Report on draft Digital Security Bill presented in parliament

A parliamentary watchdog has presented before parliament its report on the draft Digital Security Bill with some amendments to the law.

Imran Ahmad, who chairs the parliamentary standing committee on the post, telecommunication and IT ministry, presented their report on Monday.

The panel has recommended reduced punishments for some offences for a breach of the much-discussed proposed law.

“This Bill will play a role in building Digital Bangladesh once it is passed,” Imran said, noting that they held discussions with representatives of the media before finalising the report.

The cabinet cleared the draft Digital Security Bill 2018 on Jan 29 and Post, Telecommunication and IT Minister Mustafa Jabbar presented it in parliament on Apr 9.

People related to the media have been criticising different sections of the draft Bill since it was placed in the cabinet alleging that it will ‘obstruct’ independence of journalism.

The parliamentary standing committee, which was asked to scrutinise the draft Bill within four weeks, got two deadline extensions totalling three months.

The committee, however, finalised the report a day after it got the second extension of one month.

It held discussions with the Editors’ Council, Association of Television Channel Owners and Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists before finalising the report, but the meetings could not allays the concerns.

The Editors’ Council objected to different issues in sections 8, 21, 25, 28, 29, 31, 32, and 43.

The section 8 of the proposed law states that a digital security agency can ask regulator BTRC to block or remove any information in the digital media that poses threat to digital security.

It also says if it appears to the law-enforcing agencies that any content published in the digital media is hampering harmony, financial activities, security, defence, religious values or public order, or creating communal hatred, they can ask the BTRC through the digital security agency to remove or block the content.

The committee has not brought any changes to the proposed section despite objections of the Editors’ Council.

It has added a condition on implementing the law that will keep the provisions of the Right to Information Act of 2009 effective for related issues.

The parliamentary committee has recommended including the law minister, and post and telecom secretary in the digital security agency.

It proposes reducing the maximum punishment for hacking into any computer, digital device or computer system to six months in jail or Tk 200,000 fines from one year prison term and Tk 300,000 fines under section 18.

It has also proposed to add ‘national anthem and flag’ to section 21 which proposes punishment for propaganda against the spirit of the Liberation War or independence hero Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

The committee, however, has recommended reducing the punishment for offences under the section. The draft Bill proposes 14 years in jail or Tk 10 million in fines or both for the offences while the committee believes maximum 10 years jail term is enough.

It also proposes reducing jail term for hurting religious sentiments to five years in jail from seven years.

The committee has not responded to calls to change sections 29 and 31 that relate to defamation and information that can worsen law and order, respectively.

Section 32 of the Bill has drawn most flak for concerns that it will hinder investigative reporting on corruption.

Any act of entering illegally into a government, semi-government or autonomous organisation and secretly recording information and data through any electronic device will be considered as ‘spying’ and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years or Tk 2 million in fines, or both, according to that section.

The committee has recommended changes to the section. It says a person will face the punishment if he or she commits a crime mentioned in the Official Secrets Act of 1923 through computer, digital device, computer network, digital network or any other digital media or help someone else commit such crime.

It is in favour of requiring permission of the digital security agency before search, confiscation or arrests by police.