Qatar issue new cybercrime laws
Qatar yesterday issued a cybercrime prevention law that prescribes punishments for several offences dealing with computers and networks, and crimes committed through the Internet.
The much-awaited law says the state will take measures to protect all local websites and information systems.
The provisions of the law, however, reserve the severest of punishments for electronic forgery of official documents and producing, promoting, or using or importing and distributing child pornography and hacking.
The law, which took immediate effect and will be published in the official gazette, has five chapters and they in all have 54 articles, some of which dealing with the breach of intellectual property rights using the Internet.
The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani issued the law No. 14 of 2014, Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
It prescribes a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to QR500,000 for those found guilty of producing, promoting, using, importing or distributing child pornography. It wouldn’t matter if in possessing child porn materials the victim’s consent has been sought. The law defines a child as a person under 18 years.
Posting such materials on a website or copying materials from another website will also attract the above punitive measures.
The law prescribes up to 10 years of jail term and a fine of up to QR200,000 for forging or using any official e-document.
The jail term is a maximum of three years or a fine of a maximum of QR100,000 if the document forged is unofficial. Similar punishments await those who impersonate, as individuals or entities, or are involved in identity thefts or steal movable property using the Internet.
The jail term is up to three years and a fine of up to QR200,000 for unauthorised possession or use of an e-card, whether it is an ATM or credit card, or stealing their numbers or forging e-cards.
The Public Prosecution will have the authority under the law to investigate the cases of cybercrime. The police will have to show all equipment seized in a cybercrime case to the Public Prosecution.
The authority concerned (the Cybercrime Combating Unit at the Ministry of Interior) will support a country that requests extradition of an accused and investigate the matter as per the agreement signed with the country concerned.
No accused will be handed over to a country requesting his extradition if it is suspected that such a request is being dictated by considerations such as racism, religion, nationality or the person’s political view.
Cases of cybercrime need to be immediately brought to the notice of the authority concerned.
Internet service providers will be required to aid investigation of cybercrime cases and provide the necessary information.
They will need to preserve information provided to subscribers for a year. They will have to ban websites on the orders of the authority concerned and can be fined up to QR500,000 if they breach provisions of the law.
