The draft Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026 poses serious risks to fundamental human rights and freedom of speech and expression, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said today, calling for a comprehensive revision of the proposed law in line with stakeholder views and international best practices.
In a statement, TIB Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said the draft attempts to deal with three distinct issues -- cybercrime, cybersecurity and freedom of expression -- under a single law without adequately addressing any of them.
Rather, it creates scope for “risky and deliberate misinterpretation and misuse” in all three areas, raising the prospect of human rights violations, he said.
The draft also conflates cybercrime with the specialised field of cybersecurity while incorporating regulatory provisions concerning freedom of expression in cyberspace, which TIB said falls outside the scope of such legislation and is contrary to global good practices.
If approved in its current form, the law could turn Bangladesh’s cyberspace into an environment of unchecked surveillance, impunity and repression, Iftekharuzzaman warned.
He said definitions of terms including “rumour”, “misinformation”, “demeaning”, “defamatory” and “insulting to the state” could facilitate deliberate misinterpretation and targeted misuse, particularly against freedom of speech and fundamental rights.
The definitions of “sexual harassment” and “sextortion” are also “unprofessional and incomplete”, he said, creating scope for concealing the actual nature of crimes, protecting accused persons and depriving victims of their rights.
TIB also raised concerns over Section 46(2), which makes an offence under Section 23 non-bailable.
The provision introduces vaguely defined concepts such as “friendly relations with a foreign state” and acting “for the benefit of a foreign state or any person or group”, Iftekharuzzaman said.
“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,” he said.
TIB also questioned the proposed National Cyber Security Council, which would have 28 members, including the prime minister, with only two private-sector experts on information technology or human rights.
Those two experts would also be nominated by the government, the organisation said.
As a result, the council, operating under direct government authority, could acquire sweeping powers to interpret and arbitrarily enforce the law, Iftekharuzzaman 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,” he said.
TIB proposed that, subject to establishing an independent and neutral National Cyber Security Council, the power to formulate rules should rest with the council rather than the government.
It also criticised a provision protecting council members, officials and employees from criminal and civil action for things they did in “good faith”.
“Such immunity is inconsistent with the fundamental principle that ‘everyone is equal in the eyes of the law’,” Iftekharuzzaman 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,” he added.
TIB reminded the ruling BNP of its election manifesto commitment to ensuring the cyber security of all citizens and demanded that the draft be thoroughly revised.
