Freedom of expression, Digital Security Act is known as a black law for media in Bangladesh. Media workers in particular are the worst victims of this law. Through this law, the fascist government wanted to control everything in the mass media. However, there is a lot of criticism and protest about this black law. According to Article 19, the Act violates human rights and threatens freedom of speech in Bangladesh. According to Amnesty International, the law places "dangerous restrictions on freedom of expression". It believes the law will be used against dissidents, just as the Information and Communications Technology Act was used to detain hundreds of people.
The United States has criticized the law as something that could be used to suppress free speech. Syed Mahmud Hossain, the 22nd former Chief Justice of Bangladesh, is a strong supporter of this law. In a judgment delivered on March 6, 2021, former Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hussain warned an accused of violating the law that bail would not be considered for those who tarnished the image of Bangladesh. At what stage can the rule of law be like this?
We know that not only newspapers but also mass media have expanded. Information technology has brought about a revolution in the world. It has its downsides but its upsides are more. Various social media, including Facebook, have ushered in a new era in the world. Social media or electronic media is widely popular and used. With social media now we can get any news instantly from any part of the world. This must be good news; but when someone circulates a video clip of raping a young woman on social media, it must be marked as a cognizable offense. The former government has argued that they have recently enacted the Digital Security Act to curb this crime.
This government's digital security law will be a blatant attempt to take away the basic and democratic rights of people. The infamous Section 57 of its predecessor, the Information Technology Act, created a stir in society. Especially the journalist community was strongly protesting it. It was repeatedly said by the government that this law would not apply to journalists, but there was no such mention in the law. As a result, dozens of journalists were harassed by this law. His abuses continued to run rampant. Then the government ministers also admitted that this law was being misused.
"Information technology has brought about a revolution in the world. It has its downsides but its upsides are more. Various social media, including Facebook, have ushered in a new era in the world. Social media or electronic media is widely popular and used. With social media now we can get any news instantly from any part of the world. This must be good news; but when someone circulates a video clip of raping a young woman on social media, it must be marked as a cognizable offense.
The former government has argued that they have recently enacted the Digital Security Act to curb this crime"
Section 57 will be amended. It has been seen that in 85% of the cases, section 57 has been misused. Then it was said by the government that Article 57 would be abolished. Now there is no Section 57, but the Digital Security Act has divided the penalties under Section 57 into four sections. Journalists say that this will make it very difficult to do journalism. Many television channels also air programs that are captured on secret video.
They are serious crimes, but these criminal investigative reports do not seem to be able to be done after the passage of this law. The newspapers and social media have turned a blind eye. During the previous government, people almost forgot to distinguish between mainstream media and rumors because this black law appeared as a big obstacle in journalism.
After the 5th August, there was a revolution in the country. The people of the country have started weaving the light of hope. Especially the media and those associated with it hope that the black chapters of the Digital Security Act or Cyber Security Act will be abolished soon. The demand for reforms in various sectors of the country is getting stronger.
Also, people hope that since no political party is in power during the current interim government, the various activities of the government here will be more acceptable to everyone.
Finally, I would like to say that the long-standing demand of the media or journalists is to repeal the Digital Security or Cyber Security Act.
It will take time to repeal it completely, but at least if its controversial clauses are repealed, people will be spared from the erosion of freedom of expression to some extent. If it is not given importance during the tenure of the present government, then it seems that it will never see the light of day again. Hope the government will understand the mind of the people because the current legal adviser of the interim government is also a victim of this law.
The writer is a communication professional
