Zambia set to pass cybercrime law
Date: September 06, 2004Source: IDG.com.sg
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An Internet crime bill in Zambia, which includes provisions that could see convicted hackers facing sentences of up to 25 years in jail, has caused some controversy in the country's IT community but is expected to become law soon.
The bill received parliamentary approval and is expected to be signed into law by President Levy Mwanawasa within a month or two. The bill would become the first Zambian law dealing with cybercrime. Minister of Transport and Communications Bates Namuyamba introduced the bill in Parliament last month, following the government's completion of its ICT (Information and Communications Technology) policy.
The ICT policy, in addition to reducing the computer importation duty in March from 15 percent to 5 percent, gives guidelines on licensing Internet cafes, how to obtain a license, the minimum number of computers required for a person to open up an Internet cafe and also prohibits the sending of unsolicited commercial e-mail. In addition, the policy lays out the procedures a company should follow when setting up Internet provider services. The Internet crime bill lays the legal foundation for prosecuting ICT policy violators.
Although the cybercrime bill met no resistance from lawmakers, the Computer Society of Zambia said its punitive measures were too harsh and claimed they were not consulted when the bill was being drafted. The Computer Society of Zambia is an NGO (nongovernmental organization) chartered with the task of carrying out educational campaigns on computer related issues. The society has stated that lawmakers were not well-informed enough to make a well-founded judgment on the Internet crime bill.
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| 2005-09-02 18:09:32 - Good blog with interesing information! Sasha |
| 2005-04-30 16:34:19 - I feel this bill needs to get back on the... Chileshe |
| 2004-09-12 23:04:50 - A far more effective solution would be a... Bob Toxen |
| Total 3 comments |
