SADC Model Cyberlaw has been carried out and found to be of relevance to EAC Partner States as a building block for harmonisation of cyberlaw initiatives. In January 2008, the EAC held its first regional Task Force meeting on Cyberlaws in Arusha, Tanzania. At the meeting, attendees from four EAC member states, Burundi, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, discussed a range of issues relating to the need to reform national laws to address the increasing use of the Internet as a medium for electronic commerce and administration. The Task Force noted and commended that the process of law reform be co-ordinated at a regional level and harmonised and benchmarked against international best practice. The Task Force also recommended that a comparative review of the existing laws and bills of Partner States be undertaken and a regional legal framework be developed for harmonisation of cyberlaws. In terms of developing a draft legal framework for EAC Partner States, the Task Force recommended that the process of reform be divided into two phases. In Phase I, cyberlaw reforms would focus on five key topics: Electronic transactions, electronic signature and authentication, data protection and privacy, consumer protection and computer crime. Phase II would address topics, such as intellectual property and taxation, which although impacting on cyberspace activities, were beyond the scope of the Task Force. In May 2008, a draft legal framework was prepared for consideration and discussion at national consultative meetings. Feedback from these consultations was presented at the next meeting of the Task Force, held in Kampala, Uganda, in June 2008. The members of the Task Force then examined and debated the draft in detail and provided further input, as well identifying the key principles and issues in respect of each of the five subject areas. In September 2008, the third meeting of the Task Force was held in Bujumbura, Burundi. The following text represents the outcome of these consultations and discussions. The document comprises a brief overview of the range of subject matter addressed within the proposed legal framework and a series of recommendations that the Task Force on Cyberlaws would like to make to the Partner States of the EAC, as well as to the EAC Secretariat, for consideration at both a national and regional level, as a means of promoting harmonised law reform to facilitate the use of electronic commerce and deter those that may wish to engage in unlawful conduct. 2. Legal Framework and Recommendations The purpose of developing a Cyberlaw Framework for the EAC Partner States is to promote regional harmonisation in the legal response to the challenges raised by the increasing use and reliance on ICT for commercial and administrative activities, specifically in an Internet or cyberspace environment. Such a Framework details those agreed features that should be transposed into national laws and regulations in order to address the various issues identified in respect of the five topics discussed below. These features will include matters that are considered part of an essential response to a specific problem, as well as matters on which the Partner States may optionally choose to adopt measures. 5