Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has said that individuals will be subjected to legal harassment while expressing their opinions and information through digital media if the draft Cyber Security Act (CSA) 2023 becomes law.
The anti-graft watchdog arranged a press conference yesterday at its office on "Digital Security Act and Draft Cyber Security Act: A Comparative Review" where they said that the draft Cyber Security Act, 2023 has incorporated the controversial provisions of the Digital Security Act, 2018, though some changes have been made in terms of penalties and non-enforceability clauses.
The conference was attended by TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman, Advisor, Executive Management Prof. Sumaiya Khair.
If the draft cyber security law is passed at the parliament, it will become a black law like the Digital Security Act. As a result, there will be a huge risk of violation of basic rights of people which are backed up by the constitution.
TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, “The fundamental weakness of the Digital Security Act remains in the drafted Cyber Security Act and is causing concern. In the draft law, the basic rights of people ie the freedom of expression will be curtailed.
According to Sections 8, 9, 10, and 11 of the proposed law, concerned authorities will ask BTRC to remove both data or information if cyber security is threatened, and Section 8(2) states that if law enforcement agencies believe that any shared information may affect the country's economic activities, security, defense, undermines religious values or public order or promotes racial hatred or hatred, the law enforcement agencies will have the authority to take action.
As per our cyber security policy, security in cyber space has to be achieved by 2021, but the statistics on cybercrimes committed in the country so far shows that our technical skills have not increased and the authorities have failed to ensure cyber security.
“There have been many types of cyber-attacks in Bangladesh from other countries; even money has been stolen from Bangladesh Bank by hacking. To ensure real cyber security, we should look at these issues,” he said.
After all, the Cyber Security Act is being enacted by simply renaming Digital Security Act. “We need to acquire the ability to monitor all the crimes and frauds happening in cyberspace without undermining our freedom of expression. Cybercrime is not limited to the borders of the country; rather it has an international dimension,” he said.
