The Trinidad and Tobago government Monday described as “misleading and wholly false” reports circulated on social media that it would introduce legislation “with reference to penalizing the use of cell phones, computers, electronic equipment and storage of videos”.
In a statement, the Minister of the Attorney General said that the “material being circulated on the social media forms no part of the policy of, nor legislation under consideration by the government.
“The government will not be part of any such draconian provisions, which are unconstitutional, and in terms which infringe the rights of our citizens and the Attorney General by this statement debunks that information as wholly false,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the government said it is “fully cognizant” of the need to provide legislation to deal with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for criminal purposes.
It said that it had attempted to have the Cyberbill 2017 enacted but “regrettably did not then secure the necessary Parliamentary vote”.
The statement said Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Reginald Armour, is currently considering certain provisions as amendments to the Computer Misuse Act with the intention of introducing it to Parliament.
“Once approved by Cabinet, the focus of the proposed legislation is to address crimes, which affect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information and communication technology system,” the statement added.
CMC/
