Cybercrime: Common approach desired
The Institute for Public Policy Research talks about laws concerning internet security and cybercrime, saying it is important to include civil society in the legislation process and respecting human rights. The Legal Assistance Centre, meanwhile, analyses a corresponding Namibian bill.
STEFFI BALZAR
WINDHOEK
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) this week held a public briefing on ‘Mainstreaming Human Rights in Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Policymaking Processes’.
The main focus was on the inclusion of civil society in the development of appropriate laws to ensure cyber security and the combating of cybercrime. It is also important that these laws respect human rights.
Frederico Links of IPPR explained that there is still very little access to reliable data on cybercrime in Namibia, and often only financial institutions sporadically publish announcements on hacking attacks.
Nevertheless, according to Links, cybercrime is increasingly becoming a problem everywhere, taking various forms and being addressed by governments through legislation and reform, including on the African continent.
However, some of this state intervention could be seen as problematic in terms of human rights, especially in the area of language used, restricting the rights of journalists, activists or the opposition, for example.
In Namibia, too, two bills on cybercrime and data protection are currently under way, but neither the ministry of information nor the ministry of justice could give an exact timeframe for their completion when asked for by the IPPR.
According to Links, the involvement of several stakeholders in the drafting process was neglected, which is a problem because, for example, cybercrime is not only a matter of the security sector, but expertise from other sectors should also be consulted.
Too broad
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), meanwhile, presented an analysis of the draft law on cybercrime based on the latest publicly available version of the draft.
It concluded that the draft did not seem to address password trafficking, for example, and that the standard for defining harassment was too broad.
The centre made some suggestions for improvement, such as that access to information should not be covered by cybercrime legislation, but should be dealt with in a separate law.
The same applies to data protection, it said.
Online and offline harassment, meanwhile, should be dealt with in one law so that victims of both types of harassment would be protected.
Special attention was also given to the area of child pornography.
According to the LAC, this area should be dealt with in a more comprehensive law on the subject.
In addition, the definition of "grooming" in the bill should also include persons with severe mental disabilities.
WINDHOEK
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) this week held a public briefing on ‘Mainstreaming Human Rights in Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Policymaking Processes’.
The main focus was on the inclusion of civil society in the development of appropriate laws to ensure cyber security and the combating of cybercrime. It is also important that these laws respect human rights.
Frederico Links of IPPR explained that there is still very little access to reliable data on cybercrime in Namibia, and often only financial institutions sporadically publish announcements on hacking attacks.
Nevertheless, according to Links, cybercrime is increasingly becoming a problem everywhere, taking various forms and being addressed by governments through legislation and reform, including on the African continent.
However, some of this state intervention could be seen as problematic in terms of human rights, especially in the area of language used, restricting the rights of journalists, activists or the opposition, for example.
In Namibia, too, two bills on cybercrime and data protection are currently under way, but neither the ministry of information nor the ministry of justice could give an exact timeframe for their completion when asked for by the IPPR.
According to Links, the involvement of several stakeholders in the drafting process was neglected, which is a problem because, for example, cybercrime is not only a matter of the security sector, but expertise from other sectors should also be consulted.
Too broad
The Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), meanwhile, presented an analysis of the draft law on cybercrime based on the latest publicly available version of the draft.
It concluded that the draft did not seem to address password trafficking, for example, and that the standard for defining harassment was too broad.
The centre made some suggestions for improvement, such as that access to information should not be covered by cybercrime legislation, but should be dealt with in a separate law.
The same applies to data protection, it said.
Online and offline harassment, meanwhile, should be dealt with in one law so that victims of both types of harassment would be protected.
Special attention was also given to the area of child pornography.
According to the LAC, this area should be dealt with in a more comprehensive law on the subject.
In addition, the definition of "grooming" in the bill should also include persons with severe mental disabilities.
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