Action needed: Stop the Cybercrimes Bill
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Murray Hunter
Nov 26, 2015, 11:31:20 AM11/26/15
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Friends and comrades,
An update and way forward on the Cybercrimes Bill.
The Problems
The Draft Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill...
1. Hands over control of the internet to the Ministry of State Security
2. Gives the state security structures the power to get backdoor access to whichever network they want
3. Criminalises journalists and whistleblowers by sneaking in the worst parts of the “Secrecy Bill”
4. Increases the state’s surveillance powers and is even more invasive than RICA
5. Undermines South Africa’s hard-won data protection law (the POPI Act)
6. Contains 57 possible criminal offences involving computer usage - many of which are so broad that they could ensnare ordinary computer users. The Bill considers suspects guilty until proven innocent.
7. Contains anti-copyright provisions so harsh you could be criminalised for even posting a meme
The Draft Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill...
1. Hands over control of the internet to the Ministry of State Security
2. Gives the state security structures the power to get backdoor access to whichever network they want
3. Criminalises journalists and whistleblowers by sneaking in the worst parts of the “Secrecy Bill”
4. Increases the state’s surveillance powers and is even more invasive than RICA
5. Undermines South Africa’s hard-won data protection law (the POPI Act)
6. Contains 57 possible criminal offences involving computer usage - many of which are so broad that they could ensnare ordinary computer users. The Bill considers suspects guilty until proven innocent.
7. Contains anti-copyright provisions so harsh you could be criminalised for even posting a meme
The Proposed Action
1. We do need regulation to combat genuine cybercrime. This ain't it. Tuesday's roundtable made it clear that action is needed to stop the Cybercrimes Bill in its tracks. This must channel pressure on the drafters at the Department of Justice, but also lay the groundwork for a longer fight in Parliament in 2016 or beyond.
2. We've set up a task team to coordinate legal and advocacy work on the Bill -- stop-cyber...@googlegroups.com. Please let me know if you would like to join.
3. We're looking at a Change.org petition, calling for the draft Bill to be scrapped, binned, Ctrl-Alt-Deleted. This would be combined with a 100-word summary of the Bill's worst defects, and a "Seven Deadly Sins of the Cybercrimes Bill", an early draft of which is here.
4. We'll also want op-eds, statements, and other support.
5. Extension: right now the DoJ drafter is refusing to give a universal, public extension to all, but offering a piecemeal extension to some - 11 December. While this is inadequate and must be challenged, it gives us some breathing room.
6. For those who missed it, a rough draft R2K submission is here.
In summary: anyone who is willing to assist and be part of the task team to 'stop the cybercrimes bill', let me know.
MH
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