Contents of Internet to be under scanner
Authorities have begun preliminary work on monitoring the content of
blogs and social networking sites to track down and bring to task the
perpetrators of cyber crimes under the 2001 Bangladesh
Telecommuni-cations Act.(The Independent)
Giashuddin Ahmed, the vice-chairman of the Bangladesh
Telecommuni-cations Regulatory Commission (BTRC), confirmed the new
forward momentum on developing monitoring policies after Thursday's
maiden meeting of a 14-person panel to thwart cyber threats. The
panel, named the Bangladesh Computer Security Incidents Response Team,
was formed by the BTRC in response to an abortive military coup aimed
at overthrowing Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government in December.
The team will not only monitor contents of blogs and social media
networks for potential threats, it will also oversee research on
improving internet security systems and will advise law enforcement
agencies in tracking potential offenders.
Under the Telecommunications Act, sending or publishing obscene
messages, or harassment via phone or internet, telephone hacking,
issuance of threat, publication of content that goes against the
social values or incites hatred or attacks national unity and
solidarity, are all among punishable cyber crimes.
Offenders, if proved guilty, will face a maximum punishment of five
years' imprisonment and a maximum fine of Tk 300 crore.
More than a decade after the Telecommunications Act was ratified none
of Bangladesh's estimated six million internet users has been punished
under it.
"We're trying to bring discipline to the sector, and that'll take
time," explained Ahmed. As of now, the team has yet to decide whether
monitoring should be carried out on a random basis or through a
systematic dredging of web content.
At Thursday's meeting the panel, comprising of senior officials of the
BTRC, representatives from internet service providers, mobile phone
and cable operators, and others, was instructed to develop a concrete
methodological proposal by Feb. 12.
The Bangladesh Internet Service Providers Association welcomed the
government's regulatory move, pointing out that the country has 85.45
million mobile phone users in addition to its estimated six million
internet subscribers, making it one of the fastest growing internet
using countries in the world.
Internet users are less enthusiastic, expressing concerns that
innocent people may well be victimised by the policies and that
government measures are too easily abused as a mechanism for
infringing individual rights to privacy.
Neaz Rahman, an urban planner and project manager for the UN in Dhaka,
however fears that the panel will become a tool for monitoring
anti-government, rather than anti-state or actually criminal,
activity.
A Dhaka resident, Mustafiz Alam, questioned the formation of the
panel, without any representation for lay internet users, who would be
more likely to raise questions about their own rights to privacy and
free expression.
------------------------------------
[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.comYahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/alochona/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
alochona-digest@yahoogroups.com
alochona-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
alochona-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/