Friday, April 1, 2011

East Africa cyber laws coming to boost e-commerce

The five member states that make up the East African Community (EAC) are drafting a harmonised cyber law that is aimed at boosting electronic commerce.
The law will focus on intellectual property rights, competition, e-taxation and information security.
The five states are all at different stages of passing country-specific laws on cyber crime. Late last year, Uganda passed the Computer Misuse Bill, the Electronic Signatures Bill and the Electronic Transactions Bill, which have since become law.
Through the EAC association of telecommunications regulators, the states have in the meantime resolved to set up Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) to fight against cyber crime.
The law formulation process which is now underway by the EAC task force on cyber laws is aimed at harmonizing existing legislation like Uganda’s to come up with a law that will apply across Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi.
The taskforce, which has been meeting in Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, hopes to finalise on the draft cyber laws and submit them for adoption by respective institutions.
The Mombasa meeting is a follow up of the phase one cyber laws discussions, endorsed by the EAC Council of Ministers last November, that covered electronic transactions, e-signatures and authentication, data protection and privacy, consumer protection, and computer crime.
Lack of harmonisation of cyber laws by regional member states is not only stifling electronic commerce, but has also created a loophole in curbing computer related crimes, data and consumer protection.
“Developing country officials are increasingly aware of the need to adapt and harmonise legislation to take into account the Internet economy and the potential of both e-commerce and m-commerce for boosting domestic and cross-border business,” read a statement from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
“The intent is to finalise the draft and submit it for adoption by relevant EAC institutions.”
The task force meeting has reviewed progress in implementing the Cyber Law Framework’s Phase I, which covers electronic transactions, electronic signatures and authentication, data protection and privacy, consumer protection, and computer crime.
UNCTAD supports activities to build the capacities of developing countries in the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) field.
In East Africa and other regions, it has helped lawmakers prepare cyber laws that protect both consumers and businesses, and encourage economic growth.
East Africa has a combined population of about 120 million people and is now a single market as it moves towards a political federation.
Cyber crime in Africa is growing faster than on any other continent with estimates saying that about 80 percent of personal computers (PCs) on the African continent are already infected with viruses and other malicious software.
The more worrying news for cyber security experts is that broadband Internet access has become a reality, which means more users would be able to access the web, translating into more viruses and SPAM from online fraudsters in Africa.
A few countries like Tunisia and Nigeria have made some headway by way of legislation on cyber security initiatives.
Most African countries though have no legal regulations in place to stop or prosecute online crime, thus providing a safe haven for cybercriminals.
Aside from Uganda, the other EAC member states are each at different stages of developing country-specific cyber laws.

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