The High Court has directed the chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to take necessary legal action against unregistered online news portals and social media pages involved in spreading rumours, false and misleading information.
The court also issued a rule asking why the authorities’ inaction in this regard should not be declared illegal and without lawful authority, and why appropriate action should not be ordered against the unregistered portals and rumour-spreading pages.
The HC bench of Justice Raziq-Al-Jalil and Justice Debashish Roy Chowdhury passed the order today (15 September) after hearing a writ petition filed in the public interest.
Advocate SM Zulfikar Ali Junu, chairman of the National Lawyers’ Council, filed the petition.
According to the petitioner, the writ sought directions for the relevant authorities to take effective measures to prevent the spread of rumours, false and misleading information through unregistered online portals and various social media pages.
Following the hearing, the court directed the BTRC chairman to take necessary measures and issued the rule against the relevant authorities.
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