Published : 05 Nov 2026, 02:43 PM
Updated : 05 Nov 2026, 02:43 PM
The digital world runs on data. And it is you, me, and the people around us who spend time on digital platforms and in the process creating this modern-day oil called data. As digital technology enhances and empowers us ever more by the day, the more data we create.
Entertainment, healthcare, banking, education, trade and commerce- there is hardly any aspect of our lifestyle that goes untouched by this phenomenon.
The more data gets generated, the more efficient the digital platforms become, as it allows the digital enterprises to optimise their products and services for their customers by analysing the data made available by all of us through our interaction with the digital world.
There is a growing concern around the world on ensuring privacy of individuals whose data is being analysed. According to AI platform CoPilot, 64 percent of consumers globally cite data breaches as their top privacy concern and 82 percent of internet users are concerned about how their personal data is collected and used.
Given this growing concern, the Bangladesh government took a landmark step towards strengthening privacy and data protection with the enactment of the Personal Data Protection Act, 2026 (PDPA) on Apr 10, 2026. The law gives individuals greater rights over their personal information and places greater responsibility on organisations that collect, process, store and share it.
The PDPA should not be viewed simply as another compliance requirement. At its heart, it is about creating greater accountability and ensuring that personal data is collected and used responsibly. For businesses, this means privacy can no longer sit only within the legal or compliance function. It needs to become part of how we design products, develop technology, manage cybersecurity, work with third parties and make everyday business decisions.
Organisations need to ask simple but important questions: what data do we collect? Why do we need it? How do we use it? Where is it stored? Who has access to it? And when we no longer need it, what happens to it?
Each and every organisation that has to deal with data privacy issues must reflect on these simple yet profound questions honestly. This honest reflection will help to create the baseline for an organisation on how it plans to protect customers’ information. Digital economy thrives on growing trust of the people in it.
T.R.U.S.T. principles - being Transparent, respecting customers’ Rights, responsible Use of personal data, maintaining strong cyber-Security, and exercising due care whenever data Transfer is required, offers us a practical way forward in this regard.
These principles reflect a simple belief: protecting personal data is not only about technology or regulation; it is about respecting the people behind the data.
However, an organisation alone can’t provide assurance of impregnable data privacy architecture, the customers themselves also bear a lot of responsibility. For example, when someone downloads an app - social media or any other kind, we give our consent to these digital companies to have access to our personal data. This way, a potential pathway for data privacy is created.
Besides, many of us unknowingly share our personal data, such as religion, password, or OTP, which can pose grave security concerns. We have all seen media reports on our NIDs being made available on the dark web, which jeopardises not just our individual data privacy, but also that of the country.
We need a major drive to make sure we develop a healthy culture on data privacy at the individual level, private sector and public sector to close the loop on data privacy concerns. Unless we address this urgently, people may lose trust on the digital economy - a terrible consequence we should aim to avoid at any cost.
We need responsible digital corporate citizens to come forward and raise awareness in this regard. Youth, in particular, need to be engaged on this to create an enabling environment. We need to facilitate our youth to review case studies on data privacy so that they can explore privacy issues and propose practical solutions.
I believe initiatives like these can help develop a generation of responsible digital citizens and future professionals who understand that data comes with both opportunity and responsibility. But no one organisation can do it alone; we need all the private and public organisations to come up with their own initiatives to build this culture in Bangladesh.
The PDPA marks the beginning of an important new chapter for Bangladesh. Its success will ultimately depend not only on regulations, policies or technology, but on the culture, we build around personal data. As Bangladesh moves deeper into its digital future, we must ensure that data serves people, creates opportunity and improves lives without compromising the privacy and trust of those who make that digital future possible.
[Mohammad Rabiul Alam is a data privacy expert]
