After nearly two years of work the Special Select Committee on the Cybercrime Bill of 2016 has submitted its report to the National Assembly but while members of the committee from both sides of the house have found the final bill acceptable concern has been raised over its impact on free speech.
While previous objections have been raised about clauses which “penalize whistleblowers and media for publishing information collected illegally” the majority of objections voiced after the committee’s report was made public centred on Clause 18 which defines the use of a computer system to commit offences of sedition.
According to President of the Guyana Press Association (GPA) Nazima Raghubir, the “terms used in the clause seem very subjective.”
