Personal Data Protection Act gets cabinet approval in principle

The Cabinet today approved in principle the proposed Personal Data Protection Act-2023 aiming at safeguarding the process and innovative information of public and private industries and domestic institutions or individuals involved in trade and commerce to build the “Smart Bangladesh”.

State Minister for ICT Division Zunaid Ahmed Palak presented the proposed law at the regular cabinet meeting held with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair at her office in the city’s Tejgaon, said an official handout.

An inter-ministerial meeting was held on the draft of the law on April 17 in 2022, the handout said, adding that, later, several meetings and workshops were held on the law and it was uploaded on website for public opinion.

The draft law underwent revisions and finalization by the Bangla Language Implementation Cell of the Ministry of Public Administration. Subsequently, the draft law was revised through stakeholder consultations while the Cabinet Division’s ‘Committee on Scrutiny of Draft Laws’ recommended placing it in the Cabinet meeting.

According to the release, the key features of the draft law include the establishment of a regulatory body within the existing administrative system to oversee and monitor data processing activities and regulate the collection, processing, storage, use or re-use, transfer, disclosure, destruction, and other relevant aspects of an individual’s personal data.

In order to ensure overall development of the information and communication technology sector, the draft law has been designed to regulate the activities related to the protection and processing of an individual’s data, and ensure the use of personal data in the promotion and expansion of free trade in the global arena by following internationally recognized data protection principles.

The proposed Personal Data Protection Act 2023 has been drafted after reviewing such laws of the United States, United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, Australia and India, reflecting efforts to safeguard the interests of the country’s citizens. (BSS)