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Bangladesh weighs tougher cyber law as AI-generated abuse targets women

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 28/10/2026, 08:00:24 UTC.

Briefings

Bangladesh is revising its cyber law to address AI-generated abuse targeting women, following a surge in synthetic media during the February 2026 election. The draft Cyber Protection (Amendment) Act, introduced in mid-September 2026, adds defamation and bullying to existing sections, potentially increasing penalties for AI content. The government's draft aims to close gaps left by the 2023 Cyber Security Act, which failed to specifically target synthetic media. However, the law currently covers only existing crimes and does not provide a dedicated framework for political deepfakes, leaving a significant legal gap for the new election campaign.

Key points

• The Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) was the most frequent target of AI-generated images during the February 2026 election, with 47 cases identified.
• Farzana Sithi, a student activist, was targeted by AI-generated deepfakes of Indian content creators, resulting in threats of rape and a lack of legal remedy due to the law's inability to cover new synthetic media crimes.

Context

Bangladesh is revising its cyber law to tackle AI-generated abuse targeting women, following a surge in synthetic media during the February 2026 election. The draft Cyber Protection (Amendment) Act, introduced in mid-September 2026, aims to close gaps left by the 2023 Cyber Security Act, which failed to specifically target synthetic media. The government's draft adds defamation and bullying to existing sections, potentially increasing penalties for AI content.

Limitations

The evidence is limited to reports from Global Voices, Daily Star, Prothom Alo, and Dismislab. Specific case numbers and exact penalty increases are estimates from draft discussions. The law currently covers only existing crimes and does not provide a dedicated framework for political deepfakes, leaving a significant legal gap for the new election campaign. No data on the total number of AI-generated items targeting women is provided.

Generated by Bittrees-hosted qwen35-2b sha256:aaf42c8b7c3c on 28/10/2026, 08:02:24 UTC. Based on publisher-provided feed evidence; may not cover the full original article. Check the source for details.

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