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.