Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern on 11 September 2026 in Dhaka that the draft Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026 contains provisions that pose serious risks to people’s fundamental human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The non-government organization has called for the draft to be comprehensively revised in light of the views of relevant experts and stakeholders and international good practices.
In a statement issued to the media, Dr Iftekharuzzaman, the TIB Executive Director, said, “The draft law brings three complex and distinct issues — cybercrime, cybersecurity and people’s right to freedom of expression — under a single law, without giving adequate attention to any of them. Rather, it creates scope for risky and deliberate misinterpretation and misuse in each of these areas, raising the prospect of human rights violations. In addition to conflating cybercrime with the specialized field of cybersecurity, the draft incorporates regulatory provisions concerning people’s freedom of expression in cyberspace. This is an entirely different matter, falls outside the scope of such legislation, and is contrary to global good practices.”
Bangladesh’s cyberspace could become an environment of unchecked state surveillance, impunity and repression, if the law is approved in its current draft form. Warning the possiblity of these impacts, the TIB Executive Director said, “The draft law defines a number of concepts, including ‘rumor’, ‘misinformation’, ‘demeaning’, ‘defamatory’ and ‘insulting to the state’, in ways that create scope for deliberate misinterpretation, targeted misuse and, in particular, the violation of freedom of speech and fundamental human rights.”
TIB has, moreover, expressed concerns about the cyber sexcual crime provisions in the amendment draft to the Cyber Security Act 2026, which was passed in the national parliament in June 2026. The TIB Executive Director said, ”…terms such as ‘sexual harassment’ and ‘sextortion’ have been defined in an unprofessional and incomplete manner, creating the possibility of concealing the actual nature of crimes, protecting the accused and depriving victims of their rights.”
The draft act includes a non-bailable offence, particularly Section 46(2) identifies Section 23 as a non-bailable offence. The provision introduces concepts including “friendly relations with a foreign state” and acting “for the benefit of a foreign state or any person or group”, among others. Dr Iftekharuzzaman observes that the lack of clear definitions and the potential practical implications of these provisions, which in many cases could be determined at the discretion of those in power, create significant scope for abuse and could seriously threaten dissent and freedom of speech.
With a reference to the proposed National Cyber Security Council, the TIB Executive Director said, “The proposal to establish a Cyber Security Council comprising 28 members, including the Prime Minister, provides for only two private-sector experts on ‘information technology or human rights’. These two experts would also be nominated by the government. As a result, the ‘Security Council’, under the government’s direct authority, could acquire sweeping powers to interpret and arbitrarily enforce the provisions of this law in a deliberate and unaccountable manner…”
Putting importance on addressing these, the TIB Executive Director said, ”We therefore call for such provisions to be comprehensively revised and for the Council to be composed of relevant experts who are independent of government control and capable of discharging their responsibilities in a non-partisan manner.”
Offering that, subject to the establishment of an independent and neutral National Cyber Security Council, the authority to formulate rules should be vested in the Council rather than the government of Bangladesh, the TIB Executive Director said, “The draft grants members of the Council and officials and employees empowered under this law immunity from criminal and civil proceedings for actions carried out in ‘good faith’. Such immunity is inconsistent with the fundamental principle that ‘everyone is equal in the eyes of the law’…”
Highlighting the possible impacts of the draft cybersecurity law, the TIB Executive Director said, ”If approved without comprehensive revision, the draft law would create an environment of unchecked surveillance, impunity and repression in Bangladesh’s cyberspace, where public access could be controlled at the discretion of the government and the suppression of dissent and violations of fundamental human rights could become normalised.”
Reminding the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of its commitment in the 2026 election manifesto to ensuring the cyber security of all citizens, TIB strongly demands that the draft act be thoroughly revised, incorporating the necessary amendments, additions and deletions based on the views of relevant stakeholders and experts and international best practices.
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DISCLAIMER: The piece was sent by TI Bangladesh to Dhaka Opinion Magazine. Views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Magazine and its editorial team. Views published are the sole responsibility of the author(s).
