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Opposition Spokesperson on National Security Peter Bunting
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Senator Peter Bunting
By Nakinskie Robinson
Opposition Spokesperson on National Security Peter Bunting says legislators should look towards criminalising cyber defamation.
Senator Bunting, who was speaking in the Senate on Friday afternoon, noted that when Parliament agreed for defamation to be classified as a civil offence, legislators had not factored the far-reaching impact of social media and other technology driven platforms which have since compounded the issue.
His comment came in response to Senator Dana Morris Dixon's report on the review of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015, which included recommendations for new offences including cyber stalking, cyber defamation, cyber bullying and social engineering, among others.
Senator Bunting noted that traditional media has regulators, such as editors who are able to detect and limit defamatory statements, however, non-traditional outlets do not allow for such kinds of supervision.
"When you talk about social media now, there are no editors, there's no filter and that defamation can be so damaging.... Maybe we need to make it a criminal offence now given the potential far-reaching and permanent implications that this would have for somebody's life and reputation," he contended.
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