Some senior members of the main opposition APC party have been accused of playing politics with the Cybercrime Act, 2020. Sierra Leone is a signatory to several treaties and international conventions on cybercrime.
Former President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma in 2011 signed the ECOWAS Directive on Cybercrime and related activities.
Sierra Leone also signed the Malabo Convention of the African Union Convention in 2014. And in 2018, Sierra Leone signed the Commonwealth Cybercrime Declaration.
These regional and international conventions signed by Sierra Leone are in conformity with the European Union Budapest Convention.
The Cybercrime Act, 2020 seeks to put an end to the abusive use of computer systems, cyber bullying, infringement of copy rights and child pornography.
Under the Cybercrime Act 2020, internet cafes will now have to obtain registration certificates from NATCOM to be able to operate.
One of the objectives of the Cybercrime Act, 2020 is to control trans-national crimes committed on the cyber space and to protect critical national infrastructure and personal data.
For the first time, electronic evidence will now be admissible in court under the Cybercrime Act, 2020.
Some APC Politicians have been engaged in scare-mongering, describing the Cybercrime Act 2020 as “highly anti-press freedom and civil liberties.”
The Minister of Information and Communications has called on the people of Sierra Leone to ignore the scare-mongering and support the Cybercrime Act, 2020 for the good of the country.
