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, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) warned on Friday.

In a statement, the organisation called for the draft to be comprehensively revised in light of the views of relevant experts and stakeholders and international good practices.

TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman 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.” 

He said in addition to “conflating cybercrime with the specialised 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.”

Warning that if the law, in its current draft form, is approved, Bangladesh’s cyberspace could become an environment of unchecked surveillance, impunity and repression, the TIB Executive Director highlighted definitions of concepts in the law, which could create scope for deliberate misinterpretation.

“The draft law defines a number of concepts, including ‘rumour’, ‘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.” 

He further noted that 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 statement said Section 46(2) identified 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. 

“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,” Dr Iftekharuzzaman observed.

Referring 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.” 

He said 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.” 

He further proposed 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, to ensure transparency.

“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’.

"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,” Dr Iftekharuzzaman said.

Reminding the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of its commitment in the election manifesto to ensuring the cyber security of all citizens, TIB strongly demanded that the draft be thoroughly revised, incorporating the necessary amendments, additions and deletions based on the views of relevant stakeholders and experts and international best practices