The government has decided to scrap the highly debated Digital Security Act (DSA) 2018, which was enacted to abolish the Information and Communication Technology Act 2006 (amended in 2013).
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday morning. The meeting gave its nod to the draft Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023, a revised version of the DSA the government had promised to stop misuse.
One of the important changes in the new law is the provision of non-bailable imprisonment and fines in defamation cases. It proposes to remove the provision of jail and keep only the provision of a fine.
The provisions for cyber security which were in the DSA have been kept intact in the proposed law. However, many clauses have been changed. According to the new law, there will be a Cyber Security Agency. In addition, the previous law had more prison provisions. The new law has kept the fines higher.
The non-bailable sections in the proposed law are 17, 19, 21 and 33 while the bailable sections are 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29.
After scrutiny by the Law Ministry, the draft will be placed in the Cabinet again.
Law Minister Anisul Huq on Monday said that the CSA will not have jail terms for defamation cases. It has been proposed to remove the jail provision and keep only the provision of fines, the minister told reporters. The highest fine of Tk25 lakh has been proposed in the draft law.
On the other hand, the BNP said it could be deadlier than the DSA.
Amnesty International and Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) have welcomed the government’s move. In separate statements, the rights bodies hoped that the new law should not contain repressive features that can be used to restrict free expression.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin told reporters at his office yesterday that the ongoing cases under the DSA will not be cancelled. The trials will continue according to the previous law.
The DSA was enacted in 2018 to provide cyber security to citizens, but its wide scope and vague provisions are being exploited for more nefarious purposes.
All offences under the previous Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act, 2006 were initially non-cognizable and bailable. However, an amendment in 2013 made sections 54, 56, 57, and 61 cognizable and non-bailable.
On the other hand, there are 22 sections in the DSA which deal with offences and penalties. However, the widely used provisions are sections 25 and 29. Section 25 deals with the publishing and sending of offensive, false or fear-inducing data or information, while Section 29 deals with publishing, broadcasting and disseminating defamatory information.
Human rights defenders have repeatedly highlighted that the law was used as a weapon to muzzle contrarian voices from exercising their freedom of expression, particularly the press, but this is only the tip of the iceberg of problems that it poses.
The most dangerous aspect of the DSA is the wide range of offences it considers cognizable and non-bailable. Such offences allow police to conduct an investigation and carry out an arrest without an order of the court or warrant, and the accused has no choice but to languish in jail until he is tried. Even if the case is eventually dismissed, the damage has already been done.