By Amin Kef Sesay
Parliament of Sierra Leone has on the 23rd June 2021 passed into law the Bill entitled “The Cyber Security and Crime Act 2021” with some amendments after holding wider stakeholder engagements based on the advice of Parliament.
The Cyber Bill provides for data security protection and other related matters.
The Act provides for the effective, unified and comprehensive legal, regulatory and institutional framework for the prohibition, prevention, detection, prosecution and punishment of cybercrime; prevention of the abusive use of computer systems; to provide for the establishment of structures to promote cybersecurity and capacity building; to promote for the timely and effective collection of electronic evidence for the purpose of investigation, prosecution of cybercrime; provide for the protection of critical national information infrastructure and measures to protect critical information infrastructures; and promote cybersecurity and the protection of computer systems and networks, electronic communications, data and computer programs, intellectual property and privacy rights to provide for facilitation of international cooperation in dealing with cybercrime matters and to provide for other related matters .
The Act was introduced and piloted by the Minister of Information and Communications, Mohamed Rahman Swarray, who followed parliamentary advice regarding extensive stakeholder engagements on the said Bill to stand the test of time.
The Act, after careful consideration and proper scrutiny by Parliament, was finally passed into law after protracted debates with some amendments.
