The highly anticipated Cyber Security Bill 2023 was placed in parliament on Tuesday, keeping offences under four of its sections non-bailable. It is proposed to replace the much-talked-about Digital Security Act, in which offences under 14 sections were non-bailable. 

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak placed the Bill and it was sent to the respective scrutiny committee for further examination. The Committee was asked to submit its report within five days.

The four non-bailable offences are related to intrusion into key information infrastructures, damaging computers and computer systems, cyber terrorist activities, and hacking related crimes.

In the draft law, the offences under four sections are non-bailable, the offences under the remaining sections are bailable.

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The intrusion into important information infrastructures and others are in section-17, while damaging computers and computer systems are in section-19, cyber terrorist acts and committing such crimes are in section-27, and hacking related crimes are in section-33.

The already filed cases will run under the existing law- Digital Security Act as a provision was incorporated in the proposed law.

In the draft cyber security act 2023, the offences and punishment provisions have been cited in sections 17-33.

Section 42 of the proposed Bill provides that if any police officer believes that an offence under this law has been committed or is likely to be committed at any place where evidence has been lost, destroyed, destroyed, altered or is likely to be committed, he or she shall, without warrant can search, seize equipment, search bodies, and arrest without warrant. This clause was also in the Digital Security Act.

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Section 21 of the bill states that if any person conducts or supports any kind of propaganda and propaganda against the Bangladesh Liberation War, the spirit of the Liberation War, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the national anthem or the national flag through digital or electronic means, then it will be a crime.

The punishment will be imprisonment for a maximum of 5 years or a fine of up to one crore taka or both.

Under the existing Digital Security Act, the maximum punishment for this crime is 10 years imprisonment or a maximum fine of Tk 1 crore or both.

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If the same offence is committed a second time, the punishment will be imprisonment for life or a fine of Tk three crore or both.

Section 28 of the Bill states that if any person or group deliberately or knowingly publishes or disseminates on the website or any other electronic medium anything which offends religious sentiments or religious values with the intention of inciting or hurting religious sentiments or sentiments, That would be a crime.

The punishment is imprisonment for a maximum of two years or a fine of up to Tk 5 lakh or both. Under the existing law, the punishment for this crime is a maximum of 5 years imprisonment or a fine of Tk10 lakh or both.

Section 29 of the bill states that any person publishing or disseminating defamatory information as described in Section 499 of the Penal Code on a website or any other electronic format shall be punished with a fine of Tk 25 lakh.

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Section 31 of the bill states that if any person intentionally publishes or broadcasts on the website or digital format anything which creates enmity, hatred or hatred between the various classes or communities concerned or destroys the communal force harmony causing unrest or disorder or causes deterioration of law and order or commits violence, such act of such person shall be an offence. The punishment is imprisonment for a maximum of 5 years or a fine of up to Tk 25 lakh or both.

Section 32 of the Bill states that if any person commits or assists in the commission of any offence under the Official Secrets Act through a computer, digital device, computer network, digital network or any other digital or electronic medium, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 (seven) years, or shall be punished with a fine not exceeding 25 (twenty five) lakhs or both.

Among the 14 non-bailable sections of the Digital Security Act, 18 (1) (b), 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and 46 have been made bailable. The four non-bailable sections are 17, 19, 27 and 33.

The newly bailable section 21 reduced the sentence to seven years.

However, the maximum fine of Tk one crore has been kept as before.

Under the Digital Security Act, the punishment under this section was imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years or a fine of up to Tk 1 crore or both.

Apart from this, Article 30 deals with crimes and punishments related to illegal 'e-transaction' (transactions through digital or electronic means).

Jatiya Party member Fakhrul Imam said: “There is no fundamental difference between the proposed law and the Digital Security Act. The proposed law has been termed as black law by TIB.”

Fakhrul Imam also said that one of the fundamental rights of people is freedom of expression and thought.

He said that the content of media freedom was contained in the Digital Security Act, which has also been kept in the draft law.

“Many consider this draft law restrictive.”