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“All Citizens are Equal before Law and are Entitled to Equal Protection of Law”-Article 27 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
 



Issue No: 224
June 15, 2011

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Bits and pieces of Cyber law

Rowshan Ali

Nowadays we can not survive or pass a single day with our information and Communication technologies. Each and every day it is spreading all over the world rapidly. People of the world use the internet to make communication each other we are the people of the Bangladesh use the same technology. But sometimes we can see some bad-naughty peoples use the same technology to make crime in the cyber area. As well as day by day Cyber crimes are increasing in our country. Therefore in Bangladesh a bundle of laws has been enacted to protect the people.

Cyber law in Bangladesh
In the Information Communication Technology Act of Bangladesh does not define what the Cyber law by any section is. But Cyber laws are contained in the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006. Therefore this Act provide the legal infrastructure for e-commerce others legal solution relating with cyber crime in Bangladesh. The said Act enable (a) Legal recognition of electronic transaction, (b) Legal recognition of digital signature, © Acceptance to contract expressed by electronic means, (d) e-commerce and electronic form, (f) publication of official gazette in the electronic form, (g) prevention of computer crime, forged electronic records, international alteration of electronic records fraud, forgery or falsification in e-commerce and electronic transaction, (h) and others solutions of the crime relation with Information Communication Technology.

Objectives of the ICT Act, 2006
The objectives of the ICT Act, 2006 has been provided following purposes such as To smooth the progress of electronic filing of documents with government agencies and statutory corporations and to promote efficient delivery of government services by means of reliable electronic records. To help to establish uniformity of rules, regulations and standards regarding the authentication and integrity of electronic records. To facilitate electronic commerce, eliminate barriers to electronic commerce resulting from uncertainties over writing and signature requirements, and to promote the development of the legal and business infrastructure necessary to implement secure electronic commerce and so many others objectives have been included here.

Some identified Cyber Crimes as follows:
(i) Hacking or unauthorized entry into information systems

(ii) Virus introduction

(iii) Publishing or distribution of obscene content in electronic form

(iv) Tampering with electronic documents required to be kept under the law

(v) Frauds using electronic documents

(vi) Violation of privacy rights such as STALKING

(vii) Violation of Copyright, Trademark or Patent design

(viii) Defamation through e-mail

(ix) Holdings out threats through e-mail

Not only above mentioned cyber crimes are conducted but others are cyber crimes present before us. In future different types of cyber crimes will be intimated us.

Weakness of the ICT Act, 2006
The ICT law has some specific weakness. The law does sometimes regulate the social norm and then control of information technology. We can discus about the few weakness of the Act. Subsequently the law does give proper solution about the Intellectual Property Right and this law does not discuss of the rights and liability of domain name holders which is the first step of entering into the e-commerce. Not only these weaknesses of the Act but also others problems can to be brought through the Act.

Advantages of Cyber law
This Act has some disadvantages and also some advantages. This Act has provided us few advantages like as under the ICT Act, 2006, conduct important issues of security, which are so critical to the success of electronic transactions. The Act has given a legal definition to the concept of secure digital signatures that would be required to have been passed through a system of a security procedure, as stipulated by the government at a later date. On the other hand Companies now be able to carry out electronic commerce using the legal infrastructure provided by the Act. Subsequently this Act provided other facilities to run cyber or Information and Technology business.

However as Internet have grown in our country, the need has been felt to enact the appropriate cyber laws, which are indispensable to legalize and regulate Internet in Bangladesh. The existing laws of Bangladesh even with the most generous and moderate interpretation, could not be interpreted in the light of the promising cyberspace. We hope concern authority should take some steps to develop our existing cyber law.

The writer is a trainee advocate.

 

 

 
 
 
 


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