ELECTRONIC CRIMES BILL, 2013
EXPLANATORY NOTES
This Bill contains 4 Parts and seeks to provide for the prevention and
punishment of electronic crimes.
PART I of the Bill, Clauses 1-4, deals with matters of a preliminary nature.
Clause 1 is the standard citation and commencement provision.
Clause 2 sets out the interpretation of terms used in the Bill such as “access”,
“contaminant”, “data”, “damage”, “function”, “traffic data, which have been
defined to ensure that the intended purpose of the legislation is achieved.
Clause 3 sets out the application of the Bill. Clause 4 provides that the State is
bound by the provisions of the Bill.
PART II of the Bill, Clauses 5 -20, creates 16 offences: access and interference,
sending offensive messages through communication service, etc, identity theft,
electronic defamation, electronic forgery, electronic fraud, malicious code,
violation of privacy, misuse of encryption, child pornography, sensitive
electronic system, electronic terrorism, prank calls to law enforcement,
electronic stalking, spoofing and unauthorized access to code.
PART III of the Bill, Clauses 21 – 30 provides for investigations and procedures
of electronic crimes.
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