Staff Reporter:
The interim government has taken a decision in principle to repeal the controversial Cyber Security Act (CSA) to ensure freedom of expression in the country.
The decision was taken during an advisory council meeting held with Chief of Interim Government Prof Muhammad Yunus in the chair at his Tejgaon office in Dhaka on Thursday.
The Cyber Security Act, 2023 is a digital security law in Bangladesh that was passed in 2023 replacing the Digital Security Act, 2018.
The CSA was passed by the parliament in September 2023 with provisions for punishing those filing false cases under the act.
It contains most of the provisions of the Digital Security Act, 2018 and Section 57 of the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006.
While addressing different events, some advisers of the interim government have recently been talking about scraping the controversial law.
Of them, while addressing a programme on 3 October in Dhaka, Law Affairs Adviser Asif Nazrul said that the CSA must be revoked and the government will take its own course in this regard.
Besides, on 4 November, Information Adviser Nahid Islam said that the CSA would be repealed and all cases filed under the act would be withdrawn.
During the quota reforms protests, the law was used to lodge cases against those posting negative posts against then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
After the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services and Forum for Freedom of Expression Bangladesh called for the act to be repealed in August 2024.
Sensing the urgency of repealing the act, Amnesty International said it does not comply with “international human rights law.” It has also described the law as a replication of the “Draconian” Digital Security Act.
A total of 5,818, filed under the CSA as of August 2024, were being handled by eight cyber tribunals across the country.
Of these, 1,340 cases were related to speech offenses, with 461 currently under investigation and 879 pending in court, according to data of the Ministry of Law Affairs.
