The digital security act is almost finalised and will be passed in the next parliamentary session, said telecommunication and information technology minister, Mustafa Jabbar, while attending the District Administrators’ (DCs) summit at the ministry.
With the passing of this law, act 57 will become defunct, he stated.
He also said that most of the cases lodged under the previous 57 were gross misuse of the act.
There won’t be any chance for abusing the current act because it specifically mentions the formation of a commission, and, without its approval, cases cannot be lodged, added the minister.
At the summit, presided over by the Cabinet Secretary, Shafiul Alam, the minister said: “we want to stop digital and cybercrimes; it’s not our objective to suppress freedom of expression.”
The ongoing cases under Act 57 will be resolved under the current legal procedure, informed the minister.
The government wants to create a digital Bangladesh and this will not be centred around the capital, he added.
“All unions and villages will be under the digital Bangladesh umbrella; therefore, assistance of the DC’s is essential because they are in a position to interact with grass root level to the highest ranked persons in government.”