and is responsible for overseeing the telecommunications sector in Bangladesh. According to multiple newspapers including the Business Standard, the BTRC drafted ‘’the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Regulation for the Digital, Social Media and OTT Platforms, 2021’’ on February 3, 2022. The BRTC’s draft bill is now open for public opinion.
The draft BTRC act — which presents a new content governance framework for digital, social media and OTT platforms operating in Bangladesh — is controversial on several grounds including the absence of safe harbor and ambiguity in several terms and going to regulate the digital media (including online news portal), social media (such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp) and OTT (Over the Top) platforms in the country, affecting the freedom of expression and the right to privacy of the people of different groups, professions or classes. No doubt, it is important to make sure that the digital platform does not bring any harm to people in terms of their privacy and fame since everyone has the right to privacy and needs to be protected from any potential harm from the digital, social media and OTT platforms. For this reason, the stated act has some merits and may help protect from potential harm from the stated platforms.
But it is also vital to make sure that the stated draft act of the BTRC does not put a hindrance to the freedom of expression in Bangladesh. It is notable that the freedom of expression is clearly given by the Constitution of Bangladesh and various international human rights documents including, but not limited to, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Currently, freedom of speech is greatly and controversially regulated in the country by the government with other acts including the Digital Security Act 2018, which was enacted on 8 October 2018.
The privacy of people, along with their freedom of expression, will be further impacted — given that the draft act is implemented without taking relevant concerns into consideration. The concerned authorities, thus, need to consider reasonable causes for concern with the draft BTRC act including some ambiguous terms used including “insulting” content and the content that “breaches secrecy of the government” and secure the freedom of speech and right to privacy of the people of Bangladesh.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. D
City C
Country X
Email: d@y.com
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed are those of the LTE authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Magazine or its editorial team.
