Barely weeks after enacting the Cyber Security (Amendment) Act, 2026, the government is preparing another round of amendments to introduce tougher penalties for spreading online rumours, criminalise AI-generated defamatory content, strengthen oversight of cyberspace and require global technology platforms such as Meta to remove harmful or defamatory content within a specified timeframe.The proposed changes come amid growing concern within the government over the rapid spread of AI-generated deepfakes, bot networks, coordinated disinformation campaigns and online character assassination targeting public figures, political leaders and ordinary citizens.According to sources at the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division, the draft amendments propose significantly stricter provisions against digital misconduct.The revised law would also empower the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, alongside law enforcement agencies and bodies such as the National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC), to enforce its provisions.The government is expected to place the Cyber Security (Amendment) Bill, 2026 before Parliament during its September session, despite the previous amendment having been passed on 30 June.A new provision, Section 26A, has been inserted into the draft to criminalise the publication or dissemination of unverified rumours and disinformation that could create public confusion, panic or social instability. Offenders could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to Tk40 lakh, or both.The draft also proposes a maximum prison sentence of five years for offences involving defamation or derogatory content.Speaking during discussions on matters of urgent public importance in the last budget session of Parliament, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said a stronger legal framework was needed to hold global technology companies accountable.He noted that platforms such as Facebook (Meta), YouTube and TikTok generally cooperate with authorities on issues relating to national security or public order but often fail to respond to requests involving individual defamation because of weak legal obligations in Bangladesh.Addressing an event at a hotel in the capital on Thursday, the home minister said the government had adopted a “zero-tolerance” policy against human trafficking and technology-enabled transnational scam networks.He said conventional law enforcement alone was no longer sufficient to tackle evolving digital threats and called for closer cooperation among technology companies, financial institutions, the private sector and civil society.Soon after the law was enacted, the government formed a cabinet committee to review it again. The committee is headed by Posts and Telecommunications Minister Faqir Mahbub Anam and includes Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Information Minister Zahir Uddin Swapon, Law Minister Md Asaduzzaman, State Minister for Information Yeaser Yasser Khan Choudhury and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam.While ministers argue that the amendments are essential to counter national destabilisation and AI-driven disinformation, technology and legal experts have urged caution, warning that the proposals could revive concerns associated with the previous Awami League government’s controversial Digital Security Act.They argue that broadly defined offences relating to “rumours” and “defamation” could be open to misuse and have called for wider stakeholder consultations to ensure efforts to curb misinformation do not undermine freedom of expression, independent journalism or legitimate civic dissent.Read MoreRising cybercrime complaints keep DMP busyMiraj Ahmed Chowdhury, managing director of Digitally Right, warned that passing the proposed amendments could lead to widespread misuse and further lower Bangladesh’s standing in global online freedom indices.Faqir Mahbub Anam said the rapid advancement of technology had fuelled the misuse of AI and deepfake tools to manipulate images, videos and audio for defamatory and misleading purposes.“To address these challenges, the proposed amendments will explicitly criminalise the dissemination of AI-generated or AI-edited defamatory content, increase penalties for such offences and introduce a clear legal definition of defamation,” the minister said.

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