Referring to France’s regulatory bodies to check misinformation and disinformation, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Mohammad Ali Arafat has said though regulation can impede freedom of speech and media, it is necessary for protecting professional journalists.
“France has some regulators that submit reports to the government after finding out the disinformation. I agreed with the France ambassador that regulation can impede freedom of speech or media, but it is also important to protect the freedom of media,” the state minister told reporters after a meeting with French Ambassador to Bangladesh Marie Masdupuy at his Secretariat office on Sunday.
Noting that laws and regulations are needed for the protection of professional journalists, Arafat said it should be monitored whether laws are misused since there is no country out of the purview of regulation in the globe.
Referring to European Union (EU) laws to fight disinformation, he said all countries across the world have laws to prevent disinformation and they have compromised in this regard.
“I am trying to understand how the European, Western and our neighbouring countries are dealing with the phenomena and how to take necessary steps accordingly,” the state minister said.
Asked about the EU’s statement about the last general election that “Bangladesh elections were not acceptable,” Arafat said: “The EU did not make any such comment; rather they expressed keenness to work with Bangladesh. Today the French envoy also echoed the statement.”
He said the French ambassador informed him that France has confidence in Bangladesh’s people, and they want to work with Bangladesh in different sectors, including fighting disinformation.
As the state minister sought cooperation from the French ambassador on collaboration between Bangladesh’s state-owned BTV and France government-subsidized France24 TV, Marie Masdupuy expressed keenness to extend support in this regard.
Replying to a question about the Cable Operators Association of Bangladesh’s (COAB) strike on Monday to press home their demands, Arafat urged COAB leaders to refrain from calling such a protest program as the ministry is working to resolve the issues.
Asked about the jailing of the daily Desh Rupantor’s Nakla upazila correspondent Shafiuzzaman Rana by a mobile court, he said the Information Commission is investigating the incident to find the facts and steps will be taken accordingly.
Earlier, while talking to reporters, Ambassador Marie Masdupuy said that in the meeting with the state minister, she discussed many areas of cooperation, including checking disinformation, ensuring freedom of expression and enhancing the professionalism of journalists, between France and Bangladesh.
“We particularly discussed the necessary fight against disinformation as France is very concerned as well like Bangladesh and so many other countries by the influx of disinformation or information manipulation against our national interest,” she added.
Masdupuy added: “We shared our experiences and reviewed possibilities for cooperation in this area.”