Digital Security Bill: 'Subsection to be added if necessary'

Law Minister Anisul Huq today said that a subsection will be included in the proposed digital security act if it is necessary for removing confusion over the freedom of expression.

The much-debated Digital Security Bill-2018 is now at the parliamentary standing committee for its examination. The Committee The committee will submit a report to the parliament within four weeks in this regard.

A discussion will be held on the bill of the law and if it is found that freedom of expression will be damaged by the proposed law, a subsection will be included in the law, the law minister said.

Anisul Huq said this while talking to reporters after attending as chief guest at a training programme for the lower court judges at the Judicial Administration Training Institute in Dhaka.

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He said that the parliamentary standing committee will decide with whom they will discuss on the proposed digital security act.

The journalists need not to get fear of the proposed act, he also said.

Yesterday, Telecom and ICT Minister Mustafa Jabbar placed the proposed law before the House, which was sent to the parliamentary standing committee on the ministry concerned for scrutinising it. The committee had also been asked to submit a report to parliament within four weeks.

Different quarters, including Shampadak Parishad, an organisation of editors of the country's national dailies, Newspapers Owners' Association of Bangladesh, senior journalists, rights activists and ambassadors of different countries in Dhaka expressed deep concern over the proposed law, specially over the inclusion of the controversial section 57 of the ICT Act and some strict provisions in the Digital Security Bill.

They also demanded that the Digital Security Bill be finalised following discussions among all stakeholders, saying that the law should not be enacted hastily.

The government on several occasions said section 57 of the ICT Act would be removed that deals with defamation, hurting religious sentiments, causing deterioration of law and order and instigating against any person or organisation through publishing or transmitting any material in websites or in electronic form. It stipulates maximum 14 years in prison for the offences.