Cybercrime Law

Introduction

Cybercrime law safeguards the public from cyber-related crimes that are facilitated by utilization of the computer or the internet (Westby 3). Cybercrime ranges from cybersex to identity theft and affects many people globally. In response, cybercrime laws have been instituted in order to discourage cybercriminals from engaging in cyber crimes. The laws make cybercriminal activities punishable through application of various provisions. Over time, cybercrime laws have evolved considering the advancement in technology thus making these laws stricter (Westby). Currently, cybercrime laws have been revised at the national and international levels although they may contradict Constitution.

The Current Cybercrime Law

The current cybercrime law infringes into various constitutional provisions for instance the autonomy of expression and free press. This major issue that faces the new cybercrime law is that the most provisions of the law contravene the Constitution. According to the new law, conventional penalties will be made stricter by one degree where one degree shift implies about six to eight year incarceration (Bernas). Earlier on, the law provided probation for individuals convicted for up to six years prison term. However, the current law eradicates the probation for individuals convicted for less than six years jail time. Therefore, people convicted of these crimes have to attend their jail time. The current cyber law poses considerable danger for individuals involved in online journalism, bloggers and other activities that involve writing text on the internet.

The contemporary cybercrime law offers the Secretary of Justice huge powers that include shutting people down without any protocol such as court orders. The Secretary of Justice is mandated to oversee the process of shutting down (Rappler). However, this raises constitutional concerns since only judges have the mandate to commission a search and seizure.

Despite the numerous infringements of the new laws, there are proponents who defend the law due to its ability to prevent viral spread in the contemporary world. The recommendations for defense against viral spread without implementing the law include providing clear standards regarding the matter (Rappler). However, this has limitations with regard to the constitution since additional evidence is required for its implementation. Therefore, the most efficient recommendation is the offering prerequisites undertaking the provided orders.

The news laws are bound to influence activities within the social media, owing to the actuality that one has to scrutinize any comments and posts on social media. This is due to the real time surveillance that amounts to monitoring of social media activities and poses considerable dangers to social media users (Rappler). The users have to contemplate on the restrictions put forward through the law, considering that social media is currently the best expression technique. The law does not delineate the actions to take for individuals who may like or repost certain information that may be considered to be a violation (Rappler). This leaves loopholes where the officials involved in the implementation of the new cyber law have to take guesses at certain occasion.

Conclusion

The new cybercrime law infringes various constitutional provisions that include the autonomy of free press and expression through various media. Additionally, the law offers additional powers to various authorities beyond the provisions of the constitution. This further infringes the constitutional provisions on various matters. The matter of social media as a novel technological advancement has significantly been affected by the current cybercrime law, mainly due to the freedom that this media offers to its users. Nevertheless, the law possesses various loopholes and lacks compromises since no provisions exists on the conditions under which various activities are conducted. This implies that the law never offers conditions or prerequisites for shutting down individuals found infringing the new cybercrime regulations. The penalties regarding cybercrimes have also been moved one degree higher in order to curb cybercrime, which is currently on the increase due to technological advancement.