Legal framework to protect data about citizens stressed

Speakers at a discussion on Monday said the government should immediately start working on developing a legal framework to protect the secrecy of the data about citizens, which were submitted to either the government or the commercial organizations.
The discussion styled ‘privacy and the protection of the citizens, consumers and economy’ was organised by a local non-governmental organization, VOICE at the National Press Club auditorium in the capital.
Ahmed Shawpan Mahmud, the executive director of VOICE, said that personal and family information of the Bangladeshi citizens were stored with the Election Commission and different telecom operators.
‘The data carry potentials for being commercially traded. So the sales or transfers of such data should be legally prevented,’ he suggested.
It is the responsibility of the government to assure the citizens that the secrecy of their information will be guarded by the government and the companies, before calling them to submit information about them, he pointed out.
VOICE has partners like the London School of Economics and Political Science and the UK-based Privacy International in this campaign.
Presenting the keynote, Gus Hosein of LSE said besides maintaining the privacy of the civil society information, Bangladesh needed to have a data protection law to assure the global companies providing data processing services that all data in the country remained protected.
Addressing the discussion, Justice Golam Rabbani said it was the responsibility of the state to secure protection of the citizens’ information, ‘Secured information also helps protect the society.’
Saiful Huq, general secretary of the Biplobi Workers Party, said the government needed to address the issue as part of its commitment to protect the citizens’ rights.

http://www.newagebd.com/2008/dec/03/met.html