Legal Development for Privacy and Data Protection in Bangladesh

Abstract

The growing advancement and dependence on the internet of things (IoT) beget the notion of ‘digitalization’, a widely used phenomenon in contemporary Bangladesh. The phrase ‘Digital Bangladesh’ was first pronounced by Bangladesh Awami League (BAL) in 2008 as a promise of the Election Manifesto. With ‘Digital Bangladesh’, BAL aimed at establishing a corruption and poverty-free knowledge-based society by employing information and communications technology (ICT). Accordingly, the Bangladesh government undertook numerous ICT-friendly initiatives, and eventually, the usage and dependence on ICT became rampant in Bangladesh and increased exceedingly during the COVID-19 period. This digital landscape makes life easier, faster, and smarter but poses tremendous privacy challenges. As in all digital communications, many actors collect, store, and share our valuable personal data with third parties, mostly without our knowledge. In response, states are generally emphasizing the enactment of omnibus data privacy legislation, but Bangladesh is lagging. This background impels the current researcher to search for answers to two vital questions – whether there is any legal development for the protection of privacy in Bangladesh, and whether the existing privacy-protective measures are adequate compared to relevant global standards. Such kind of research work is lacking, and hence, this study aims to fill that gap using doctrinal legal research methodology. The research outputs will enlighten all stakeholders in understanding the current legal development for privacy in Bangladesh and facilitate them to map their future policies and strategies accordingly. Bangladesh, Data Protection, Privacy