Draft law on cybercrime hung despite rising scams<\/p>\n
Anissa S. Febrina, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Cybercriminals can rest easy in the knowledge they will not have
\nto spend a maximum of 10 years in jail or pay a fine of as much
\nas Rp 2 billion (some US$200,000). At least for another three
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
A draft law on cybercrime was submitted to the House in July,
\nto serve as a legal basis for e-commerce and activities involving
\nthe utilization of information technology, but House members say
\nthe draft lacks \"focus\" and will review it before deciding
\nwhether to enact the law. The earliest this would happen is three
\nmonths from now.<\/p>\n
\"The scope of the draft law ranges too wide from e-commerce to
\ncybercrime,\" Dedy Djamaludin, a member of House Commission I,
\nwhich oversees information affairs, said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Dedy said it would be better for this draft law to focus on e-
\ncommerce and e-business, and a separate draft law could be
\nintroduced later to deal solely with cybercrime.<\/p>\n
In recent years, since the use of information technology has
\nbecome so widespread, there has been a marked rise in the kind of
\ncomputer-related crimes previously only seen in developed
\ncountries, like credit card fraud and computer hacking.<\/p>\n
An Internet Security Intelligence Briefing issued by VeriSign
\nof the U.S. in January last year placed Indonesia third -- behind
\nthe United States and Canada -- in terms of countries with the
\nhighest volume of cyberfraud.<\/p>\n
The absence of a legal basis for engaging in e-commerce here,
\nas well as a lack of sanctions for cybercrime, has in part
\ncontributed to the large amount of cyberfraud and the lack of
\ninvestment to develop the IT sector.<\/p>\n
The draft law on cybercrime, formally known as the Electronic
\nTransaction and Information Law, was drafted in March, 2003, but
\nwas not submitted until July, 2005.<\/p>\n
The draft covers a wide range of topics, from electronic
\nsignatures and cyber intellectual property rights to the
\ndefinition of cybercrime.<\/p>\n
IT observers, including the Indonesian IT Federation, have
\nhighlighted the urgent need to pass the draft into law as a legal
\nbasis for e-commerce and e-government.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Information and Communication's director
\ngeneral for ICT applications, Cahyana Ahmadjayadi, said IT had
\nproven to be a useful tool to boost efficiency and productivity,
\nbut also created opportunities for criminal acts.<\/p>\n
\"Both are strong enough reasons for pushing it (the draft),\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
The head of the team that drafted the law, Mieke Komar, said
\nearlier the draft was meant as a kind of \"umbrella provision\" and
\nthat splitting it up, as suggested by House members, could cause
\ninconsistencies.<\/p>\n
\"We do not want to rush things before consulting with experts
\nand making sure that the needed revisions are done,\" lawmaker
\nDedy said.<\/p>",
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