Technology has brought great opportunities for disseminating human expressions. But technologies like Big Tech, Red Tech and Deep Tech are interfering into political issues to some extent. Terrorist activities are spreading across the border. To deal with these incidents, some states are being compelled to deal with these terrorist organizations. In many cases, the behavior of social media is now in a state of decay. Social and cultural balance is being destroyed.
State Minister for ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak called for the formation of a Global Internet Governance Council under the auspices of the United Nations and the creation of a Global Frontier Technology Guide, highlighting how Bangladesh is tackling this obstacle in such situations.
He made the call while participating in a panel discussion titled “Diminished Democracies: Big Tech, Red Tech, and Deep Tech” on the occasion of the RAISINA Dialogue 2022 at the Durbar Hall of the Taj Palace in New Delhi, India on Wednesday (April 27).
Palak said Big Tech companies are playing an influential role in the economy and politics today. Using AI, Machine Learning and Big Data to control public opinion and values. That is why Bangladesh has given importance to digital signature for the protection of the public. By setting up a digital literacy center, they should be aware of the protection of fake news and personal information. For the same reason, we have set up a digital security agency under the Digital Security Act to protect the country’s cyberspace. From there, digital literacy knowledge is being disseminated to all citizens including children and students. In addition to self-defense, we have warned against cyber attacks in any other country. To this end, we have already taken steps to enact a data protection law and manage social media platforms in the form of GDPR.
At the same time, Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Minister of State for ICT, emphasized the need for India to jointly create a regional social media platform for itself and for South Asian countries, such as the European Union, to enact a General Data Protection Act.
“I hope the United Nations will come forward to protect data,” he said. Form a Data Protection Council for Data Privacy and Protection. We look forward to seeing you there.
“Many people are trying to influence our politics and economy by using Big Tech and Red Tech,” Palak said. “We have to work together to protect the citizens from this situation. I believe that if we can deal with it on the basis of partnership. This is not the time for competition; It’s time to dump her and move on. If we can work together to form a regional alliance, we will be able to protect the rights of citizens as well as cyberspace and the economy”, he added.
Highlighting Bangladesh’s position on these advanced technologies, the State Minister for ICT said, “Under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, we use digital technology for economic development for the benefit of our citizens. But if this Big Tech, Red Tech pokes nose into our local politics and economy, then we will not accept it. That’s why we’ve adopted 4 policies to protect our cyberspace and digital netizens. These include raising awareness at the individual level from family and educational institutions; Failure to innovate would lead to technological advancement on the basis of partnership, formulation of appropriate laws and policies at the regional level to establish international internet sovereignty and increase international cooperation.”
The panel discussion, moderated by Kanchan Gupta, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, was attended by Rajiv Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology of India; Evan Nanjira Sambuli, a representative of the US Technology and International Affairs Program.
At the end of the discussion, RAISINA Young Fellows asked various questions about the political use of the Internet.