Iraqi Parliament Rejects Draft Cybercrime Bill
The Iraqi parliament has voted to reject a law regulating cybercrime, after opponents claimed that it infringed on citizens’ freedoms, writes Ali Abel Sadah.
On Feb. 5, 2013, the Iraqi parliament responded to a campaign launched by activists against a proposed law criminalizing many means of circulating information. Iraqi lawmakers said that they will draft a new law that preserves public freedoms.
One Iraqi activist, Mazen al-Zaidi, wrote on his Facebook page that the civil movement forced the Iraqi parliament to reject the draft law pertaining to cybercrimes. He said that this bill violates the right of information exchange, as guaranteed by the Iraqi constitution.
Earlier, the Iraqi government had presented to parliament a draft law known as the Cybercrimes Act, which would levy heavy punishments on those who circulate information pertaining to national security.
The draft law addressed in particular Internet and cell-phone users. The government declared that, throughout the drafting process, it had referred to similar laws in some Arab countries, in addition to the US law in this regard.
