Enforcement of cyber laws not settled - Chief Censor

Stakeholders working on the draft legislation for cyber crime have yet to discuss the mechanisms they will use to implement such laws in PNG.

PNG Chief Censor Steven Mala says no discussions have taken place on how the law will be implemented.

Mala says he is concerned about how stakeholders will monitor or filter what goes through cyber communities in order to enforce the laws.

“We must have a platform to effectively implement this law. It’s one thing to have a policy but it is another thing to implement,” he says.

Cyber crime refers to offences committed using electronic devices, systems and or networks.

Cyber crime is a broad concept however it can be divided into the following four sub categories to be better understood -

  1. Offences against the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic data, systems and networks (this includes illegal access to electronic systems and networks, illegal remaining in an electronic system or network, illegal access to electronic data, illegal interception of electronic data, illegal data interference, illegal data acquisition, illegal system or network interference and illegal obstruction of use of electronic data)

     

  2. Content-related offences (this includes child pornography, SPAM and harassment using means of electronic communication)

  3. Copyright-related offences

  4. Other offences including computer-related fraud or forgery, identity-related crime and misuse of devices.

Mala says the rapid development of the ICT market has exposed PNG to cyber crime, information security threats and related offences as experienced by other countries.

“This necessitates the urgency to develop appropriate policy and legislative framework to combat and prevent offences through the use of ICTs,” he says.  

The cyber crime legislation is completed and by next year it should be tabled in parliament.

 

Author: 
Joy Kisselpar