By Lincoln G. Peters
Dozens of internet users have unanimously agreed to stage a peaceful protest at the Legislature in demand of clarity on the delay of the passage of the Cyber Security Act presented in 2016.
The group that is planning the protest recently participated in a three-week training at the Liberia Internet Society School of Governance.
Cyber laws are the laws that provide legal protection to internet users against a multitude of complexities and legal issues emerging every now and then.
The ever-expanding cyberspace has further given way to the specialized branch of law known as cyber laws, which provide cyber protection to every industry and organization.
According to the group of young Liberians and Information Technology specialists, it’s very unfortunate that the Legislature and policymakers will be delaying to pass relevant documents like the Cyber Security Act.
They said the instrument is meant to protect the country and every internet user from cyber crime.
“We will have to march to the Legislature again to know the status of the Cyber Security Act that was drafted by us along with the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications,” the group said.
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“We have to pass this law so that we can be protected online and also create more jobs for Liberians in the ICT sector. We will not rest until this law is passed because it’s a freedom and liberty that will have internet cyber security hackers responsible for anything [they] do to us,” they noted.
Internet Society Liberia Chapter, over the weekend climaxed Liberia School of Internet Governance (LSIG) Third Edition.
The theme for the program was “Connecting people and safeguarding human rights in Liberia.”
Speaking with journalists at the end of the training in Monrovia, Mr. Matthew Roberts, President of the Internet Society Liberia Chapter, said the passage of the Cyber Security Law is critical.
He said it is intended to create more job opportunities for Liberians and to protect the country in the digital space.
According to Mr. Roberts, the law when passed will protect people against hacking because when anyone is caught, they can be sued and jailed.
“People are not responsible for their actions [nor] prosecuted under our law for cyber crimes because we do not have any law,” he noted.
He warned that Liberia is vulnerable in the digital space because there is no law to protect the rights of citizens and internet users in the country.
“We have trafficking in person that is done by the internet, data protection, and hacking and other sensitive things that this law will protect,” he added.
