Digital Security Bill placed in parliament
The Digital Security Bill, 2018, aiming to deal with cybercrimes, including hurting the religious sentiment, negative propaganda against the liberation war and Bangabandhu, and illegal activities in e-transactions and spreading defamatory data, was placed in parliament on Monday.
Posts, telecommunications and information technology minister Mustafa Jabbar placed the bill in the house.
Later, it was sent to the parliamentary standing committee concerned for scrutiny. The committee was asked to submit its report within four weeks.
Many crimes mentioned in the proposed law have been made cognisable and nonbailable offences.
In the proposed bill, digital, database and critical information infrastructure have been defined.
As per the bill, digital forensic labs, and a digital security agency under the prime minister’s office will be set up, while a national computer emergency response team and an 11-member digital security council, headed by the prime minister, will be constituted.
According to the proposed law, anyone spreading negative propaganda against the liberation war or Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, using digital devices, will risk being sentenced. The punishment for spreading such propaganda is maximum 14 years’ jail, Tk 10 million fine or both.
If any person commits the offence for second time or more, the punishment will be lifetime imprisonment or fined Tk 30 million or both.
The punishment for illegal access to critical information infrastructure (CII) is maximum seven-year of imprisonment, or Tk 2.5 million fine or both, while that for damaging the CII through illegal access is maximum 14 years’ imprisonment, or Tk 10 million fine or both.
If the offence is committed by the same person for second time or more, the punishment will be lifetime imprisonment or Tk 250 million or both.
The punishment for resorting to cyber violence which will jeopardise integrity or security or sovereignty of the state, intimidate people or any section of people, impede legitimised access to computer, computer network or internet is maximum 14 years’ imprisonment or maximum Tk 10 million fine or both.
The punishment for hurting religious values and sentiment is maximum 10-year imprisonment, or Tk two million fine or both.
The punishment for providing or spreading defamatory data is maximum three-year jail or maximum Tk 500,000 fine or both, while that for destroying communal harmony is maximum seven years’ imprisonment, Tk 500,000 fine or both.
The punishment for illegal activities using e-transaction services of bank, insurance, financial institution and any other organisation is maximum five years’ imprisonment, Tk 500,000 fine or both.
The punishment for resorting to cyber hacking is maximum 14 years imprisonment and Tk 10 million fine, or both.
Resorting to digital theft by capturing any confidential information of government and semi-government, autonomous and statuary bodies by using computer, computer network, digital network or any other electronic devices through illegal access is a cognisable offence.
The offences under sections 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34 of the proposed law are cognisable and non-bailable, while the offences under sections 20, 25, 29 and 48 are bailable ones.