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