Govt plans legal panel to tackle disinformation, cyberbullying: Zahed

The government is forming a specialised panel of expert lawyers to strengthen institutional measures against the spread of disinformation, cyberbullying, and defamatory content on social media, announced Prime Minister's Information and Broadcasting Adviser Zahed Ur Rahman.

Speaking at a press conference at the Secretariat today (21 July), he confirmed that a gazette notification regarding the panel will be issued within the next one to two days.

Zahed explained that anyone can fall victim to disinformation, false propaganda, or severe cyberbullying. To counter such crimes and provide legal assistance to victims, the work of forming the specialized panel of lawyers has already been completed.

Addressing criminal activities on social media, Zahed noted that while many users may not be sufficiently aware, the government will not remain inactive.

He emphasised that the government will raise public awareness on one hand while taking necessary legal action on the other.

Zahed pointed out that while mainstream media outlets undergo an editorial verification process before publication, social media lacks such screening. 

Consequently, he urged everyone to act responsibly, stressing that the state will not tolerate disinformation and cyberbullying under any circumstances.

The panel will operate based on specific complaints while also proactively identifying disinformation and cyberbullying through automated monitoring to initiate necessary legal action, the adviser added.

Highlighting the ongoing dengue situation, he shared that up to 20 July last year, some 17,218 people were infected with dengue and 62 died across the country. In comparison, during the same period this year, the number of cases dropped to 10,857, while the death toll stood at 37. 

He noted that both the infection and mortality rates have decreased by nearly half.

On energy security, the adviser stated that the government has signed new LNG supply agreements with 14 organisations.

Furthermore, under a broader project to drill 150 gas wells, work on 29 wells has already been completed. These completed wells have secured reserves of 270 million cubic feet of gas per day, of which 125.3 million cubic feet per day is currently being supplied to the national grid.
 
The government aims to finish drilling the remaining 121 wells by 2030 to produce an additional 1,491 million cubic feet of gas daily, he assured.

The press conference also highlighted research findings from the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (Bori).

The adviser reported that 147 species of seaweed have been identified along the Saint Martin's coast. Analysing 12 of these samples led to the innovation of technologies for extracting agar, carrageenan, and alginate.

Concurrently, seaweed seedlings are being produced through tissue culture, and experimental pilot farming has begun in the Moheshkhali Channel, Reju Khal River, and Bori coastal areas.

He noted that this technology opens new possibilities for expanding the country's blue economy by manufacturing food, pharmaceuticals, and industrial raw materials, thereby boosting exports and foreign exchange earnings.

Additionally, research conducted over approximately 10,000 square kilometres from Saint Martin's to the central coast uncovered significant deposits of heavy minerals, including magnetite, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and garnet, with an estimated total economic value of around $30 million.

Bori research further revealed that the blue carbon ecosystem in the western section of the central coast stores about 160 megagrams of carbon per acre, while the eastern section stores nearly 124 megagrams per acre.

The potential financial value of the carbon sinks in the Moheshkhali Channel and Naf River is estimated between $1,000 and $1,096 per hectare.