Minister stresses balanced digital governance
Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon has said ensuring the free flow of information while protecting people from misinformation and disinformation remains a key priority for the government.
“A people-friendly policy framework and infrastructural reforms are necessary to ensure the full benefits of the digital ecosystem,” he said while addressing the inaugural ceremony of the ‘Broadband Expo 2026’ at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center here.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Rehan Asif Azad attended the event as the special guest.
Swapon said that restrictions on the flow of information, or press freedom, were once a major challenge, but now the key problem is the misuse of information.
He said it is now the right of people to be protected from misinformation and disinformation. “If we fail to ensure such protection and focus only on the free flow of information, a major crisis could arise in society, politics and the economy.”
The minister said a modern welfare state has a major responsibility to ensure people-friendly policies and a supportive tax structure in the digital ecosystem.
He added that people are not fully utilising the potential of the digital ecosystem due to the failure to shift from an analog mindset to a digital one.
Highlighting the need for an enabling tax structure for small and medium entrepreneurs, Swapon said, “Policy limitations and inadequate technological infrastructure are major obstacles to the development of the digital ecosystem. If the government, BTRC and all stakeholders take joint initiatives, the sector’s potential can be harnessed quickly.”
Senior officials of BTRC, ICT experts and entrepreneurs from the broadband sector were present at the event.
