Cabinet gives in-principle approval to draft Personal Data Protection Act
The in-principle approval came at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office in Dhaka on Monday.
The Cabinet has given in-principle approval to the draft of Personal Data Protection Act 2023, keeping a provision which states that personal data cannot be used without permission.
The in-principle approval came at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office in Dhaka on Monday (27 November).
"Bangladesh Data Protection Board will be established to ensure that the use of personal data requires the consent of the individual. This board will look after these matters," Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain told reporters in a briefing after the meeting.
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The cabinet secretary said there will be some rules to be followed for those who will collect data and the rules will be fixed by the board. "One has to work according to the rules. Those who collect and process data must also be registered."
Mahbub Hossain also said there will be different categories of information and some information may not be used without following certain procedures, even if the individual gives permission.
According to the draft act, the penalty for domestic institutions is Tk3-5 lakh and for foreign companies it is 5% of the company's turnover in Bangladesh.
Data related to DNA of a person will be considered as biometric data in this act.
Both public and private institutions can be custodians for data. Organisations that wants to be custodians must get registration from the board.
