The interim government on Thursday decided in principle to repeal the controversial Cyber Security Act 2023.
The council of advisers made the decision at its regular meeting at the office of the chief adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus, at Tejgaon in Dhaka.
After the meeting, environment, forests and climate change adviser Syeda Rizwana Hassan confirmed the matter.
Earlier on October 3, law adviser Asif Nazrul had said that the Cyber Security Act should be repealed.
Early this week, information adviser Nahid Islam said that the act would be repealed by one week.
In 2018, the controversial the Digital Security Act was enacted during the Awami League government ignoring protests from almost all quarters.
Later, after severe criticism, the Digital Security Act was replaced in 2023 by the Cyber Security Act, although almost all quarters opposed the move and demanded repeal of the law new law retained almost all the provisions of the 2018 act.
On September 30, the law ministry announced in a circular that the government decided to withdraw the cases related to freedom of expression filed under the CSA.
At the same time, if anyone is arrested in such cases, the person will also be released immediately through the legal process, the ministry said.
In a statement, the Cabinet Division said that pending vetting of the Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division, the ICT Division would submit a draft ordinance to the advisory council for final approval to repeal the CSA.
The law ministry, in consultation with the ICT Division, will draft a new law focused on ensuring 鈥榮afety and security鈥� in cyberspace, which will be placed before the cabinet for approval and promulgation by the president.
At a press conference at Foreign Service Academy, chief advisor鈥檚 press secretary Shafiqul Alam said that all cases filed under the CSA and DSA relating to the freedom of expression would be withdrawn and the cases filed purely for cybercrimes would continue.
Shafiqul said that to ensure cyber security of the state, financial institutions and vulnerable groups, including women and children, the new law would be enacted soon.
鈥楾he repealed Digital Security Act was repackaged as the Cyber 鈥嬧�婼ecurity Act by the ousted Awami League government with the aim of silence people鈥檚 voices, to suppress dissent,鈥� he said.
On September 30, the law ministry had announced in a press release that 5,818 cases were pending with the country鈥檚 eight cyber tribunals under the ICT act, the DSA and the CSA as of August 2023.
Currently, 1,340 cases related to freedom of speech are pending with the tribunals, of which 461 cases are under investigation by investigative agencies. 879 cases are under trial in the cyber tribunals.
Among these, cases relating to free expression of opinion in digital means have been identified as 鈥榮peech offenses鈥� and fraud through computer hacking or any other digital device has been identified as 鈥榗omputer offenses鈥�, according to the law ministry.
Two hundred and 79 of the speech offense-related cases continued under the controversial acts, said the ministry release.
It said that the interim government decided to withdraw the cases related to speech offenses quickly.
According to the ministry, pending 879 of the 1,340 cases related to speech offenses will be withdrawn quickly in coordination between law and home ministries. The investigating officer will be instructed to submit final report in the 461 cases which are under investigation.
