The draft Digital Security Act 2018 was approved by the cabinet on January 29. It has caused widespread consternation not only among journalists, but also free thinkers, rights activists and public in general. It is basically old wine in a new bottle and the much-criticised Section 57 has been carefully divided and kept separately in four sections of the draft Act, with an even more draconian character.

The proposed Act, if passed into law, will curb freedom of speech and expression. It will also hamper independent journalism. There are sections that would prevent reporters from collecting information from government offices as this might fall under "spying" as mentioned in the draft—a punishable offence where an accused may face up to 14 years in jail or Tk 20 lakh fine or both. Precisely how is a reporter to write if s/he has no access to government documents?

The draft law is only going to create more ambiguity thanks to the use of vague terms, which human rights experts believe will be used to intimidate and harass people, including journalists. There are a host of other provisions that deal with many matters, including freedom of speech. It is severely curtailed in the online sphere (which includes social media like Facebook) and effectively muzzled because we are looking at heavy fines coupled with, should authorities deem fit, incarceration.

The most damaging part of the proposed Act of course is that it does away with the need for arrest warrants, which means the courts are made redundant. The police are to be conferred carte blanche whereby law enforcers may incarcerate anyone on the mere suspicion of that person having committed a crime or suspected to be plotting to commit a crime. This is a draconian measure that is unthinkable in any country that claims itself to be democratic and goes against the universal principle of law that no one is presumed guilty unless proven so.

We urge the government to reconsider the Digital Security Act 2018 and appeal to the parliament, especially the leader of the House, to scrap the provisions that could throttle freedom of expression.