ISSUE BRIEF
Bangladesh’s Draft Data Protection Act MARCH 2023
The South Asia Center serves as the Atlantic Council’s focal point for work on greater South Asia as well as relations between these countries, the neighboring regions, Europe, and the United States. It seeks to foster partnerships with key institutions in the region to establish itself as a forum for dialogue between decision-makers in South Asia, the United States, and NATO. These deliberations cover internal and external security, governance, trade, economic development, education, and other issues. The Center remains committed to working with stakeholders from the region itself, in addition to partners and experts in the United States and Europe, to offer comprehensive analyses and recommendations for policymakers.
STEPHEN WEYMOUTH
O
ver the past couple of decades, Bangladesh implemented a set of policy initiatives that laid the foundations for a thriving digital economy. The goals of the Digital Bangladesh Initiative of 2009, for instance, included increasing access to digital services throughout the country and establishing Bangladesh as a globally integrated commercial hub with a strengthened digital infrastructure. By most accounts, this initiative was enormously successful. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development praised Bangladesh for laying an “essential foundation for a technology-driven and skill-based digital economy.”1 These reforms coincided with an economic boom in Bangladesh: since 2009, gross domestic product (GDP) per person has grown by 250 percent. The 2022 Draft Data Protection Act (DPA), which establishes new restrictions related to the processing, storage, and transfer of data, appears to move 1
“Bangladesh Poised to Benefit from E-Commerce Boost after Laying ‘Exemplary’ Digital Foundation,” United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, press release, April 1, 2019, https://unctad.org/press-material/bangladesh-poised-benefit-e-commerce-boost-after-layingexemplary-digital-foundation.