CUFFIE: DATA PROTECTION ACT AND CYBERCRIME ABUSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

MEDIA RELEASE

August 7, 2017

CUFFIE: DATA PROTECTION ACT AND CYBERCRIME
ABUSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The Data Protection Act and the Cybercrime Bill will address the appropriate management and dissemination of content in the era of new media.

Minister of Public Administration and Communications, the Honourable Maxie Cuffie explained that the Data Protection Act seeks to protect personal privacy and information that is held by public bodies and the private sector. The Act, he said, has built in safeguards.

“In other words, for example, the purpose for which personal information is collected must be identified by the organization at the time of collection; and the knowledge and consent of the individual is required prior to the collection, use or disclosure of such personal information. Naturally, exceptions exist in cases relating to national security, public safety and medical instances. Therefore, citizens can rest assured that laws exist to protect the unlawful use or disclosure of their information by private or public sector bodies.”
According to Minister Cuffie another piece of legislation, the Cybercrime Bill addresses offenses such as illegally accessing or interfering with computer systems or data as well as illegally acquiring electronic data.

This includes hacking, computer related fraud and identity theft and the intentional spread of malware and spam. The Act also addresses the offense of cyberbullying which is the violation of a citizen’s privacy by distributing content on the internet with the intent to harm.

The Government invited public comments on the Cybercrime Bill which closed in mid-June. The legislation was introduced in Parliament earlier this year and sent to the Joint Select Committee (JSC) for further consultations.


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