50 jiliasia
NoneThe newly approved draft Cyber Protection Ordinance retains many of the clauses of its predecessors that drew flak from across the world for stifling freedom of expression. The ordinance, approved by the interim government's advisory council on December 24, replaces the Cyber Security Act (CSA), and its more draconian precursor, the Digital Security Act (DSA). The DSA had gained notoriety for having been used as a tool by the Awami League government to muzzle dissent and journalists by arresting and incarcerating them. The DSA's watered-down version, the CSA, kept clauses that criminalised free speech and just removed stringent and non-bailable jail terms. Much like its antecedents, the newly drafted ordinance limits free speech online and disregards the right to freedom of expression as a universal right. The draft penalises "hurting religious sentiment" with a jail term of two years and a fine of Tk 10 lakh. Both CSA and DSA had this provision. The Daily Star obtained data from Centre for Governance Studies' DSA Tracker and found that 44 percent of the cases filed under the DSA for "hurting religious sentiment" were against the religious minorities, particularly the Hindus. Last year, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression Irene Khan wrote to the then Awami League government, criticising this clause. "International human rights law protects individuals from intolerance, violence and discriminations based on their religion or belief, but it does not allow restriction of criticism of religious belief or sentiment," she wrote. A clause criminalising defamation, which was heavily used for incarcerating journalists and politicians, has been removed in the draft and replaced with a "cyber-bullying" clause. The section states that it is a criminal offence to use any website or any electronic medium to insult, harass, blackmail or humiliate a person. The offence carries jail terms of up to two years and a fine of Tk 10 lakh. Use of slurs and offensive words is deemed a violation under this section. It states that the content that defames someone or causes mental trauma would be under the purview of this law. The data from Centre for Governance Studies shows that of the over 5,000 accused under the DSA, nearly half were prosecuted for social media posts deemed critical of the government, officeholders, or elected representatives. One in three accused under the DSA and one in four sued under the CSA were journalists, the data shows. Saimum Reza Talukder, a prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal who specialises in digital rights and cyber laws, said, "The vague wording of 'cyberbullying' and the broad scope of the definition might also be abused in future, because the notion of defamation is also there. Therefore, this needs to be elaborated. "... Journalistic freedom might be hampered or affected in this draft." He added, "I understand the importance of curbing hate speech or harmful speech against religion. Hate speech must be well-defined in the law so that it does not get combined with any other issues, and it does not get abused." The draft also enables a supervisory body, National Security Agency, to block any content that poses a threat to national solidarity, the nation's economic activities, national security, defence, religious values, public order, or incites racial hatred or animosity. Law enforcers can also request the agency to block such information. Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at Robi Axiata Ltd, said, "It is unfortunate to observe that several recommendations from the industry stakeholders have not been accommodated in the draft. Expanding the capacity of content blocking through organisations under the ICT division will create the scope for misuse of power." Under the proposed law, a National Cyber Security Council led by the chief of the government is to be formed. The council will include relevant ministers and law enforcement agency heads as its members. The council can directly issue instructions to the agency to take action. Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the policy adviser of the Information Communication Technology Division, and one of the authors of the ordinance, said, "The risk of such clauses being misused or abused remains. "It is very important for the political settlement to be such that the implementation of the law happens based on civility and human rights." Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, executive director of Tech Global Institute, said, "... These provisions legitimise surveillance and transnational repression, both of which were disproportionately abused by the Awami League government for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. "The ordinance fails to address any structural issues around censorship, surveillance, consolidation of state powers, and discretionary powers given to law enforcement and intelligence agencies." Taiyeb argues that the draft includes checks and balances to ensure that overreaches are challenged. "The ordinance allows search and arrests without warrants, but they [accused] have to be produced before a court within 24 hours. This is to protect against enforced disappearance." As per the draft, the accused can go to court and declare their lack of trust or confidence in an investigating officer. In addition, the draft mandates that it is up to a magistrate to decide if a case has the merit for a judicial process. This is a departure from the previous two laws under which cases could be filed against individuals and arrests made without the involvement of a magistrate, and all cases would end up at court. The draft recognises that women and children are particularly vulnerable in cyberspace and proposes harsh penalties for those perpetrating crimes against them. Sexual harassment in cyberspace now carries a jail term of three years and a fine of Tk 20 lakh. Taiyeb said, "We have also included a provision allowing aggrieved persons to seek compensation from the person who has harmed them. There is no upper ceiling on the compensation that can be sought, and the cyber tribunal can decide on the amount depending on the severity of the harm caused." The draft includes a section that penalises e-commerce websites for extorting money from customers and defrauding them. This offence is non-bailable. Bail would be denied in cases filed in connection with hacking, data theft, or destroying critical infrastructure. The draft ordinance defines "cyber-terrorism" as illegal access to any system that threatens the country's diplomatic relations with another state, acts intended for espionage or for serving the interests of any particular group or individual. This offence is non-bailable. Cryptocurrencies remain outlawed. Critics pointed out that no real stakeholder engagement happened before this draft was approved. Sabhanaz said that allowing only three days to comment on the draft, not holding any meaningful dialogue with stakeholders, and not ensuring transparency on decision-making reflect poorly on the government the mandate of which is to make critical reforms. The newly approved draft Cyber Protection Ordinance retains many of the clauses of its predecessors that drew flak from across the world for stifling freedom of expression. The ordinance, approved by the interim government's advisory council on December 24, replaces the Cyber Security Act (CSA), and its more draconian precursor, the Digital Security Act (DSA). The DSA had gained notoriety for having been used as a tool by the Awami League government to muzzle dissent and journalists by arresting and incarcerating them. The DSA's watered-down version, the CSA, kept clauses that criminalised free speech and just removed stringent and non-bailable jail terms. Much like its antecedents, the newly drafted ordinance limits free speech online and disregards the right to freedom of expression as a universal right. The draft penalises "hurting religious sentiment" with a jail term of two years and a fine of Tk 10 lakh. Both CSA and DSA had this provision. The Daily Star obtained data from Centre for Governance Studies' DSA Tracker and found that 44 percent of the cases filed under the DSA for "hurting religious sentiment" were against the religious minorities, particularly the Hindus. Last year, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression Irene Khan wrote to the then Awami League government, criticising this clause. "International human rights law protects individuals from intolerance, violence and discriminations based on their religion or belief, but it does not allow restriction of criticism of religious belief or sentiment," she wrote. A clause criminalising defamation, which was heavily used for incarcerating journalists and politicians, has been removed in the draft and replaced with a "cyber-bullying" clause. The section states that it is a criminal offence to use any website or any electronic medium to insult, harass, blackmail or humiliate a person. The offence carries jail terms of up to two years and a fine of Tk 10 lakh. Use of slurs and offensive words is deemed a violation under this section. It states that the content that defames someone or causes mental trauma would be under the purview of this law. The data from Centre for Governance Studies shows that of the over 5,000 accused under the DSA, nearly half were prosecuted for social media posts deemed critical of the government, officeholders, or elected representatives. One in three accused under the DSA and one in four sued under the CSA were journalists, the data shows. Saimum Reza Talukder, a prosecutor at the International Crimes Tribunal who specialises in digital rights and cyber laws, said, "The vague wording of 'cyberbullying' and the broad scope of the definition might also be abused in future, because the notion of defamation is also there. Therefore, this needs to be elaborated. "... Journalistic freedom might be hampered or affected in this draft." He added, "I understand the importance of curbing hate speech or harmful speech against religion. Hate speech must be well-defined in the law so that it does not get combined with any other issues, and it does not get abused." The draft also enables a supervisory body, National Security Agency, to block any content that poses a threat to national solidarity, the nation's economic activities, national security, defence, religious values, public order, or incites racial hatred or animosity. Law enforcers can also request the agency to block such information. Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory officer at Robi Axiata Ltd, said, "It is unfortunate to observe that several recommendations from the industry stakeholders have not been accommodated in the draft. Expanding the capacity of content blocking through organisations under the ICT division will create the scope for misuse of power." Under the proposed law, a National Cyber Security Council led by the chief of the government is to be formed. The council will include relevant ministers and law enforcement agency heads as its members. The council can directly issue instructions to the agency to take action. Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, the policy adviser of the Information Communication Technology Division, and one of the authors of the ordinance, said, "The risk of such clauses being misused or abused remains. "It is very important for the political settlement to be such that the implementation of the law happens based on civility and human rights." Sabhanaz Rashid Diya, executive director of Tech Global Institute, said, "... These provisions legitimise surveillance and transnational repression, both of which were disproportionately abused by the Awami League government for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. "The ordinance fails to address any structural issues around censorship, surveillance, consolidation of state powers, and discretionary powers given to law enforcement and intelligence agencies." Taiyeb argues that the draft includes checks and balances to ensure that overreaches are challenged. "The ordinance allows search and arrests without warrants, but they [accused] have to be produced before a court within 24 hours. This is to protect against enforced disappearance." As per the draft, the accused can go to court and declare their lack of trust or confidence in an investigating officer. In addition, the draft mandates that it is up to a magistrate to decide if a case has the merit for a judicial process. This is a departure from the previous two laws under which cases could be filed against individuals and arrests made without the involvement of a magistrate, and all cases would end up at court. The draft recognises that women and children are particularly vulnerable in cyberspace and proposes harsh penalties for those perpetrating crimes against them. Sexual harassment in cyberspace now carries a jail term of three years and a fine of Tk 20 lakh. Taiyeb said, "We have also included a provision allowing aggrieved persons to seek compensation from the person who has harmed them. There is no upper ceiling on the compensation that can be sought, and the cyber tribunal can decide on the amount depending on the severity of the harm caused." The draft includes a section that penalises e-commerce websites for extorting money from customers and defrauding them. This offence is non-bailable. Bail would be denied in cases filed in connection with hacking, data theft, or destroying critical infrastructure. The draft ordinance defines "cyber-terrorism" as illegal access to any system that threatens the country's diplomatic relations with another state, acts intended for espionage or for serving the interests of any particular group or individual. This offence is non-bailable. Cryptocurrencies remain outlawed. Critics pointed out that no real stakeholder engagement happened before this draft was approved. Sabhanaz said that allowing only three days to comment on the draft, not holding any meaningful dialogue with stakeholders, and not ensuring transparency on decision-making reflect poorly on the government the mandate of which is to make critical reforms.
In the ever-evolving landscape of real estate investing, the role of public REITs as a vehicle for accessing real estate assets will continue to expand. By addressing the pricing challenges and inefficiencies in the public market, the potential for REITs to become a mainstream investment option for a wider range of investors can be realized. Through collaboration between industry stakeholders and regulatory bodies, the public REITs market can evolve to meet the changing needs of investors and provide a reliable avenue for capital appreciation and income generation through real estate investments.Best Boxing Day deals from Amazon Australia: Retailer launches December 26 deals early
In conclusion, the Hang Seng Tech Index's surge of over 4% in the final hours of trading today was a welcome development for investors and market participants alike. The rally was driven by a combination of positive sentiment surrounding the tech sector, optimism about trade talks, and strong performances in international markets, signaling a potential turning point for the Hong Kong stock market. While challenges and uncertainties remain, today's rally is a promising sign of things to come in the ever-evolving world of finance and investment.
Give the Gift of Movies at Regal this Holiday Season
Title: "The Love of Parents: A Journey of a Teenage Girl with Kidney Disease Who Received Life Twice Through Transplants"And when the moment arrived, Real Madrid did not disappoint. The team put on a display of strength, skill, and unity that left spectators in awe. With each pass, each tackle, each goal, they demonstrated why they are considered one of the greatest clubs in the history of the sport.
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