Cyber bullying is basically an act done by a person(s) against another person(s) by using electronic communication, e.g. social media. A few examples of cyber bullying are causing someone harm by posting unwanted or private information, threatening a person by sending mean messages via emails, social networking websites, text or audio messages, spreading rumors via email or social networking sites, sharing private/embarrassing pictures, creating fake profiles, etc. In Bangladesh, cyber bullying is not just an act to be scorned at but is an offence punishable under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act 2006. The Act, inter alia, provides that a person who deliberately publishes, in a website or in electronic form, any material which is fake and obscene or has the effect of corrupting persons who are likely to read, see or hear the material or causes to prejudice the image of a person or may hurt religious belief or instigate against any person, then the person publishing the material will be guilty of an offence under the Act. The punishment for such an offence is imprisonment and/or fine. Victims of cyber crimes (including cyber bullying) can lodge a complaint complaint to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) by calling at +880-29611111 or by emailing at btrc@btrc.gov.bd. BTRC is supposed to take necessary actions within 24 hours and the perpetrators will be brought to justice within 3 days after the complaint is filed. The government has also launched a cyber-crime helpline. Victims can call at +8801766678888 to submit their complaints. Furthermore, if the harassment amounts to criminal intimidation (threatening someone with injury to his/her person, reputation, property etc.), then the perpetrator may be liable to punishment as per the Penal Code 1860. The steps mentioned above should definitely be taken if the matter is serious. An important first step is the internal reporting process of the particular social media website or application. If we take Facebook, for example, photos and comments can be reported and the particular user can be blocked. Similar reporting systems are in place in most other popular social media websites or applications.
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