Legal tools to deal with cyber harassment

Published by The Daily Star | April 21, 2018 (Link Here)

This week Your Advocate is Barrister Omar Khan Joy, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is the head of the chambers of a renowned law firm, namely, ‘Legal Counsel’, which has expertise mainly in commercial law, family law, labour law, land law, constitutional law, criminal law, and intellectual property rights.

Query:
I am a 19-year-old female student studying at a reputed college in Tangail. Recently, I have seen on Facebook that someone is repeatedly creating a fake profile using my name and photos to annoy me and spread rumors about me. Whenever my friends and I report the account to Facebook to take it down, a new account reemerges. Is there any legal action that I can take now?
Parul (not real name), Tangail

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Response:
Thank you for your query. I am very sorry to hear that you have been going through such a situation and I sympathise with you. The situation you are in is commonly referred to as cyber-bullying. Bullying of any type can have detrimental effects on the victim, regardless of the fact that such an issue is often ignored or taken lightly by our society. Moreover, the effects of bullying are not just instant, the trauma resulting from it can last for a long time.
Cyber-bullying falls under the umbrella of cyber-crime. The term cyber-crime refers to crimes committed in cyber-space. Hence, to simplify, cyber-bullying means any act committed against another person via the usage of electronic communication, e.g., social media. Sending threatening messages online, sharing private or embarrassing pictures, creating fake profiles, spreading rumours and so on, are all examples of cyber-bullying. In short, any act of bullying in cyber-space constitutes cyber-bullying.
With an increasing number of users on social media platforms, cyber-bullying has been increasing every day. Although most victims of cyber-bullying are students and young people, others such as employers, teachers, and employees, etc. also face such issues. Nonetheless, to clarify, cyber-bullying is not just an act that is frowned upon, rather it is an offence punishable under the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006, and the Digital Security Act, 2018. These Acts tell us that any person who publishes fake, obscene, or defamatory content against a person, or the State or violates any religious view, such a person shall be deemed to have committed and be guilty of an offence, which is punishable. The punishment for such an offence is fine and imprisonment.
Cyber-crime victims can file a complaint against the perpetrator to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) by calling the number: +88029611111 or, sending an email to [email protected]. An action would be taken by the BTRC within 24 hours, and the perpetrator shall be brought to justice within 3 days of filing the complaint. The government has also introduced a cyber-crime helpline +88-02-55007183. Victims can now call the number to submit their complaints.
Furthermore, in case the harassment amounts to criminal intimidation (threatening a person to harm him, his property, his reputation, etc.), the person shall also be liable under the Penal Code 1860. If the gravity of the offence results in what is more than just mere bullying, the aforementioned statute should definitely be resorted to.
On the contrary, the initial internal steps of reporting, blocking, etc. should be implemented before moving on to the complaining stage.
I hope the information I provided will help you find a solution to your problem.