The government has decided to replace the Digital Security Act (DSA) with Cyber Security Act 2023, in which sections of the existing law will be amended.
Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq confirmed the development on Monday, reports UNB.
The decision came after a meeting of the Cabinet Division chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the morning, he added.
The name of the law has been changed and some articles of the law have been amended.
The cabinet approved the draft of Cyber Security Act in principle with the provisions of maximum Tk 25 lakh in fine for publishing defamatory information through digital media, the law minister said.
“There will be no provision of jail sentence and the government will impose fine after abolishing the jail term in the Act,” he told reporters after the cabinet meeting at the secretariat.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government is working for the people, he said, adding, "We have taken measures to stop the misuse and abuse of DSA through some amendments."
The minister said that related provisions for cyber security included in the DSA will be retained in the new act without making any changes.
Earlier, on May 3, Anisul said that DSA will not be repealed but necessary amendments will be made.
The DSA was enacted on October 8, 2018 with the aim to prevent the spread of sectarianism, terrorist propaganda, extremism, and hatred against religious or ethnic minorities through social media, print media or any other electronic media.
However, since its inception, DSA has been criticised heavily for its widespread misuse, especially against journalists.
According to the Section 29 of DSA, if any person publishes or transmits any defamatory information as described in Section 499 of the Penal Code through website or in any other electronic format, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or with fine of Tk 5 lakh.
As per the Cyber Security Act-2023, the government has planned to scrap jail terms and impose fines in this section, said the law minister.
“From now on the only punishment is fine in this section. But if anyone fails to pay the fine he would have to serve in jail for three-six months,” he said.
