New laws to fight computer crime

The Government plans to enact laws on information technology crime to deter the misuse of IT-related products and services next month, the Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology announced last week.

It also intends to enhance existing laws on intellectual property to protect intellectual creativity by mid-2003, a ministry statement said.

The Ministry said it also plans to enact laws to facilitate all forms of electronic commercial transactions this year and introduce voluntary guidelines to fulfill the requirements imposed by the European community data-protection directive by mid-2003.

Fiscal and other targeted incentives for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development would be introduced as part of a broader programme to establish an economic environment conducive to ICT development, it said.

The Government is also drawing up a national policy on ICT and plans to elevate big ICT infrastructure projects to the status of ‘Large Scale Infrastructure Projects’ on par with roads, highways and air/sea ports, the statement said.

It wants to make ICT-related facilities and services available at the grassroots level in addition to providing internationally competitive infrastructure to attract investment in knowledge based industries.

The Ministry has organized a “Consultation Meeting” on the proposed ICT policy that would be open to the public on June 13 at the JAIC Hilton at which the World Bank Mission and the Ministers of Economic Reform, Science and Technology and Mass Communication will take part.