Disinformation Cannot Be Stopped by Law Alone; Platform Accountability Needed: Iftekharuzzaman at Roundtable
Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), has commented that if the proposed Cyber Security Act (Amendment) is passed, it could be a boomerang and suicidal for the government.
He has said that without ensuring accountability for social media giant Meta's (Facebook's) profit-centric algorithms and for the platforms, it is not possible to stop disinformation and cybercrime by making harsh laws alone.
He said these things on Sunday at a roundtable meeting on the proposed Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, organised at the TIB office in the capital. A total of 19 organisations, including TIB, BRAC, BLAST and Mahila Parishad, took part in the meeting.
At the meeting, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said the countries of the world that have succeeded in controlling disinformation have achieved progress in this field by ensuring transparency and accountability of Meta's algorithms.
He also said that the platforms' huge financial profits play an important role behind the spread of disinformation and fake news on social media. He alleged that in the interest of increasing business, Meta gives more promotion to conflict and violent speech, yet censors secular or rational discussion.
In his view, citizens' fundamental rights are being undermined as a result of the unholy alliance of political power and the technology business. Imposing laws on ordinary citizens without ensuring the platforms' accountability is no sustainable solution.
At the event, Matiur Rahman Chowdhury, president of the Newspaper Owners' Association of Bangladesh (NOAB) and editor-in-chief of Manab Zamin, said, 'Please do not tie our hands again. If you tie our hands, it will harm you. For you, I will not be able to write anymore. One day you will have to come to us again.'
The NOAB president also said the government in power wants to make laws against criticism, but after losing power, they themselves become victims of injustice. Power is not eternal in this world, and so laws should be made taking the future into consideration, he commented.
He also expressed concern over the enforcement of the proposed law. In his opinion, there is a risk of political influence in the enforcement of the law, which can directly harm media freedom.
At the meeting, Dhaka Journalists' Union president Shahidul Islam said that looking at the proposed law, it seems it has been made only to protect the people in power. He said it keeps arrangements to tie the hands and feet of media workers.
He said that a provision also exists in the proposed law to shut down an entire media outlet or media house because of the crime or mistake of a single person, which cannot be acceptable in any way.
Fouzia Afroz, Bangladesh head of Tech Global Institute, and many others from the concerned sectors also took part in the roundtable. In the speeches of almost all the speakers there was a common tone — if a law is to be made, it should not strangle freedom of expression, and it should ensure the accountability of the platforms.
