Facebook should be held accountable: Palak
State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Palak feels that social media including Facebook should be brought under accountability to prevent the spread of rumours, misinformation and bullying. This was stated by the state minister at the opening ceremony of the seminar on "Cyber-Security Symposium: Bangladesh Path Forward" on dealing with current challenges, strategies and future directions to enhance cyber-security on Wednesday morning.
State Minister for Telecommunication and Information Technology Palak said as the chief guest at this Cyber Symposium held jointly by the Information and Communication Technology Division and the EU representative team, He said: We are all vulnerable in the cyber world. We share our personal information on various social media or online, but we don't know how they use these data. They created chaos in the country by giving fake information on the Rohingya issue on Facebook. So international organizations should hold Facebook accountable for deepfake and cyberbullying.
Stating that state-sponsored cybercrime is going on, the state minister said that all those who are using the internet are hacked. This is why we need to know about cyber security especially the use of AI. After awareness, cyber security needs to innovate its own technology. At the same time a law and policy should be formulated. We have already drafted the policy. For the protection of data, we divide it into three-four categories and process it. Finally, we want to ensure the cyber security of the country through joint partnership between different countries and public-private institutions of the country.
Director General of Information and Communication Technology Department Md. Mostafa Kamal presided over the event and mentioned that he himself was a victim of 'credit card hacking' in cyber malpractice; Charles White Lee, Resident Representative of European Union Bangladesh, said that the European Union will stand by Bangladesh in combating cyber security.
In response to a question from the journalists after delivering his speech, State Minister Palak urged the students not to take any decision without verifying anything on social media. Social media including Facebook is responsible for this. And for that they will be brought under financial and legal accountability. In the meantime they have been asked to open an office in Bangladesh.
He farther said, we believe in freedom of speech of our citizens. We respect everyone's opinions, comments and feelings. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is very concerned about the safety of students. The Prime Minister must consider the demands of the students. Not as a state minister or a representative of the government, but as a father and a conscious person, I would request everyone, that our students should be patient and tolerant. First of all we have to ensure the safety of our citizens and students. In this current situation, lest no third party should be able to mislead and take advantage of the students power. At the same time, students should not become intolerant by being misled by any wrong information, rumors or propaganda on social media.
