Grenada to punish offends people through websites such as
Facebook and Twitter and
can be fined up to $37,000 or sent to jail for three years.
The question
arises: Should other countries considered it necessary to follow and implement such
related laws which would shape up cyber world as an open and vibrant to
communicate and co-operate with respect for privacy and upholding human fundamental
rights?
Associated
Press reports, legislators in Grenada have approved a bill that makes it
a crime to offend people through websites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The measure was
approved as part of an electronic crimes bill passed late Friday in the tiny
eastern Caribbean island. The same bill also imposes penalties on other online
activities including electronic stalking and identity theft.
"We have
problems when some use the technology to engage in mischief," said Legal
Affairs Minister Elvin Nimrod. "We have to put structures in place to
ensure that persons and, in some cases, companies and characters are not
tarnished."
According to
the bill, which is the first of its kind in the Caribbean, complaints about offensive
comments would be filed with police. A judge would then decide if the message
was offensive.
Those found
guilty could be fined up to $37,000 or face three years in prison.
"A person
will be able to take that evidence of the posting and use it as evidence in the
court," Nimrod said.
"People have to act responsibly to others."
The bill also
makes it a crime to distribute child pornography, imposing fines of up to
$111,000 and a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
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