The cabinet has endorsed a draft of the Digital Security Act, which amends parts of the ICT Act, including the controversial Section 57, which was criticised for stifling freedom of expression, reports bdnews24.com.
The draft incorporates issues addressed in the controversial Section 57 of the ICT Act in an elaborated way.
The new law keeps provisions of up to 14 years in jail and Tk 10 million fine for offences like hacking, espionage in digital or electronic form as well as for 'propaganda' against the Liberation War and the Father of the Nation.
In case of 'hurting religious sensitivities', offenders will face up to 10 years in jail and Tk 20 million in fine.
The Section 57 criminalised 'publishing fake, obscene or defaming information in electronic form'.
The approval for the 'Digital Security Act 2018' draft was granted at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday.
The new law would render sections 54, 55, 56, 57 and 66 of the ICT Act defunct, Cabinet Secretary Md Shafiul Alam told the media at a briefing at the Secretariat afterwards.
The draft clarifies offences and their respective sentences.
Both bail-able and non-bail-able offences are included in the endorsed draft, the cabinet secretary said.
Cases filed under the ICT Act would still be tried under that law, the cabinet secretary had said at the time.
BSS adds: The draft of the revised cyber security law contains provisions which, officials said, were found to be left out in the existing law to prevent cyber crimes.
Officials said it would protect the country's critical information infrastructure (CII) simultaneously containing the cyber crimes.
"The 'Digital Security Act-2018' has been formulated to combat the growing cyber crimes also affecting many public and private organizations, including the central bank," Cabinet Secretary Md. Shafiul Alam told the media after the cabinet meeting.
He said the proposed law was formulated as the existing one on ICT missed many aspects of cyber crimes.
Alam said crimes committed by using electrical, digital, magnetic, optical, biometric, electrochemical, electromechanical, wireless and electromechanical technology would come under the purview of the proposed law.
He said the cabinet simultaneously also gave nod to the draft of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for trilateral cooperation among ROSATOM of Russia, Ministry of Science and Technology of Bangladesh and Department of Atomic Energy of India to implement the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project in Bangladesh.
The cabinet secretary said the meeting also approved in principle the draft of the "National Skill Development Authority Act, 2018' which proposed formation of the National Skill Development Authority" under the PMO.
The revised cyber security law proposed abolition of the article 54, 55, 56, 57 and 66 of the ICT Act, 2006 and different punitive actions considering the nature of the crimes committed.
The cabinet secretary said the draft specified the process to investigate an allegation identifying 14 types of offences to be treated as cognizable and non-bail-able crimes under sections 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 280, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34.
He said offences to fall under sections 20, 25. 29 and 48 would be regarded as non-cognizable ones.
The draft, he said, suggested that one could face imprisonment of up to 14 years for collecting or publishing or preserving any secret information illegally entering into an office of the government, semi-government or statutory body, alongside a fine of Taka 2.5 million (25 lakh).
The cabinet secretary said the law proposed establishment of a Digital Security Council headed by the Prime Minister to review the state of the cyber security system.
The law also proposed establishment of a Digital Forensic Lab and Digital Security Agency headed by a Director General (DG) under which an emergency response team would work round the clock.
The DG would have power to take preventive measures against cyber crime and the authority to request the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Authority to remove or block any content harmful to the social peace, safety and communal harmony.
The cabinet secretary said the offenses under the 'Digital Security Act-2018' had been defined in the articles 17 to 38 of the law where different terms of imprisonment and fine were proposed for such crimes.
A person to be found guilty for posting or publishing any content on the the internet hurting the religious sentiment of another person would face ten years' imprisonment or fine of Taka 1.0 million or both.
For publishing any contemptuous content on the website or digital device as defined in the Penal Code, a person may face three years' imprisonment or fine of Taka 500,000 or both, the law said.
