By NATION REPORTER
The curse of malicious slanderous cyber journalism which terrorizes innocent citizens will come to an end with the passage of the Cyber bill, the Minister of Home Affairs Kampyongo, has declared.
He told Parliament that cyber bullying and malicious propaganda has become entrenched on some media because there was no law to hold the people behind them to account.
With the new law, he said, nobody would be allowed to go scott free with malicious, false and misleading information designed to injure innocent people.
The Government, he said, had an idea of the people behind the malicious publications who would not be spared.
Senga Hill MP Kapembwa Simbao said malicious publications on cyber space endangered the creation of lawlessness in the country. He discounted fears of the law being used against the opposition because laws were made in the interest of innocent people against criminals utilizing technology to harm others.
And Nalikwanda MP Dr. Geoffrey Lungwangwa said the bill was timely to save national and individual interest from cybercrime which had become widespread in the world.
He said Governments the world over had introduced laws to protect citizens from malicious use of the cyber world.
Chama South MP Davison Mungandu also said that many Zambians had lost money in fraudulent transactions, a practice, which he said, was not only regrettable but also a serious abuse of technology which should be brought to an end.
Meanwile the Minister of Legal Affairs Given Lubinda has assured Parliament that all the concerns expressed by stakeholders would be taken into account in the final amendments.
And Mr Kampyongo says the Cyber Security and Cyber Crimes Bill should not be deferred because there is still time to conclude it.
Debating the Bill Mr Kampyongo said that the Bill should be concluded as scheduled adding that the ministry of Justice and Ministry of Transport and communication will have enough time to attend to the concerns raised by stakeholders.
Mr Kampyongo said the concerns raised in the Bill are global concerns adding that Internet service providers including Social media are advising countries to have necessary legal frameworks to help them in curbing cybercrime.
