Bangladesh’s interim government has repealed the controversial Cyber Security Act, replacing it with a new Cyber Safety Ordinance that introduces offences related to artificial intelligence while eliminating many provisions previously criticised as suppressing free speech. Other sections removed from the new ordinance include Sections 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, and 34. Human rights groups had long described the Cyber Security Act as a “black law” used to stifle dissent. The ordinance repeals sections related to identity theft, defamation, religious sentiment, and cyberterrorism, among others. It also annuls all ongoing trials and past sentences issued under those repealed sections, providing a blanket amnesty for those prosecuted under the former law.
