Freedom and responsibility are opposite issues, the former reflecting thoughts and the latter positive deliberations, said a Supreme Court lawyer on Tuesday, 5 March 2019.
Bangladesh’s constitution speaks of thought and freedom of conscience, subject to reasonable prohibitions of associated laws, for here responsibility lies in abiding by some rules, said the legal practitioner, Tanjim Al Islam.
Speaking on the topic of “Freedom and Responsibility Online: Bangladesh Perspective” at a discussion on “Safe Internet and Fair Use of Social Media”, he said there was no scope for arbitrary action in the name of unlimited freedom.
Brac University Law Society organised the event in the Indoor Games Room aiming to make students aware of internet-associated risks and remedies to ensure responsible behaviour online.
Women are victimised the most online but the matter of hope is that all legal measures of the tangible world are now applicable for the online environment and the sentences are harsher, said Islam.
Informing how complaints could be filed with the cyber crime tribunal, Islam said a case could be filed against a person accused of online harassment as per article 29 of the digital security act.
He, however, reminded that everything could not be controlled with laws for which there was a need for awareness.
The media has a big role to play in preventing cyber crimes but it could not take on the role of a judge while the government also has to play a responsible role, he said.
Islam suggested a code of conduct for accessing the cyber world: stop-think-enter.
Associate Professor Seuty Sabur of the Department of Economics and Social Sciences said the real and virtual worlds were not separate and one’s behaviour in the former reflected in the latter, albeit on undergoing scrutiny a number of times.
This is because both males and females know not where to stop and are not conscious of their rights, she said.
One must determine the extent of external interference permissible in personal life and this will help stop such intrusions in the virtual world, said Sabur.
One must adopt changes everyday to avoid harassment in the virtual world, helping to change society which is a responsibility of all who are part of it, otherwise safeguarding against cyber crimes will not be possible, she said.
Speaking on the topic of “Data Trafficking Bangladesh”, Nahidul Hasan, deputy director, System and Services Division, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, said sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google analyse everyone’s data to provide contents of choice.
That is why the effects of cyber space must be realised before entering this realm, he said adding that the BTRC has and would continue to close down harmful sites.
Use of Facebook requires extra alertness and one should not use it without prior knowledge as it is hard to keep personal information safe there, he said.
Professor Saira Rahman Khan of the School of Law moderated the event.