| 10 Oct 2006 |
|
Saudi Arabia: Shoura Approves Law to Combat E-Crimes
- Text size
RIYADH, 10 October 2006 -- The Shoura Council yesterday approved Saudi Arabia's first law to combat electronic crimes. The law was submitted to the Council by the Commission for Telecommunication and Information Technology.
The Council also agreed to grant Saudi citizenship to foreign women married to Saudis and expatriate widows of Saudi men. It allowed the interior minister to authorize officials at the ministry to grant citizenship to such applicants.
The law to combat electronic crimes specifies the penalties and fines that violators will be subject to for hacking into other people's personal information or hacking websites and damaging their contents.
It also implies that defamation on the Internet is against the law and that violators will be punished. It specifies that those who use the Internet to acquire information illegally from public or private sources will be severely punished by fines or jail terms or both. All 16 sections of the new law were approved by the 120-member Council yesterday and will be effective after publication in the official gazette within 120 days.
The maximum punishment will be given to any unauthorized person who accesses government websites and steals information related to national security. Those who construct websites in support of terrorism or spread information about how to make bombs on the Web or advocate teachings that support terrorism and its agendas will also receive heavy punishment.
Among the sections in the new law are the following:
1. A prison sentence of one year and a fine of SR500,000 or both will apply to unauthorized persons who gain access to electronic networks. The punishment will also apply to hackers who hack into websites and change their contents or inflict damage to their contents. The law also applies to those who misuse technology and use the Internet to defame others or cause them harm.
2. A prison sentence of three years and a fine of SR2 million or both for any person who is found in unauthorized possession of electronic documents or property documents.
3. A prison sentence of four years and a fine of SR3 million or both will apply to any person who gains unauthorized entry to a public network. This sentence also applies to hackers or persons who install viruses that cause the stoppage of Internet usage or damage its facilities.
Persons who install software that forbids users from accessing the Internet in any way will also receive the same punishment and fine.
5. A maximum prison sentence of 10 years and a fine of SR5 million or both will apply to any person who constructs a website that supports terrorist activities or who advocates how to make explosives as well as persons who use the Internet to establish means of communication between terrorist cells. The punishment also applies to any person who hacks into government networks and steals information related to national security.
The Council said that associates of those found guilty would receive half the punishment prescribed for the specific crime. It also authorized the Commission for Investigation and Public Prosecution to be the authorized body to cooperate with security officials in the Kingdom during the apprehension of violators and the confiscation of their devices.
Shoura Council President Saleh Bin-Humaid congratulated the members for completing the voting on all sections of the new law.
TITC Taking Over Internet Service
The Telecommunications and Information Technology Commission (TITC), the Kingdom's telecom regulator, has started measures to take over Internet service from King Abdul Aziz City of Science and Technology (KACST)King Abdul Aziz City of Science and Technology (KACST)
. The shifting will be carried out gradually without affecting service, it said.
Saudi Telecom Company has established Internet gateways in Riyadh and Jeddah and has successfully shifted all Internet service providers to the new gateways.
By Raid Qusti
© Arab News 2006
Zawya is a distributor (and not a publisher) of content supplied by third parties and subscribers. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by those third parties, including information providers, subscribers or other users of the Service, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and not of the Company. The Company neither endorses nor is responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on the Service by anyone other than authorized Service employee spokespersons while acting in their official capacities. The Company is not responsible for any infringement of intellectual property rights or breach of any applicable law or regulation, including regulation in relation to financial services or the distribution of financial products, defamation, data protection, telecommunications (including regulations relating to excessive use, spamming or other abusive activities) or obscene, offensive or illegal content). Under no circumstances will the Company be liable for any loss or damage caused by a member's reliance on information obtained through the Service. It is the responsibility of member to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content available through the Service. Please seek the advice of professionals, as appropriate, regarding the evaluation of any specific information, opinion, advice or other content.
Read the full Member Agreement
http://www.zawya.com/legal/NewsLetter.cfm?name=disclaimer
Post a Comment
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse.