Latest update November 7th, 2024 1:00 AM
Sep 07, 2024 News
Kaieteur News – Vice President (VP) Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday reassured that the amendments to the Cybercrime Act are not aimed at targeting social media commentators or ordinary citizens who air their views.
The Vice President was at the time speaking at his weekly press conference. He said, “Anil Nandlall made it clear yesterday what the regulations for the Cybercrime Act that was passed under APNU would entail. Now we believe in free media, we believe in people freely expressing their views on the internet.”
The VP explained that his government is against censorship on the internet and promotes the people’s right to freedom of speech. However, he said that “the United Nations now has come up with model legislation about crime, crime that is perpetuated in cyberspace. So the regulations will fit into the United Nations framework of what they had defined, would be crime in cyberspace, it’s only people who do that like to extort people using you know cyber means or cyberspace to exploit people. Or people who are exploiting women.”
Jagdeo reminded that while he served as President of Guyana, his government had passed a law aimed at tackling persons taking photographs of others with the intent of blackmailing them.
It also looked at “people who exploit our children, like child pornography and all these things, these are important things for us.”
He assured that the government will not condone such behaviour while noting that the amendments to the law are not to regulate what persons say. The VP emphasised that his government believes strongly in the freedom of speech and expression.
“People have a right to freely express themselves, they don’t have the right to break the law but to say what they wanna say; what’s on their mind. So don’t buy into this hysteria that we are coming after anyone, influencers, social media commentators or ordinary citizens. It’s nonsense, it’s coming from the shrill people who are using this for criminal activities and I think that was made clear last night too by Anil Nandlall,” he added.
Cybercrime is the use of a computer to carry out illegal acts. Cybercrimes are usually done with the use of the internet and the different instruments.
Guyana’s Cybercrime Bill 2016 was presented by the then Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams. It was published on August 4, 2016. After the Bill was presented to the National Assembly, the proposed Section 18, ‘Sedition,’ had caused a public outcry.
However, on July 20, 2018, the Coalition Government used its majority to pass the Cybercrime Bill with an amendment expunging the controversial sedition clause.
Since the passage of the Bill, numerous persons were charged, put before the court and even convicted.
CYBERCRIME OFFENCES
Cybercrime offences are: illegal access to a computer system, illegal interception, illegal data interference, illegal acquisition of data, illegal system interference, illegal devices, unauthorised granting of access to or giving of electronic data, computer-related forgery, computer-related fraud, offences affecting critical infrastructure, identity-related offences, child pornography, child luring, publication or transmission of image of private area of a person, multiple electronic mail messages and fraudulent website, offences against the State, using a computer system to coerce, harass, intimidate, humiliate, etc., a person, infringement of copyright, patents and designs and trademarks, corporate liability, attempt, aiding or abetting, use of computer system to commit offence under any other law, offences prejudicing investigation.
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
According to Section 2:14, “A person commits an offence if the person intentionally produces child pornography for the purpose of its distribution through a computer system; offers or makes available, distributes or transmits child pornography through a computer system; procures or obtains child pornography through a computer system for himself or another person; or possesses child pornography in a computer system or on a computer data storage medium.”
According to the law, anyone who is found guilty of child pornography at the Magistrate’s Court level, where the matter is tried summarily, will be liable to a fine of $10M and five years’ imprisonment. If the matter is tried indictably and the person is found guilty of child pornography in the High Court, he/she will be liable to a fine of $15M and 10 years imprisonment.
PUBLISHING EXPLICIT PHOTOS/VIDEOS OR REMARKS
The Cybercrime Act also states that, “Using a computer to publish or transmit computer data that is obscene, vulgar, profane, lewd, lascivious or indecent with intent to humiliate, harass or cause substantial emotional distress to another person.”
Anyone who is found guilty of ‘using a computer system to coerce, harass, intimidate, humiliate, etc., a person,’ at the Magistrate’s Court level, will be liable to a fine of $5M and three years’ imprisonment.
If the matter is tried indictably and the person is found guilty of child pornography in the High Court, he/she will be liable to a fine of $10M and five years’ imprisonment.
Nov 07, 2024
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