National Citizen Party (NCP) Spokesperson and former Youth and Sports Adviser to the interim government, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain, has sent a legal notice to Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Deputy Director and Public Relations Officer Akhtarul Islam, demanding withdrawal of his remarks that “preliminary truth” was found in graft allegations against him.

In a message sent to the media on Friday, the NCP said Akhtarul Islam, at a press briefing on September 2, claimed that preliminary evidence supported allegations of irregularities in transfers, recruitment and promotions during Asif Mahmud’s tenure as adviser.

The remarks were widely circulated by various media outlets and on social media afterwards, it said.

The party alleged that the statement, made without any formal investigation or concrete evidence, triggered what it said was a large-scale media trial against Asif Mahmud, creating a public perception that the allegations were already proven and damaging his personal and political reputation.

According to the NCP, Akhtarul Islam later sent a message to journalists in a WhatsApp group for ACC beat reporters, saying his earlier remarks were made “by mistake” and requesting that the phrase “preliminary truth” be dropped from news coverage.

However, the party noted that the statement made at the public press conference was never formally withdrawn or corrected, allowing the resulting media trial and negative public perception to persist.

The legal notice also pointed out factual inconsistencies in the allegations. While the ACC official claimed 38 upazila youth development officers were stripped of their current charge, the NCP said the actual number was 112 and that the decision was implemented as part of enforcing an Administrative Appellate Tribunal order.

The party further said linking Asif Mahmud to the promotion of 150 assistant upazila youth development officers to upazila youth development officers was baseless, noting he resigned as adviser on December 10, 2025, while the promotions were made on May 11, 2026, five months after his resignation and three months into the BNP-led government’s tenure.

The notice calls on the ACC official to unconditionally withdraw his remarks within 15 days and refrain from making unverified, unsubstantiated statements in the future.

It warns that failure to comply will result in legal action, including under Section 500 of the Penal Code, which deals with defamation.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed into law new restrictions barring children under 16 from exposure to behaviourally addictive features on social media platforms and banning toys containing AI companion chatbots.

The two measures were among 13 bills Newsom enacted as part of a package aimed at safeguarding young people from technologies seen as posing risks to their wellbeing, including measures to strengthen online privacy protections for minors.

Another measure expands criminal sanctions for child sexual abuse material to include digitally altered or AI-generated content depicting anyone under 18 engaged in sexual conduct.

A separate law bans the manufacture and sale of toys incorporating companion chatbots for the next four years. A related measure requires parental controls for chatbot programmes, along with other safety measures and risk assessments.

Newsom described the regulations as the most far-reaching of their kind in the US.

One of the measures, dubbed “Adam’s Law”, was named in memory of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old boy who died by suicide in April 2025. His parents said he acted on suicidal thoughts that were validated during months of conversations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

OpenAI has said it intends to strengthen ChatGPT’s safeguards. The company has acknowledged that its safeguards became “less reliable” as user interactions grew more prolonged.

“We want our children – and every California kid – to grow up in a world where technology supports their wellbeing, rather than exploits their vulnerabilities,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement announcing the measures.

California, home to major technology companies including Google, Meta Platforms and Snap, joins a growing list of US states cracking down on business strategies seen as deliberately designed to keep teenagers engaged on social media, despite evidence linking extensive use to mental health risks.

The measures have received broad bipartisan support, although some critics have opposed them as unnecessary restrictions on young people’s internet access. The Electronic Frontier Foundation called the legislation “a massive privacy and free speech nightmare”.

Utah was the first US state to adopt laws regulating children’s access to social media. It was followed by states including Arkansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Texas, Florida and New York, although their approaches have varied.

‘Psychologically exploitative’ features targeted

Countries around the world have also moved to restrict children’s access to harmful online content. Australia, for example, has banned social media use by children under 16.

California’s version, known as Assembly Bill 1709, prohibits children under 16 from being exposed to a range of “psychologically exploitative features intended to maximise engagement that foreseeably lead to compulsive use”.

These include infinite-scroll feeds, algorithmic autoplay and other features to be defined through future regulations.

The law comes as Big Tech companies, facing mounting legal challenges, have shown greater willingness to accept new restrictions.

Meta agreed three weeks ago to pay as much as $18 billion over the next decade and impose strict limits on how teenagers use its Facebook and Instagram platforms under a deal with nearly all US states to resolve civil claims that the company designed its social media platforms to addict children.

The building, covering the entire premises, was being searched by law enforcement agencies, he added.

Of the 63 detainees, 35 are from Laos, 21 from Pakistan, five from China, one from Vietnam and one from Nepal, according to police.

Among them, 41 are men, 21 are women, and one is a child.

Police seized 131 mobile phones and 56 laptops, bringing the total number of devices seized to 187. They also recovered foreign currencies and equipment used for casino games during the raid.

The OC told The Business Standard that it had not yet been confirmed whether the detainees were involved in online scamming or the alleged illegal casino business.

He also said police would examine information stored on the seized devices to identify those involved.

The CMP Cyber Crime Unit had been working on the matter for a long time, Abdur Rahim said.

The raid began around 3pm yesterday after police received information through a confidential source, he added.

Locals said they had noticed an increased movement of foreign nationals in the building over the past month.

The OC said police would provide details officially after the operation ends.