The Council of Advisers in a meeting on Tuesday approved the draft of the Cyber Surokkha Adhyadesh-2025 (Cyber Protection Ordinance-2025)’, abolishing a number of provisions of the Cyber Security Act-2023 as the interim government promised to revoke the Act.
One of the provisions abolished while drafting the new ordinance is “punishment for carrying out any hateful, misleading and defamatory propaganda against the Liberation War, spirit of the Liberation War, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman, national anthem or national flag” as many cases were filed using this provision in the past to “harass” people.
Following vetting by the Ministry of Law, the ordinance is expected to be officially announced within a week to enforce.
Law Adviser Dr Asif Nazrul briefed reporters at the Foreign Service Academy about the decisions taken at the meeting of the Council of Advisers with Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus in the chair.
Youth and Sports Adviser Asif Mahmud and Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam also spoke at the briefing.
The Law Adviser said the Council of Advisers also approved the Code of Civil Procedure (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 and an ordinance related to the demarcation of electoral areas.
Asif Nazrul said a total of nine provisions have been abolished under 95 percent of the cases that were usually filled in the past.
Once the ordinance comes into effect on completion of due process, the cases filed under these nine provisions will automatically be revoked, he said.
"When we first took office, we pledged to repeal the previous Cyber Security Act and replace it with a modern law," said the Law Adviser.
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He said both the Ministry of Information Technology and the Ministry of Law consulted extensively in drafting the new ordinance. "As far as I know, there has never been this level of consultation on a law in Bangladesh in the past."
Nazrul said the draft was revised 25 times and the final version shaped during a three-hour meeting with some of the law’s most prominent critics, including civil society representatives.
The draft was presented at the Council of Advisers' meeting on Tuesday, where a minor amendment was suggested, he mentioned.
In the proposed ordinance, for the first time, the Internet has been recognized as a civil right and online gambling has been banned while women and child abuse and sexual harassment in cyberspace have been recognised as punishable crimes, he said.
Besides, some articles have been changed except for the crime of expressing an opinion. Crimes such as online abuse and sexual harassment of women and children have been clearly defined and made punishable.
The ordinance now retains only two categories of punishable speech-related offenses - publishing sexually abusive content targeting women and children and spreading content that involves threats, incites religious hatred, or provokes violence.
These offences have been clearly defined to prevent misuse and ensure that individuals are not harassed under vague provisions.
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Bangladesh becomes the first country in South Asia to criminalise offences committed using artificial intelligence, said the Law Adviser.
Safeguards have been introduced to prevent abuse of this provision. For instance, he said, if a magistrate finds no merit in such a case within 24 hours, it can be dismissed at the pre-trial stage without waiting for a charge sheet.