Bangladesh's new digital laws under scrutiny

Bangladesh is making systemic changes to its digital laws, especially in cybersecurity and data protection.

The Interim Government is working on new rules, but several organisations (Access Now, ARTICLE 19, Human Rights Watch, PEN International, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, Tech Global Institute) worry that these changes are happening too fast and without enough public input.

Two new laws, the Cyber Protection Ordinance (CPO) and the Personal Data Protection Ordinance (PDPO), have been proposed, they however, "fail to address the broader systemic challenges in cyberspace governance in alignment with fundamental rights under Bangladesh's constitutional framework and international human rights framework," says Mirage News

These laws use unclear language, which could lead to misuse and harm people's rights.

A major concern  of the interested human rights organisations is that the government is not letting the public take part in making these laws.

Additionally, the proposed amendment to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulation Act (BTRA), which allows internet shutdowns and spying, has not been shared with the public at all. This has prevented experts, civil society groups, and the public from reviewing or discussing these laws.

The new laws also have vague rules that could harm people's rights. For example, the CPO does not clearly define what counts as "obscene video", "sexual harassment", and "cyber terrorism" in broad ways that can lead to harsh and unfair punishments.

PDPO also does not clearly explain what "classified personal data" means, making it hard to understand how data protection rules will work.

Privacy a big issue

Under the CPO, police officers can listen to people's conversations and collect their data without a warrant if they have "reason to believe" a crime might happen.

The PDPO also allows the government to collect personal data without restrictions, which could lead to mass surveillance and privacy violations.