Redrafted Cybercrime Bill, 2024 Featuring Stricter Penalties Unveiled by Joint Select Committee: Report Highlights Key Concerns

After seven meeting, 48 written submissions and 12 orally, the Cybercrime Bill, 2024, has been redrafted and now features a stiffer penalty for offenders.

The amendments were outlined in the more than 800-page Report Of The Joint Select Committee (Standing) on Governance And Policy Matters On The Cybercrime Bill, 2024, And The Mutual Assistance In Criminal Matters (Amendment) Bill, 2024.

Regarding the submissions, which were made by groups, concerned individuals, members of the legal fraternity and even an online petition website, the committee, chaired by Member of Parliament Edmund Hinkson, highlighted the main concerns.

“The majority of the submissions to the committee highlighted issues relating to freedom of expression, vagueness of the language as it related to the offences, the broad nature in which the language is written, and the uncertainty as to whether or not the terms can be objectively identified by the members of the public as something that is criminal.

“One of the main criticisms of the Cybercrime Bill is the concern over an apparent curb in the freedom of expression. The Commission, by a majority, held the view that the right to freedom of expression is not a right given in absolute terms. The Barbados Constitution at Section 20 provides for laws to be passed to limit that expression, provided that those limits are reasonably required in the public interest and also to secure the rights and freedom of others,” it stated.