We must treat cyberspace as a public space to which all people have rights of access and participation and reasonable expectations of privacy and security. AS WE leap into the digital age, policymakers, judges, law-enforcement agencies and lawyers are confronted with the pressing need to reorient their traditional thinking about crime and punishment in the light of the challenges posed by the convergence of new communication technologies and computer networks which has given birth to cyberspace. And, the number of people advocating the inclusion of cyber crimes as part of criminal law is increasing. While criminal conduct should not go unpunished whether committed online or offline, before undertaking this exercise of creating new criminal liability, the basic issues involved should not be lost sight of. In societies wedded to the rule of law, liberty is a birthright. Constitutional safeguards only reinforce this natural right. Hence, restraints on individual liberty have to be justified in the larger public good. Every law is an infraction of liberty since every legislation prescribes a criminal sanction for its contravention which invariably assumes the form of imprisonment leading to the curtailment of liberty of the offender. So, creation of newer forms of criminal liability calls for close public scrutiny and debate. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.