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When the draft of the Cyber Crime bill was unveiled for public scrutiny earlier this year, the critics went to town shredding the contents of the suggested legislation for its apparent vagueness. The harshest of critics even termed it “a dangerous farce” and called on people to register their contentions against it.
The critics of the bill mostly complained that the bill is all-encompassing and as such, threatens the rights of internet users. The blitz on the bill drove the government to invite suggestions for amendments to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill. The PPP constituted its own committee to bring the bill in line with internationally agreed safeguards for internet users.
But few voices lamented the lack of intellectual property rights or enforcement against unethical businesses operating in the realm, including degree mills, spam factories, services that drive unsolicited messages and other shady areas of the IT domain.
The Axact controversy has changed all that and dragged attention back to a persistent lacuna in the country’s legal system. Even though investigations against that company are still nascent, the ensuing analyses have laid bare the country’s bare bone legal and enforcement domain in this realm.
In other words, whether this or any other companies are engaging in unethical business practices, there illegality remains a question mark simply due to the lack of relevant laws. Clearly, the cyber crime bill must extend beyond the current scope.
The online retail market in the country has expanded multi-fold in previous five years. And scores of small enterprises are using the internet and social media to drive business. While transactions originating online are mushrooming, thanks to the prevalence of Cash on Delivery business model, the government has no idea about the quantum of transactions or the foregone tax collection.
Then there is the question of IT exports. The sector has enjoyed zero taxes on exports to help it grow. The government has kept its end of the deal by persisting with the zero rating in the hopes that the sector’s export earnings will grow. But the sector’s export proceeds as recorded by the central bank remain under $1 billion, even as the industry claims the tally to be twice as high. Industry leaders attribute the difference to their expenditure on resource development but again, the state has no way to verify that claim.
An encouraging number of start-ups in the sector have attracted foreign investment. While that is a laudable achievement, many of the firms operating in the e-commerce space are treasure troves of consumer spending habits, their personal profiles and associated information. If there are critics to government snooping on internet users, surely there must be some alarm bells over access to individual’s personal details by companies that are not even within the ambit of the country’s law!
Lastly, the elephant in the room is the fight against extremists who have consistently used the cyber space to amplify their presence. Effectively curbing these elements and weeding them out includes shutting down their ability to create chaos online.
The row over fake degree mills is a glaring example of how the laws have not kept up with the private sector in this sector as in others. Reforms to the bill, whether generated by government itself or initiated by segments of society, should be cognizant of the holistic conditions that are prevalent in the country. Freedom of internet users must be protected, but a blind eye cannot be turned towards the perils of cyber crime in this Information Age.

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