Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern over provisions in the draft Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026, saying they pose serious risks to fundamental human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of expression.
The anti-graft watchdog has called for a comprehensive revision of the draft law based on the views of relevant experts and stakeholders as well as international good practices.
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In a statement issued to the media on Friday, 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 adequately addressing any of them.
Instead, it creates scope for deliberate misinterpretation and misuse in all three areas, raising the possibility of human rights violations, he said.
He said the draft also conflates cybercrime with the specialised field of cybersecurity and includes regulatory provisions concerning freedom of expression in cyberspace.
Warning that approval of the draft in its current form could turn Bangladesh's cyberspace into an environment of unchecked surveillance, impunity and repression, Iftekharuzzaman said several concepts, including “rumour”, “misinformation”, “demeaning”, “defamatory” and “insulting to the state”, have been defined in ways that could allow deliberate misinterpretation and targeted misuse.
Such provisions could particularly threaten freedom of speech and fundamental human rights, he said.
He also said terms such as “sexual harassment” and “sextortion” have been defined in an unprofessional and incomplete manner, potentially allowing the actual nature of crimes to be concealed, accused persons to be protected and victims to be deprived of their rights.
Furthermore, Section 46(2) identifies Section 23 as a non-bailable offence and introduces concepts such as “friendly relations with a foreign state” and acting “for the benefit of a foreign state or any person or group”.
The lack of clear definitions and the possible practical implications of these provisions, many of which could be determined at the discretion of those in power, create significant scope for abuse and could seriously threaten dissent and freedom of speech, Iftekharuzzaman observed.
Referring to the proposed National Cyber Security Council, he said the council would comprise 28 members, including the Prime Minister, while only two private-sector experts would be included from the fields of “information technology or human rights”.
The two experts would also be nominated by the government, he said.
TIB therefore called for these provisions to be comprehensively revised and for the council to comprise relevant experts who are independent of government control and capable of performing their responsibilities in a non-partisan manner.
If an independent and neutral National Cyber Security Council is established, the authority to formulate rules should be vested in the council rather than the government, Iftekharuzzaman proposed.
He also criticised a provision granting council members and officials and employees empowered under the 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”, he said.
Reminding the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) of its election manifesto commitment to ensuring cyber security for all citizens, TIB strongly demanded that the draft law be thoroughly revised.