A petition seeking better attention through statutory means to address the problem of sharing private pornographic clips or photos or any such nature got the consent of the office of the Prime Minister is definitely a welcome news for all of us. Kudos to Namgay Zam for her social activity. The PM's office responded not only positively but also ensured that Bhutan Information Communications and Media Authority Act (BICMA Act) would undergo an amendment to
incorporate to accommodate such issues possibly through enactment of stringent penalties.
Today, not only Bhutan but across the world including some of most developed nations seem to advocate for stringent penalties whenever any crime occurs. In India, after the Delhi Gang Rape case, which shook the nation, the Parliament amended the Indian Penal Code to define the rape in such a way that even without touching would amount to rape fulfilling certain conditions and can even amount to death penalty for such heinous crime. But did this really reduced the rape cases in India? There are more questions than answers. It is because, the nature of society and nation dictates such behavior and not merely stringent penalties. Bhutan is no exception. Bhutan too amended the rape provisions in the Penal Code of Bhutan to suit the present scenario yet we still see rising number of rape cases in the country. A group of people in NGO requested government to bring very harsh laws on drug menace. Are we sure such harsh penalties would alone bring down the menace. The present petition would not be an exception and would expect to face the same fate as other problems.
There is no denying the fact that, there should be such stringent penalties to bring those culprits to justice. However, equally there must exist mechanisms to prevent through other means. The greatest tool is the awareness among the people especially in the rural areas and our young people who comprise the major chunk of social network users in the country. Would it be right for us to punish everyone so severely if they actually had no malafide intentions but happened due to sheer ignorance? Would it be justified then? In a democracy, there is a legal principle that Ignorantia juris non excusat (Ignorance of law is not an excuse) as every law is enacted by the parliament which represent everyone indirectly. Then, there would have been no excuse to the so called Tobacco Control Act which in its principle and intentions where for the welfare of the health. So with everything, shouldn't this principle have exception not necessarily through penalties but through other means which may include vigorous nationwide campaign than mere policy and enactment of legislation. The state must not only take the responsibility of instituting legal framework but also take more proactive measures to curb such issues becomes it becomes endemic through simple steps like creating awareness campaigns through social networks or mass media which does not cost much yet could reach a huge chunk of Bhutanese who also uses the same technology to commit such crime, intentionally or ignorantly.
We as Bhutanese society must fight collectively and should not leave alone to the course of law to take place which would be too late. Deterrent or punitive measure is only one measure among so many other remedies and in fact in this modern world, punitive is always preferred the last remedy. Hence, whether, government or private, individual or community, we must put in other mechanisms to prevent such unhealthy practice in the society.
Finally, shouldn't we look such issues more holistically than narrowly by including studies on social media and cyber crimes as a whole package. This would not only reduce public resources but also address so many other crimes and problems such as electronic fraud, defamation, terrorism, human trafficking, money laundering, illegal online business and scams etc and also provide rights and obligations.
Thus, shouldn't we have a national statutory framework as well as executable strategies on social media along with cyber related matters. A typical example could be, the Information Technology Act of India 2005. This single piece of legislation address any form of electronic crime including terrorism, distribution of any illegal materials including pornographic, weapons, gambling, all forms of sexual violence and crimes etc. It also obligate the state to provide security on legitimate use of electronic medium for any purpose including e-commerce and trade, e-litigation, social media as well as ensures their right to information, freedom of speech and expression and such related fundamental rights in the country. Thus, we must sometimes, see such issues in a more holistic than specific issues separately.
incorporate to accommodate such issues possibly through enactment of stringent penalties.
Today, not only Bhutan but across the world including some of most developed nations seem to advocate for stringent penalties whenever any crime occurs. In India, after the Delhi Gang Rape case, which shook the nation, the Parliament amended the Indian Penal Code to define the rape in such a way that even without touching would amount to rape fulfilling certain conditions and can even amount to death penalty for such heinous crime. But did this really reduced the rape cases in India? There are more questions than answers. It is because, the nature of society and nation dictates such behavior and not merely stringent penalties. Bhutan is no exception. Bhutan too amended the rape provisions in the Penal Code of Bhutan to suit the present scenario yet we still see rising number of rape cases in the country. A group of people in NGO requested government to bring very harsh laws on drug menace. Are we sure such harsh penalties would alone bring down the menace. The present petition would not be an exception and would expect to face the same fate as other problems.
There is no denying the fact that, there should be such stringent penalties to bring those culprits to justice. However, equally there must exist mechanisms to prevent through other means. The greatest tool is the awareness among the people especially in the rural areas and our young people who comprise the major chunk of social network users in the country. Would it be right for us to punish everyone so severely if they actually had no malafide intentions but happened due to sheer ignorance? Would it be justified then? In a democracy, there is a legal principle that Ignorantia juris non excusat (Ignorance of law is not an excuse) as every law is enacted by the parliament which represent everyone indirectly. Then, there would have been no excuse to the so called Tobacco Control Act which in its principle and intentions where for the welfare of the health. So with everything, shouldn't this principle have exception not necessarily through penalties but through other means which may include vigorous nationwide campaign than mere policy and enactment of legislation. The state must not only take the responsibility of instituting legal framework but also take more proactive measures to curb such issues becomes it becomes endemic through simple steps like creating awareness campaigns through social networks or mass media which does not cost much yet could reach a huge chunk of Bhutanese who also uses the same technology to commit such crime, intentionally or ignorantly.
We as Bhutanese society must fight collectively and should not leave alone to the course of law to take place which would be too late. Deterrent or punitive measure is only one measure among so many other remedies and in fact in this modern world, punitive is always preferred the last remedy. Hence, whether, government or private, individual or community, we must put in other mechanisms to prevent such unhealthy practice in the society.
Finally, shouldn't we look such issues more holistically than narrowly by including studies on social media and cyber crimes as a whole package. This would not only reduce public resources but also address so many other crimes and problems such as electronic fraud, defamation, terrorism, human trafficking, money laundering, illegal online business and scams etc and also provide rights and obligations.
Thus, shouldn't we have a national statutory framework as well as executable strategies on social media along with cyber related matters. A typical example could be, the Information Technology Act of India 2005. This single piece of legislation address any form of electronic crime including terrorism, distribution of any illegal materials including pornographic, weapons, gambling, all forms of sexual violence and crimes etc. It also obligate the state to provide security on legitimate use of electronic medium for any purpose including e-commerce and trade, e-litigation, social media as well as ensures their right to information, freedom of speech and expression and such related fundamental rights in the country. Thus, we must sometimes, see such issues in a more holistic than specific issues separately.
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