Staff Correspondent

Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has urged the interim government to allow at least one month time for a comprehensive review and inclusive participation process before promulgating the draft 'Cyber Protection Ordinance, 2024'.

TIB emphasized that issuing the ordinance without adequate analysis and consultation with relevant stakeholders’ risks undermining its intended purpose, a TIB press release said today.

In this regard, TIB officially made recommendations to the interim government on Sunday, the release added.

The organization's Executive Director Dr Iftekharuzzaman said, in the letter, “The decision to repeal the Cyber Security Act, which was used as a tool to suppress dissent and silence the media, has brought relief to all citizens, which is one of the public welfare-oriented steps of the interim government.

The Law and Rules Branch of the Information and Communication Technology Department prepared a draft of the ‘Cyber Protection Ordinance, 2024’ by repealing the law that violates freedom of speech and expression, he added.

TIB hoped that this ordinance will be enacted to ensure cyber security and formulate necessary provisions for preventing and suppressing cybercrimes and conducting cybercrime investigation and judicial proceedings, he said.

On the other hand, it is essential to take into consideration the probabilities that this ordinance, which is similar to the Digital Security Act and the Cyber Security Act, might restrict the freedom of speech and expression of citizens, he said.

The Executive Director of TIB further stated, “This draft was made available on the website for only three working days for review, which ended and has been removed."

"According to media sources, the draft has already received initial approval from the Advisory Council on December 12, 2024. Issuing such an important ordinance like the ‘Cyber Protection Ordinance, 2024’ without sufficient analysis and inclusive feedback from relevant stakeholders carries the risk of disrupting its core objectives," he added.

In this context, TIB requested to allocate a minimum one month time for all relevant stakeholders and experts to engage in a comprehensive review of the draft, he said.

This process will ensure that the ordinance is issued only after a careful and inclusive analysis has been undertaken, he continued.