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Other non-bailable offences include section 19, which entails damage of computer, computer system, etc; section 17, which criminalises illegal access to any critical information infrastructure, etc; section 27, which criminalises cyber terrorism; section 30 penalising illegal e-transactions; and section 33, which criminalises the illegal storage and transfer of data.
Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain said that while the DSA was more focused on punitive prison sentences, the Cyber Security Act puts more emphasis on financial penalties.
The DSA harshly penalised repeat offences, but such provisions have been struck off in the new version of the law.
The Digital Security Agency will now be transformed to National Cyber Security Agency.
“The provisions for cyber security that were in the last [version of the] law have been kept untouched in this new one,” Huq said.
Meanwhile, those facing charges under the DSA will now see their cases continue under the new version of the law, but only after it comes into effect.
Huq added that section 33 of the DSA has been scrapped and a section on hacking offences has been introduced in the Cyber Security Act. A hacking offence will carry a maximum jail term of 14 years or a maximum fine of Tk 1 crore, or both.
Following the announcement, Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office in a tweet said, “The government must ensure that the Cyber Security Act it plans to replace the DSA with does not rehash the same repressive features of the DSA.
“The government must also ensure that all stakeholders have sufficient opportunity to scrutinise and make recommendations on the proposed new law before it is enacted, and that its provisions fully comply with international human rights laws.”
However, Cabinet Secretary Mahbub declined to share a draft of the version, stating that it will only be made public when it is placed before parliament as a bill for a decision on whether it should be passed or not.
Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said, “We are concerned that many of the objectionable provisions of the DSA continue to be included under the new [version of the] law.
“We encourage the government to not include the DSA sections that pertained to the repression of opposition voices. Let this new version not be the DSA with a new cover.”
Earlier, the law minister on several occasions had stated that the DSA will be amended by September
China, Russia FMs hail cooperation in call
AFP,
Beijing
The foreign ministers of China and Russia hailed the “practical cooperation” between the two global powers in a phone call yesterday, Beijing said.
China’s top diplomat Wang Yi told his counterpart Sergei Lavrov that Beijing and Moscow “should continue to maintain close strategic coordination, promote world multipolarisation and the democratisation of international relations”, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement.
The newly reappointed foreign minister praised recent progress in “practical cooperation” between the two countries during a discussion that also touched on the ongoing fighting in Ukraine, Beijing said.
Speaking on the crisis in Ukraine following Moscow’s invasion last year, Wang said that China would continue to “uphold an independent and fair stance”, encouraging involved parties to commence peace talks.
As for Beijing and Moscow, he added: “The most important present task for both sides is to continue to implement the important consensus reached by their two heads of state and push forward continued high-level development of the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in the new era.”
Wang, a seasoned diplomat and senior politician in China’s ruling Communist Party, was reappointed as foreign minister in late July following the prolonged and unexplained disappearance of his predecessor Qin Gang.
Beijing and Moscow have maintained an increasingly close bilateral relationship in recent years as both countries’ ties with the West have plummeted.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in its own statement yesterday that the ministers rejected “the confrontational policy of the Western bloc towards Russia and China”.
“The contact... once again confirmed the unity or broad harmony of Moscow and Beijing’s approaches to world affairs,” said the statement.
China has sought to position itself as a neutral party in the conflict while maintaining close ties with strategic ally Russia.
Since Russian tanks rolled over the border into Ukraine, Beijing has offered Putin diplomatic and financial support, but has refrained from overt military involvement or sending lethal arms.