AG 'begs' for media support on Cybercrime Bill

FOLLOWING this country’s latest case of alleged nude photos of a public figure being published on social media, the Attorney General said such occurrences could be curbed the Cybercrime Bill 2017. At a briefing at his Port of Spain office on Friday, Newsday asked if TT now needs revenge porn laws to prevent such instances arising.

Faris Al-Rawi instead touted the existing bill.

“We have the law. My biggest opponent to the law is the Media Association (MATT.) It’s called the Cybercrime Bill.”

He called on journalists present to back it. "We are only talking about it for eight years. "Help me! Help me! I'm begging TT. I'm begging the media. Do I have your deal?

"We can't talk about misogyny and tragedy and say 'stop!' and then all of us don't do our part. Come on! Media Association, do you part."

However MATT has repeatedly alleged the bill was subject of insufficient public consultation and could curb media freedom.

The AG had earlier raised the matter by recalling his “very public utterance” to support the woman. He said just as it is right for people to pay their fair share of taxes, it also was right for him to do to speak up for her.

“I felt TT was on the wrong path in the tragedy that I saw that young lady undergo. You have to say the right thing because it’s the right thing to say.

“This is not a matter of anybody being against anybody else. We need to do the right thing.”

The Cybercrime Bill (section 16) imposes a $100,000 fine and two years jail (Magistrate Court) or $500,000 fine and three years jail (High Court).

The bill outlaws the intentional and unlawful capture, storage or transmission of images of “the private area of another person without his consent, where the other person has a reasonable expectation that he could disrobe in privacy, or that his private area would not be visible to the public regardless of whether he is in a public or private place, commits an offence.”