He said these things today (Sunday) while delivering the presidential speech at a meeting on updating laws and enacting new laws held in the meeting room of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The Information Minister said that in the present time, digital technology has become deeply intertwined with people's lifestyles, thoughts, communication, and social behavior. Just as technology has become a blessing for people, it has also created new types of risks and challenges. Identifying these challenges and bringing them under an effective legal framework is now a demand of the time.
He said that the work of reviewing all existing laws, rules, regulations, and procedures under the ministry has already begun. The concerned parties will formulate recommendations by deeply reviewing which laws need modernization, where new laws are needed, and in which areas there are legal gaps.
Zahir Uddin Swapan said that once the scope of work of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was mainly limited to print media and broadcast media. But due to the development of digital platforms and the digital ecosystem, numerous new mediums have been created, many of which are outside the purview of existing laws. Therefore, the legal framework must also be modernized in line with the changed reality.
The Minister informed that the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States have enacted various new laws to control digital platforms and deal with technology-based new challenges. The committee has also been tasked with deeply studying and reviewing the laws and experiences of these countries so that an effective legal framework compatible with Bangladesh's reality can be developed.
He said that to bring the cyber world, digital transmission, and various technology-based services under a disciplined framework, it is necessary to work in coordination with various government and private stakeholders. In this regard, it may be necessary to take opinions from concerned agencies, technology experts, and organizations related to telecommunications and infrastructure.
The Information Minister instructed all present to quickly identify new challenges, determine relevant stakeholders, identify areas for distribution of responsibilities, and, if necessary, seek advice from experts outside the committee.
The meeting was attended by Mahbuba Farzana, Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Additional Secretary Shah Alam, members of the ministry's legal panel, and senior officials.
