‘Govt has no intention to muzzle press freedom thru proposed Cyber Security Act’

Information and Broadcasting Minister Andaleeve Rahman on Thursday said that the government has no intention of suppressing free thought, freedom of the press or journalists through the proposed Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026. 
"Under no circumstances are any laws being enacted with the intention of suppressing free thought, freedom of the press, or journalists," he said. Rather, he stressed that one of the government's key objectives is to prevent disorder on social media, protect social harmony and curb morally degrading content in the public sphere.
He made the remarks to journalists, after a meeting to review the draft of the "Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026" at the conference room of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting at Bangladesh Secretariat in the capital.
The minister said that the media had previously been suppressed through various laws, including the Digital Security Act, and that the present government is extremely cautious about the possibility of such laws being misused against the media.
"The draft law is being revised with great care so that it does not contain any ambiguous words that could create opportunities for misuse against the media in the future," he said. He further said that obscene abuse, cyber-bullying and vulgar content being spread across various online and social media platforms in the name of freedom of expression are damaging social values and ethics.
"Our main task is to prevent this social degradation and protect the freedom of the media. Discussions are ongoing with stakeholders on how these two issues can be coordinated without creating any conflict between them," he said.
The minister also emphasised the importance of social awareness alongside enforcement of the law, saying that it is not possible to suppress all crimes merely by enacting strict laws.
He said that the government would undertake special programmes to make people aware that sharing defamatory information or posts in cyberspace without verifying their authenticity also falls within the scope of an offence.
Earlier in the morning, in his opening remarks at the consultation meeting, the information minister said that before finalising the Cyber Security Amendment Act, it is essential to engage directly with the media and seek their opinions in the interest of protecting the publication of information, independent journalism and freedom of expression.
"That is why we are discussing the matter with media professionals," he said. He said media professionals know best how the language of a law works at the grassroots level and where ambiguity may arise.
"The cyber security of a democratic state and freedom of the media are not contradictory objectives; rather, they should complement each other," he said.
Assuring media editors, the minister said that the government was not amending the law with any ulterior motive.
"There is no reason for the print media to be concerned about this. Please provide your suggestions openly regarding where there are ambiguities or complexities in the law. We will consider them seriously," he said.