The Parliament has accepted the government-proposed Maldives 2.0 Digital Transformation Bill and the Digital Identity Bill, forwarding both pieces of legislation to the Parliament's Information and Communications Technology Committee for further review.
The two bills were submitted to Parliament by the government on 15 June. Following debate among members, both bills were accepted unanimously by those present.
Under the Maldives 2.0 Digital Transformation Bill, a new government agency, the Maldives Digital Service, will be established to coordinate and manage digital transformation initiatives and the country's digital governance framework.
The proposed legislation states that the agency will facilitate the development of an interoperable digital ecosystem and establish registries that state institutions can use as the authoritative source of data exchanged between government information systems. The framework is also intended to support secure data sharing across the public sector.
The bill further provides that the Maldives Digital Service will be responsible for delivering the state's Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services and maintaining government computer networks and digital infrastructure.
Once enacted, the legislation will establish the Maldives 2.0 digital transformation programme to strengthen the country's digital governance framework. Based on a digital-first approach, the programme aims to modernise the delivery of public services and government administration through technology, while improving efficiency, strengthening public administration and creating a secure digital ecosystem that commands public confidence.
The Digital Identity Bill sets out the legal framework for designing and operating a secure digital identity system for verifying identities during online transactions and services involving state institutions, legal entities and other parties.
The proposed legislation also requires the establishment of a Digital Identity Technical Advisory Committee to oversee the operation and development of the system.
In addition, the bill defines the responsibilities of identity providers, system participants and data contributors, while setting out the circumstances under which the use of digital identities and personal data will be prohibited.
Following their acceptance by Parliament, both bills have been referred to the Information and Communications Technology Committee for detailed review and evaluation.