Speakers at a discussion yesterday urged the government and policymakers to treat cybersecurity as an integral part of the country’s economic infrastructure rather than merely as a law enforcement issue.
They said trust in digital platforms was essential for the growth of creative and platform economies, and called for a broader “politics of care” encompassing digital well-being, privacy rights and critical digital literacy among people from all backgrounds.
The remarks came at a session titled “From ICT Act to Cyber Security Ordinance” at the Bengal Delta Conference 2026 at InterContinental in Dhaka.
Imran Ferdous, assistant professor and head of the Department of Media and Communication at Independent University, Bangladesh, moderated the session and presented a keynote titled “Legislating the Creative: From ICT Act to Cyber Security Act 2023”.
He said the country’s digital governance and creative economy had developed along two separate trajectories.
“Bangladesh’s digital landscape began taking shape with the enactment of the ICT Act in 2006 and has since gone through five rounds of legislation, each expanding the authority of the state,” he said.
In contrast, the creative economy received formal recognition only in the current fiscal year, with a Tk 800 crore allocation reflecting the state’s intention to value creative labour, he added.
Mohammad Imadur Rahman, managing director and chief executive officer of Bangladesh Satellite Company Limited (BSCL), said modern sectors, ranging from online banking and digital marketing to healthcare, higher education and energy, depended on secure digital systems.
“Everywhere we should start seeing cybersecurity infrastructure as part of our business infrastructure,” he said, adding that strong laws were necessary, but enforcement remained a major challenge.
Imadur warned against “data colonialism”, saying data generated by local users were often extracted and monetised by global platforms without comparable value being returned to the domestic economy.
AKM Fahim Mashroor, co-founder and CEO of bdjobs.com, called for a nationwide cybersecurity literacy campaign to promote responsible digital behaviour and awareness.
Md Mohiul Islam, assistant professor at IUB’s Department of Media and Communication, stressed the need to address the digital divide, particularly in relation to AI and deepfakes.
He recommended introducing new courses and academic programmes at universities, alongside training and research opportunities for teachers.
Dilshad Hossain Dodul, senior lecturer at the same department of IUB, drew attention to online harassment, data exploitation and the digital safety of women and children.
She also said the “politics of care” should extend to ordinary users who consume online content and leave digital footprints unknowingly.
The session ended with a question-and-answer segment focusing on user awareness, enforcement of data protection laws and the ethical use of AI.
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/digital-trust-key-creative-economy-say-speakers-4232511
