ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommu-nications has called for transparency, stricter laws and thorough investigation to protect users’ data in ‘Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance (PECO) 2008’.
 
The committee which met here at the National Assembly Secretariat endorsed the dissent note by Anusha Rehman Khan and Marvi Memon on the ordinance.

Ms Rehman told the NA body that the PECO in its current form violated the fundamental rights of the people.

She said the cyber law had wide ranging, unchecked investigatory powers, search and seizure of personal and corporate data, adding that it could take years to prove the offence.

She said under the current law search and seizure could take place anytime and anywhere on any number of IT systems.

The legislator said an accused had no legal guarantees that the computers taken into custody would not be implanted with false evidence or the data in computers would not be lost or damaged.

Regarding Article 10, the first provision to the Section 25 of PECO, she told the body that the government could devise the procedure for investigation and prosecution of offences under the Cyber Law 2008.

Ms Rehman pointed out that the PECO created fictional category of additional ‘electronic offences’ that would lead effectively to double punishment for the same offences like forgery, cheating, causing damage to an IT system. Thus, a person could be charged both under relevant sections and under the PECO.

The ordinance also did not provide any protection to the property rights, she said, adding that no principles for compensations for such property loss were stated in the law.

Ms Rehman said the sophisticated IT equipment and technical training programmes were required for investigation agencies.  “A law is only required to cover two to three offences that are not covered elsewhere e.g. spamming, spoofing,” she added.