The government has decided to scrap the highly debated Digital Security Act (DSA) 2018.
The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday morning, a highly placed source of cabinet confirmed the information to Dhaka Tribune.
The law will be replaced by Cyber Security Act 2023.
Meanwhile, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq on Monday said that the Cyber Security Act 2023 will not have jail terms for defamation cases.
"One of the important things that is new is that there was a provision of jail and fine in defamation cases, it has been proposed to remove the jail provision and keep only the provision of fine," the minister said.
Earlier, Law Minister Anisul Huq said that DSA will not be repealed and that the act is undergoing a refinement process to prevent its misuse and will be amended by September during the tenure of this government.
The DSA was enacted on October 8, 2018, with the aim of preventing the spread of racism; sectarianism; extremism; terrorist propaganda; and hatred against religious or ethnic minorities through social media, print media or any other electronic media.
However, since its inception, the act was criticized heavily for its misuse.
Law Minister Anisul Huq told the National Parliament last June that since the enactment of the DSA, there have been 7,001 cases filed under the act across the country till January 31 this year.
