Meta delegation meets BTRC chairman

A delegation from tech giant Meta has met with the Chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) Md Mohiuddin Ahmed.

The meeting held at the BTRC Chairman's office in Agargaon, Dhaka today (21 March) afternoon, reads a press release.

The Meta delegation included Public Policy Director Ruzan Sarwar, Privacy and AI Matter Expert Arian Jimenez, Content Policy Specialist Nayanatara Narayan, Content Policy Specialist Jonathan Lewis, and Policy Programme Manager Ruhi Teo.

The delegation briefed the BTRC chairman on their activities in Bangladesh and various contemporary issues of Facebook, including regular communication with BTRC. They thanked the chairman for facilitating Meta's operations due to the long-standing good relationship.

The BTRC chairman drew the attention of Facebook authorities to the spread of rumours and disinformation on various issues and requested them to take more effective measures to prevent it.

He mentioned that since a large number of internet users in the country use Facebook/Instagram platforms, there is a risk of disinformation/rumours spreading quickly. He emphasized the need for quick action in this regard.

The chairman requested the Facebook authorities to pay more attention so that criminals cannot use the Meta platform to carry out fraudulent activities, promote betting or gambling.

He urged the introduction of technical measures to automatically detect and remove such content as soon as it is published, using artificial intelligence. He assured the BTRC's full cooperation in this regard.

The BTRC chairman requested the Facebook delegation to conduct various awareness campaigns for safe online use for the general public of Bangladesh and to take up awareness campaigns to increase the digital literacy of the common people.

Meta Public Policy Director Ruzan Sarwar welcomed BTRC's feedback and expressed her commitment to working more closely with BTRC.