Rights activists on Saturday said the draft Digital, Social Media, and OTT Platform Regulation needs a major overhaul.
They were speaking at a webinar organized by Moulik Odhikar Surokkha Committee, a platform for human rights activists.
The government claims the draft of the regulation was tabled to keep the online platforms risk-free. However, after careful review, experts claim the regulation will violate people’s right to freedom of expression.
The rights activist called on the government to consult with all stakeholders before finalizing the regulation.
Supreme Court barrister Sara Hossain said the guideline will not only muzzle the voices of journalists and media professionals, but also citizen journalists, social and political commentators.
“If the law passes, our progress on human rights, sustainable development goals, and freedom of expression fronts might be reversed. This is why the government needs to sit with all the stakeholders including human rights defenders before finalizing it,” she said.
The draft needs some major revisions, she said, adding that the regulation also appears to violate the rights of people who are dissenting voices within a religion, as well as those belonging to religious minorities.
Nuran Chowdhury, faculty member at the Department of Law of Independent University, said the draft of Digital, Social Media, and OTT Platform Regulation fails to distinguish between companies of different sizes.
He also pointed out that clause 6.01(d) states that orders to remove illegal content can come from courts of competent jurisdiction. It also allows notification from the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and references orders from undefined "authorized agencies."
Furthermore, clause 10 reiterates the authority of other government ministries to issue written orders to the BTRC to "stop/block/remove" a broad set of categories of content.
Later, Clause 11 clarifies that these authorities are enhanced under certain emergency scenarios, including granting the BTRC authority to issue orders to block access to information without the opportunity of hearing, he said.
“These clauses show that lack of judicial supervision in this draft will be a serious concern for the citizens of Bangladesh,” Nuran Chowdhury concluded.
Quazi Mahfuzul Hoque Supan, assistant professor at the Department of Law of Dhaka University, said that the title of the draft seems like it will protect people but the details of the draft suggest otherwise.
As per the law, BTRC can block any content without a court order, which is a direct blow against freedom of expression, he said.
Earlier, the government drafted a set of rules for Over-the-top (OTT) media platforms that will require them to register after gaining security clearance from law enforcement agencies.
Under the draft rules, OTT platforms will have to abide by regulations on obscenity, defamation, and hurting religious sentiment, although the platforms will not be governed by censor boards.
The draft guideline on OTT operations was published on the website of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on February 3 for opinions from the public and stakeholders.
Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik said history shows that the government tries to enact new laws when the election is impending. This draft clearly shows that it might muzzle the voices of people.
Human rights activist Zakir Hossain moderated the webinar.
