DSA misused to some extent: Law minister

Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Advocate Anisul Huq, acknowledging that the Digital Security Act (DSA) has been misused to some degree, has said the government is working on taking action against those concerned.

"We are not denying the fact that there has been some misuse of the Digital Security Act. However, the government is working to improve the provisions," he said during a round table discussion, titled 'Digital Security Act Debate', organised by the Editors Guild at the Dhaka Gallery in the capital's Banani area yesterday.

Citing the recent Naogaon incident of a detained woman who later died in RAB custody, the minister said, "It was not the government which misused the law here but an individual who resorted to the Act for her personal protection."

He said that the United Nations Human Rights Commission is in discussion with various stakeholders for the improvement of this law. Bangladesh has also formed a technical team, which is taking part in the discussions with various stakeholders in the country.  

"Furthermore, the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs is taking note of the discussion and criticism of the law by taking into account various news reports and articles published in the country's mainstream media outlets in this regard," he said, adding that the room for improvement is being thoroughly scrutinised.

Senior lawyer ZI Khan Panna, chairperson of Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), said that the DSA is being misused against the media.

Terming the law as "against the people", the veteran lawyer urged the government to repeal such laws and make people-friendly laws instead.

Faruq Faisal, regional director of Article-19 in South Asia, at the beginning of the discussion, noted that laws are needed to ensure security in the digital world.

"It is important to have laws for digital world security but a fear-mongering law can never be considered a people-friendly or favourable one," he said.

"Some sections of the DSA are being misused, leaving common people and journalists of the country with a sense of insecurity," he added. He noted that media professionals are subjecting themselves to self-censorship due to the act.

Editors Guild President Mozammel Babu, who moderated the event, said such laws are needed for safety in the digital reality. But when it comes to applying the Act on the media, there should be a provision of forwarding the complaints to the Press Council first before cases are filed under the Act.

"If the council feels the media or worker concerned has committed an offence under the Act, it may be entered as a case," he recommended.

Mozammel Babu stressed that there should be a clear provision in the law to prevent the current practice of direct prosecution and arrest of media workers.  

Barrister Farzana Mahmood, a lawyer and researcher, said some sections of this law have a very broad application aspect which leads to complications for law enforcers in terms of where and in what context they are to apply it.  

"There are cases where this law is not supposed to be applied, but is being applied. Then there are cases where the law is being over-applied," she said, recommending that provisions of the law should be clearly and comprehensively specified to do away with this dilemma.  

Jatiya Press Club General Secretary Shyamal Dutta said, "When this law is applied to the media, we get worried."

"While such laws are important in the age of digital reality, we speak out about the misuse of the law," he said, pointing out that there has been no study on the extent to which crime has been reduced on digital platforms due to this law.

He questioned if the law is able to protect everyone.

"Ten videos came out on social media in my name and the law could not protect me. Last year, when the incident of placing a Quran Sharif in the Durga Puja Mandap in Cumilla was streamed live on Facebook, triggering attacks on puja mandaps across the country, the law failed to prevent those," he said.

"We want a law that can protect us; not a law that puts us in danger and fails to protect us," Shyamal Dutta added.