Bangladesh Mobile Phone Users’ Association said in a statement on Tuesday, that the country’s social media is flooded with two video clips depicting intimacy between a senior government official and a woman. The videos went viral on Facebook.
Social media went into a frenzy when media reports identified the man in the video as Jamalpur DC Kabir and the woman as a staff member in his office.
The video, containing explicit sexual content involving the government bureaucrat, has become a subject of considerable gossip.
Mohiuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh Mobile Phone Users’ Association, said the government or regulatory authorities concerned have not taken any steps to stop the spread of the illicit video clip of the now-ex DC of Jamalpur.
The government, however, has blocked an estimated 22 thousand pornographic web-sites in the country.
The Telecom Regulator blocked more pornographic websites in the country, through the Internet Safety Solution program run by the Telecom Department, and by blocking the links from the internet gateway level.
Mohiuddin expressed his concern over the government’s indifference to the matter, although authorities concerned said that porn sites and other harmful websites will be blocked according to standard protocol , and the actions will continue from the government side.
He also said the Bangladesh government, in Section 8 of the Pornography Control Act, 2012, has restricted pornography, and has put in place severe penalties for any breach of the restriction . Under Section 8 (1), any act capturing video or still pictures of sexual intercourse or behavior exposing sexual sensation, with or without consent of parties, who are in sexual interaction, will be punishable with imprisonment of maximum for 8 years and fine of Tk2 lakhs.
Moreover, the Parliament has also passed the much-talked-about Digital Security Bill, 2018, which provides stiff penalties for a wide variety of cyber infractions.
Mohiuddin Ahmed questioned the government’s motive and asked why the ex-DC and a government staffer had not been brought to justice, in spite of the provisions for monetary penalties and punishments.
In the wake of more sex-video clips implicating the government official, Bangladesh Mobile Phone Users Association has reiterated its stern warning not to spread pornographic content.
Bangladesh has more than 90 million internet users, and the majority of these users access internet on their mobile phones, according to the BTRC.
