Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has called for at least one month to complete the relevant public draft review and inclusive participation process before promulgating the ‘Cyber Security Ordinance, 2024’.
The organization said that if the ordinance is promulgated without adequate analysis and inclusive review by the relevant stakeholders, it will risk disrupting its main purpose.
TIB officially made a recommendation to the interim government in this regard on Sunday.
The organization’s Executive Director Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said in the letter that the decision to repeal the Cyber Security Act, which was used as a tool to suppress dissent and silence the media, has brought relief to all citizens, which is one of the public welfare-oriented steps of the interim government. The draft of the ‘Cyber Security Ordinance, 2024’ has been prepared by the Law and Rules Branch of the Information and Communication Technology Division by repealing laws that undermine freedom of speech and expression. TIB hopes that this ordinance will be enacted to ensure cyber security and to formulate necessary provisions for the prevention and suppression of cyber crimes and the investigation and prosecution of cyber crimes.
Moreover, the possibility of this ordinance, like the previous Digital Security Act and the Cyber Security Act, obstructing the speech and expression of citizens, deserves proper review.
The TIB Executive Director said that this draft was made available on the website for only three working days for review, which has ended and has already been removed. Even, according to media sources, the draft was given initial approval by the Advisory Council on December 12.
He said that if this very important ordinance like the ‘Cyber Security Ordinance, 2024’ is issued without adequate analysis and inclusive review by the relevant stakeholders, there will be a risk of disrupting its main purpose. In this situation, I call for an extension of at least one month for the review of all relevant stakeholders and experts and the promulgation of the ordinance through an inclusive process based on its analysis.