Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Data Privacy Day or Information Protection Day 2023 is going to be celebrated worldwide on Saturday, January 28. Every year on the occasion of this day, various campaigns are carried out in the world to create awareness about the need for personal information protection. In 1981, the first Data Privacy Day or Information Protection Day was celebrated in the world with the signing of Convention 108 by the large European organization 'Council of Europe'.

Convention 108 is the first international treaty on privacy and data protection with a legal obligation to uphold it. The day is celebrated annually in the United States on January 28 under the leadership of the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA).

Data Protection Day, which was celebrated in Europe, has been celebrated in North America since 2008. The day essentially provides an opportunity for businesses and private consumers to share best practices for protecting personal information.

Data Privacy Day is part of a larger global campaign to create awareness about the need for privacy. Simple methods of protecting personal information are presented. Organizations are also reminded that privacy is important in all activities.

The Cybercrime Awareness Foundation has joined this growing global campaign to raise awareness in the home and workplace of non-profit organizations, educational institutions, corporations, government institutions, municipalities and individuals.

All 'Data Privacy Day Champions' promote a consistent message about privacy and personal data protection through collaboration and coordination. Through this, organizations work to achieve the common goal of developing personal and business awareness in information security and establishing trust.

And we create a constant stream of information in our daily lives. Sadly, but true, contemporary studies and reports show that we are increasingly losing control over our own information. Information is the most valuable resource in today's world.

The more information one has about others, the more resourceful one is. So despite providing services for free, companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter are becoming huge giants day by day. These companies make money by selling our information to advertising agencies. Generally, if there are three types of information available, it is possible to identify the owner of that information.

The first is 'who'—name, phone number, race, gender, age, height, weight, etc. The second is 'what'—level of education, political beliefs, occupation, marital status, social and political activities, etc. The third type is 'where'—shopping place, work place, prayer place, etc., in short, promenadeBy tying these three types of information together, it is possible to easily identify a person.

This is why it is called Personal Identifiable Information (PII). According to estimates by the American management consulting firm McKinsey, the value of personal location information alone will be more than eight lakh crore rupees in the next few years. According to McAfee, a well-known antivirus company, 82 percent of Android apps track users' online activities, and about 80 percent of apps collect location informationAccording to a 2013 estimate by Mark Goodman, author of the book Future Crimes, American data broker Axiom Corporation has stored 1,500 types of data on more than 700 million customers worldwide on more than 20,000 servers and is constantly growing.

These agencies compile information from sources such as property records, marriage licenses and court cases. They can also collect information about a person's medical records, internet browsing history, social media connections and online purchasesWe are unwittingly spreading more personal information than necessary on the Internet. We think it's safe. But any information is open on the internet.

The person you give the information to is either selling it to others, or hackers are stealing it and using it for their own needs or selling it to others. Hackers can hack not only individuals or organized groups, but also governments, domestic and foreign intelligence agencies or their agents. Most organizations, which you trust to give information, do not delete your old information. Even after you delete your profile, Facebook keeps it on its servers for a long time.

And it is said that Google never deletes any information of anyone. There are many lawsuits against such companies in America and Europe for violation of privacy and security of user data, unethical use of user data, are happening constantly. We are becoming more digitalized and more connected day by day.

It cannot be avoided in any way. So what do we do to protect the privacy of our personal information? The simple answer is that we need to be aware. We need to know what information we are creating online and how that information is collected, shared and used. It's not okay to give out your information to any app or organization. Make an informed decision about whether or not to share your information, considering the benefits you may receive.

Many applications ask permission to access the user's geographic location, contact list, and photo album before using their services. Currently 18 crore mobile sims are being used in the country, while the number of internet users is 12 croreMore than 16,000 entrepreneurs are currently working in around 8,800 digital centers across the country to deliver services to people's doorsteps, where 50 percent are women entrepreneurs. As a result, on the one hand the inequality between men and women, on the other hand the inequality between the rich and the poor and the inequality between rural and urban areas is being eliminated.

The government will invest Tk 500 crore in the next five years to develop the startup culture in the country and pave the way for startups to exploit innovative opportunities.

Ten Startup Ecosystem has been developed by providing talented young entrepreneurs with interest and collateral free equity investment and various facilities including training, incubation, mentoring and coaching. 2500 startups including Bikash, Pathao, Chaldal, Sure Cash, Sahaj, Paperfly are actively working. Who created about 1.5 million more jobs. Our youth was not familiar with this culture even 10 years ago. In just seven years, 700 million dollars have been invested in this sector.

Bangladesh has a good position in online labor force in the world. Before 2009, none of the government services in Bangladesh were digital. But currently all the basic information and services of all government departments are available on the website. Along with this, all government information verification and storage and various services and applications are being conducted online.

In the meantime we have launched an inter-operable digital transaction platform 'Binimay'. Nowadays, banking services have reached the fingertips of every customer. Many jobs are being created through digitization. Money from freelancing is fueling our national growth. Modern digital banking system has been developed in the country through the use of information technology. All these are the benefits of digital Bangladesh.

Equal participation of men and women, ensuring access to technology for all irrespective of rich and poor, reducing distance in access to urban and rural services were all the main objectives and goals of our Digital Bangladesh. Inclusive development in Digital Bangladesh has made it possible to reach remote villages with internet, through implementation of initiatives like Union Digital Centre, employment of women entrepreneurs has also been ensured.

Thanks to inclusive development and technology, now anyone can work in freelancing even in the village. All this has been made possible by the progressive technological, inclusive development of People's Leader Sheikh Hasina's Digital Bangladesh.

Today we spend most of our lives on the internet and our connected devices. Yet few people know that vast amounts of personal information is being collected and shared from the devices and online services we use.

This information may be collected indefinitely and our personal information may be used for our benefit or may be used indiscriminately. It has even been found that sharing unfavorable information online has been used to interfere with your socioeconomic status. Like sharing your favorite restaurants or items you've purchased online.

And legal matter In the absence of strong laws, many domestic and foreign companies are getting the opportunity to monitor the personal behavior of their users and customers and they are selling this information of consumers for profit. Consumers need to understand the true value of their information and how this information is being collected, used and shared. Besides, they need to know how to manage their personal information well.

> Act
Article 43 (b) of the Constitution of Bangladesh recognizes privacy rights or the protection and confidentiality of individual information as fundamental human rights. Privacy is defined as a right in the International Declaration of Human Rights (Article 12), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 17), the United Nations Convention on Migrant Workers (Article 14) and the Charter on the Rights of the Child (Article 16). However, there is no clear direction in any law of Bangladesh regarding the protection of citizen's information. Now is the time to enact data protection laws.

Ensuring that individuals have maximum control over the collection, storage, processing, dissemination and use of personal information by public and private institutions. That is why it is important to have specific laws on data protection and data retention.

Before collecting and processing data, there must be a mechanism to identify why the data is being collected, for what purpose. Personal information must normally be collected with the individual's consent, except in special circumstances. It is very important to have a transparent and accountable government system to ensure that the public and private organizations that store their customers/consumers' personal information adhere to the privacy policy.

> What is the difference between privacy and security?
Security refers to the ways in which we protect ourselves, our property and personal information. It is the first line of defense against uninvited intruders. And privacy refers to our ability to control access to personal information> In the eyes of Islam, restrictions have been imposed on the disclosure of people's personal information: - In Islam, the importance of protecting the dignity of the individual has been emphasized. Protecting personal privacy is considered as protecting the deposit of the concerned person.

If a Muslim brother sees a fault in another Muslim brother, it is his duty to hide that fault, not to humiliate or humiliate him by revealing it in public. The clear view of Islam in this regard is that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) said on the authority of Abu Hurairah, "One believer is the mirror and brother of another believer. (Abu Dawud, Hadith-4918) Islam strongly urges its followers to protect the privacy of individuals. Islam's approach to protecting personal privacy is very important and realistic.

In the Holy Qur'an, Allah says, 'O believers, you live from many ideas. Do not seek certain ideas of guilt and secrecy. Let none of you slander anyone behind his back. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of their dead brother? In fact you hate it. Fear Allah. Surely Allah is Accepting repentance, Most Merciful(Surah Hujrat, verse-12) In the mentioned verse of Surah Hujrat of the Holy Quran, three important issues are discussed. 1. Strong ideas (with evil intentions, evil thoughts); 2. Finding some hidden fault in someone and 3, gossiping. These three things are clearly forbidden in Islam.

The first part of the ayah refers to strong thoughts. Rasulullah SAW said, "None of you should die without having good thoughts towards Allah." (Sahih Muslim-5125, Abu Dawud-2706, Ibn Majah-4157) Treat the servant as he thinks of me. Now let him think about me whatever he wants.' Thus, it is haraam to have a bad opinion about Muslims who appear to be righteous in terms of their outward condition, without proof. Rasulullah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said, 'Beware of ideas. Because, thought is the name of falsehood.' (Sahih Bukhari-4066, Muslim-2563)

The second forbidden thing discussed in the verse is finding fault with someone, which we understand as 'personal privacy'. Disclosure of personal secrets leads to all sorts of mischief. For this reason, the Prophet (PBUH) once said about those who find fault with his sermons, "O people who have believed with their mouths but faith has not yet entered your hearts, do not search for the 'secret' matters of the Muslims.

Whoever searches for the faults of Muslims, Allah will search for his faults. And Allah leaves him humiliated in his house whomever He finds fault with.' (Sunan Abu Dawud-4880) Mu'awiya RA said, I myself heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say, 'If you go back to know the secrets of people.

It will create disaster for them or at least bring them to the brink of disaster(Sunan Abu Dawud-4888) In another hadith, Rasulullah SAW said, 'Do not backbite the Muslims and do not investigate their faults. Because, whoever finds fault with Muslims, Allah will find fault with him. Whoever Allah investigates, humiliates him even in his own home(Sunan Abu Dawud-4880) This instruction not to find fault by violating the personal privacy of the person is not only for the individual, but also for the Islamic government.

In this case, the incident of Umar RA is very instructive. Once during the night he heard a man's voice. He was singing. He doubted. He said to his companion Abdur Rahman Ibn Awf RA, "Whose house is this?" It was said, it is the house of Rabia Ibn Umayyah Ibn Khalaf. They are drinking now. What do you think? Then Abdur Rahman Ibn Awf said, My opinion is that we are doing what Allah has forbidden. Allah Ta'ala forbids us to do so, saying, 'Do not seek in secret matters'. (Surah Hujurat, verse-12) Then Umar came back and left him.

(Mustadrake Hakim-8249, Makarimul Akhlaq: Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Jafar Al Kharayti-398, 420, Musannafe Abdir Razzaq-10/221) This proves that finding out the hidden faults of people and then catching them is only It is not permissible for the individual, nor for the Islamic government. This is also mentioned in a hadith. In that hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) said, "When the rulers begin to investigate people's faults under suspicion, it spoils their character." (Sunan Abu Dawud-4889).

Any information should not be disseminated once it has been disseminated to society. Because many information disseminated in the society are baseless. Allah says, "When they heard this, why did the believing men and believing women not think well of their people and say, 'This is clear slander.'" do Finally, it is important to ensure that individuals have maximum control over the collection, storage, processing, dissemination and use of personal information by public and private institutions. And like many other countries in Bangladesh, it is important to have legal system to prevent extreme moral crimes like violation of personal privacy of people. There should be strong laws so that no one can violate the rights of another citizen at will. Law acts on behalf of the individual to protect his rights. Along with this, public awareness is also needed to comply with the law. This crime cannot be stopped by law alone. Egregious moral crimes like violation of personal privacy can be controlled if people are aware of moral values.

The writer is a Columnist & researcher Founder Chairman, Jatiya rogi Kalyan Society.