The Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) Dr. Iftekharuzzaman criticized various clauses of the ‘Data Protection Act-2023’ in the security of people’s personal information and said that the law should not be passed in parliament in a hurry like the Cyber Security Act 2023. He also urged the government to amend some clauses.
He made this call at a press conference organized by TIB at MIDAS Center in the capital on Wednesday (September 20). The press conference was held on ‘Review and Recommendations on Defective Provisions of Draft Data Protection Act-2023’. TIB said the review was done on the latest draft available on the website.
Meanwhile, sources in the ICT Division said that the name of the proposed law has been changed to ‘Personal Data Protection Act 2023’, which has been sent to the Cabinet Division on September 18 for scrutiny.
Regarding the name change, Dr. Iftekharuzzaman said, if the name has changed, it is a positive aspect. The scope of this law should not include anything outside of personal information. Data is unlimited. This includes protecting personal information. The nomenclature must be reflected in the entire Act. If there is only a change in the name as they did from the Digital Security Act to the Cyber Security Act, it will remain unacceptable.
The TIB executive also said that the Act should not be passed hastily as was done for the Cyber Security Act. This is a very important law. The government has already set a precedent by allowing stakeholders to participate. May that opportunity continue till the last moment. The final draft should be discussed with everyone before it is presented in Parliament.
He also said that if the provision of protection of personal information of people in our constitution is a reference, then the law will be more human rights oriented and will play a helpful role in the implementation of its main objective.
Outreach and Communication Director of TIB Sheikh Manzoor-e-Alam moderated the program. TIB’s Data Protection Officer Tariqul Islam presented the review phase of the draft. Apart from them, TIB advisor Sumaiya Khair was also present.
