Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) has expressed deep concern regarding the approval of the drafts of the Personal Data Protection Ordinance 2025 and the National Data Management Ordinance 2025.
The organisation claims that hastily finalising the drafts of these ordinances without expert consultation and stakeholder engagement could be self-defeating.
In a statement on Saturday, TIB’s Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said, “The process of discussing the draft data protection law with stakeholders and taking their opinions has been neglected. Many significant weaknesses and risks in the draft have been overlooked. It has been approved unilaterally in the advisory council, which is condemnable.”
He further said, “Globally followed data protection principles such as lawfulness, fairness and transparency, data minimisation, and confidentiality have been omitted. The draft also includes provisions for exemptions for data controllers, which will create a major security risk.”
TIB stated that the draft allows government agencies blanket access to personal data, which could be misused later. The organisation further alleged that the core spirit of this law – the confidentiality and transparency of personal information – has not been reflected.
Additionally, although a demand was raised to establish an independent authority for implementing the data protection law, it was not heeded, which is contrary to global practice.
TIB has called upon the government to suspend these ordinances and to publish a revised draft after adequately incorporating stakeholder opinions and expert advice.
