Folk Fest Registration Controversy Exemplifies the Need for Data Protection Law

The article addresses the use and sharing of personal data collected during registration for the Dhaka International Folk Fest, and the absence of a data protection law in Bangladesh.

It writes: ‘Although the relevant parties involved may have been the subject of significant “fury” and “uproar” from the users or registrants, as things stand, their reported actions are technically legal; and this is the actual problem.’ Without such a law, it argues, data controllers need not tell users why their data is collected, how it will be used or whether it will be shared.

It concludes: ‘Therefore, it is high time to draft, enact, and implement an effective and efficient data protection law in Bangladesh.’