The information ministry on Wednesday decided to set up a committee involving online media stakeholders to work out a draft of the online media policy.
The information secretary, Hedayetullah Al Mamoon, said that they would set up the committee to draft the online media policy. ‘Previously we made the talking point. But that was not a draft policy.’
Online media houses and bloggers lodged their protests against the points the ministry earlier made for the online media policy.
Online media stakeholders said that the points of the draft policy were impractical and such a policy could stall the growth in the information and communications technology sector.
The Barta24.net editor, Sarder Farid Ahmed, said that the ministry had made some impractical points which are almost impossible for online media houses to go by.
‘The ministry earlier said that the hosting must be done locally and it is impossible as the government does not have the infrastructure to support such local hosting. The amount of registration fee is also impractical and is contradictory with the government’s vision for a digital Bangladesh,’ he said.
The Banglanews24.com editor, Alamgir Hossain, said, ‘If authorities want to have an online medial policy in place, it should be made flawless.’
Khaled Saifullah, editor of Noakhaliweb, said that the proposed registration fee and 2 per cent tax were too much as online media houses are not profit-making entities.
-With New Age input
