CSA to be deceptive, new repressive tool

 
The proposed Cyber Security Act had nominal changes from the much-criticised Digital Security Act, and it would be another repressive tool, speakers said at a webinar on Saturday.They also expressed fear that the Cyber Security Act would provide unquestionable power to law enforcement agencies, creating scope for arbitrary action to increase public harassment.

The Centre for Governance Studies, a non-government think-tank, organised the discussion titled 'Unveiling the Cyber Security Act: Old Rules, New Deceptions'. Addressing the discussion, senior journalists, academics, and rights activists said that the political intent of the proposed Cyber Security Act was deceptive. Senior journalist and columnist Kamal Ahmed said in his keynote paper that despite the government's claim that the change from the DSA to the Cyber Security Act would make it more flexible, the changes were only nominal.

There are similar laws in Europe, but the law enforcement agencies work independently there, unlike in Bangladesh. The agencies face no political influence or control over them when it comes to investigations, Kamal said. A distinguished professor at Illinois State University, Ali Riaz, said that the proposed Cyber Security Act was merely a replication of the DSA.

New Age editor Nurul Kabir said that the change from DSA to CSA appeared deceptive to the citizen.
The government is making false statements by saying that the new act will meet international standards. It was only because the DSA had a bad reputation that the issue of a new law came up, he said.

Rights watchdog Article 19's regional director for Bangladesh and South Asia, Faruq Faisal, said that there should be a judicial investigation into abuse of the DSA from 2018 to 2023, and the abuser of the law should be punished. The programme was moderated by CGS executive director Zillur Rahman, while teacher and researcher Asif Bin Ali of North South University and rights activist Rozyna Begum also spoke at the webinar.