The Law That Silenced Bangladesh — And What Replaced It

Seven thousand cases. That is how many Bangladeshis were charged under the Digital Security Act between 2018 and 2023 — journalists, activists, opposition politicians, students who posted the wrong thing on Facebook. The law became a weapon so blunt and so feared that critics called it simply "the black act."

What followed was a years-long cycle of promises, rebrandings, and disappointments. First came the Cyber Security Act of 2023 — widely condemned as the DSA in new clothes. Then, after the July 2024 uprising that ended Sheikh Hasina's rule, came the Cyber Safety Ordinance of 2025. Nine sections of the old law were removed. All DSA cases were dismissed. And for the first time, internet access was recognized as a citizen's right.

For Bangladesh's 82 million internet users, this is either the real reform they have been waiting for — or another chapter in a very long story.

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The Timeline: From DSA to CSA to Cyber Safety Ordinance

Bangladesh's journey through digital repression is almost a decade long. The Digital Security Act of 2018 was passed under Sheikh Hasina's government with the stated purpose of combating cybercrime. In practice, it became a tool of political persecution. The US State Department called it "one of the world's most draconian laws for journalists." Amnesty International documented its systematic use against human rights defenders and dissidents.

In August 2023, facing international pressure from the UN, Western governments, and rights organizations, the Hasina government replaced the DSA with the Cyber Security Act. But Amnesty International was unmoved. Its analysis found the new law retained 58 of the 62 provisions of the DSA — 28 verbatim, 25 with minor changes. The US Embassy in Dhaka released a statement expressing regret that the new law "continues to criminalize freedom of expression" and "retains non-bailable offenses."

It was, in the words of one analyst, the same cage with a new paint job.

Then came the July 2024 uprising. Students brought down a government. The interim administration under Muhammad Yunus took power. And in May 2025, the Advisory Council approved the Cyber Safety Ordinance — a new framework that went further than anything the Hasina government had been willing to attempt.

Nine Sections Removed: What Actually Changed

The nine sections dropped from the Cyber Security Act were not minor technical provisions. They were the law's most politically dangerous weapons — the clauses that had been used to arrest people for Facebook posts, prosecute journalists for critical coverage, and silence ordinary citizens who expressed the wrong opinion online.

Section 25 criminalized sending or publishing "offensive, false, or threatening information" — a definition so broad that almost any critical post could qualify. Section 28 punished publishing content that "hurts religious sentiments" — a clause frequently weaponized against minority communities and political opponents alike. Section 31 targeted content that could "destroy communal harmony" — another vague formulation that gave authorities enormous discretion.

Also removed: Section 24, which covered identity theft and impersonation; Section 26, punishing collection of personal identification data without consent; Section 27, covering cyber terrorism; Section 29, targeting defamatory content related to liberation war figures including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman; and Section 34.

The implications of Section 29's removal are particularly significant. Under the old law, any criticism — however measured — of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the national anthem, or the liberation war could result in prosecution. The section had been used to target political opponents of the Awami League. Its removal represents a meaningful shift in the legal landscape for political speech in Bangladesh.

The Amnesty for the Accused: All Cases Dismissed

Perhaps the most consequential provision of the 2025 reforms was Section 50 of the new ordinance: all ongoing or pending investigations, trials, and proceedings under the removed sections were dismissed. Any sentences or fines already imposed under those sections were nullified.

In October 2025, the Advisory Council approved an amendment extending this amnesty to all cases filed under the Digital Security Act 2018 as well. Every person convicted or accused under the DSA would be acquitted once the amendment was gazetted.

Law Adviser Prof Asif Nazrul confirmed that "most of the cases filed under the act were based on those sections." The practical effect is an effective amnesty for thousands of Bangladeshis who had been trapped in legal proceedings for years — journalists, bloggers, activists, and ordinary social media users caught up in a system designed more for political control than genuine cybersecurity.

What the New Ordinance Actually Does

The Cyber Safety Ordinance 2025 is not simply the old law minus nine sections. It introduces genuinely new frameworks — some of them significant for Bangladesh's digital future.

Section 2(La) formally recognizes internet access as a citizen's right and criminalizes unauthorized disruption of that access — including by AI systems. This is a notable development in a country that experienced multiple internet shutdowns during the 2024 protests, including a near-total blackout during the most intense days of the uprising.

Section 17 introduces new provisions specifically targeting the misuse of artificial intelligence tools for hacking or unauthorized access to critical information infrastructure. At a time when AI-powered cyberattacks are growing globally, this represents Bangladesh's first attempt to address the intersection of AI and cybersecurity at the legislative level.

The ordinance also establishes a cyber security council, mandates court approval before removed online content can remain offline, and requires public notification when content is taken down. The maximum prison sentence is set at two years. Online gambling is explicitly prohibited, with fines of up to Tk 10 million and up to two years imprisonment.

The Advisory Council also simultaneously approved the Personal Data Protection Ordinance 2025 and the National Data Protection Ordinance 2025 — creating, for the first time, a formal framework for how Bangladeshis' personal data can be collected, stored, and used.

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The Concern That Remains

Human rights organizations welcomed the changes but did not declare victory. The most persistent concern: the new ordinance retains a clause allowing police to arrest individuals without a warrant for certain offenses. This provision, present in every iteration of Bangladesh's digital law going back to the ICT Act of 2006, has been one of the most consistently abused powers in the country's history of digital repression.

Amnesty International had made the removal of warrantless arrest powers one of its core demands. Its absence from the reforms signals that even the Yunus-era government was unwilling to fully constrain law enforcement powers in the digital space.

Whether the BNP government under Tarique Rahman, which took office in February 2026, will amend or strengthen these reforms remains an open question. The BNP spent years as a victim of the DSA and CSA under the Hasina government — many of its activists were prosecuted under those laws. That experience creates political incentive to maintain the reforms. Whether the incentive holds when the same tools are available to the party now in power is the question Bangladesh's 82 million netizens are quietly asking.

What This Means for Bangladesh's Digital Future

The shift from DSA to Cyber Safety Ordinance represents the most significant reform of Bangladesh's digital speech laws since the ICT Act of 2006. For journalists, it means defamation cases no longer automatically carry the threat of non-bailable arrest. For activists, the removal of the vague "offensive content" and "religious sentiment" provisions removes the legal tripwires that made any critical post a potential prosecution.

For ordinary Bangladeshis — the student in Sylhet, the garment worker in Chittagong, the small business owner in Rajshahi posting about their trade — it means the everyday act of sharing opinions online carries less legal risk than it did twelve months ago.

That is real. It matters. And it should be acknowledged without pretending that Bangladesh has completed its journey toward a free digital environment. The warrantless arrest provision remains. The government's power to remove online content — subject to court review, but still substantial — remains. The institutional culture that made the DSA so effective as a tool of repression does not disappear because a law changes.

Bangladesh's digital rights story is not over. But after nearly a decade, a chapter has genuinely turned.

win-tk.org is a wintk publication. For independent coverage of Bangladesh technology, politics, and community stories, visit win-tk.org. Contact: editor@win-tk.org