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Cybercrime
One hundred questions and answers on the Cybercrime Code Act 2016 - hacking, interception, data and system interference, electronic fraud and forgery, identity theft, pornography and child protection offences, defamatory publication, cyber bullying, harassment and extortion, spam and cyber attack, the search and investigation powers in Part IV, the liability of ICT service providers, and international co-operation.
The Cybercrime Code Act 2016 is Papua New Guinea's principal law on computer crime. It does three things. It creates a set of offences ranging from unauthorised access to a computer through to online child grooming and cyber attack on critical infrastructure. It gives police and the courts a procedural code for searching devices, preserving and intercepting electronic evidence, and using remote forensic tools. And it places duties on ICT service providers - the telecommunications companies, internet service providers, hosting providers and website administrators listed in Schedule 1 - backed by criminal liability. The Act is expressly declared to restrict six qualified constitutional rights, and it operates in addition to, and where inconsistent in place of, the Criminal Code.
Jump to a subject
14 questions and answers, grouped by subject.
- What the Cybercrime Code Act is — 1 question
- Attacks on data and systems — 1 question
- Computer related offences — 1 question
- Content related offences — 7 questions
- Cyber attack and intellectual property — 1 question
- Search, evidence and investigation — 2 questions
- Practical guidance — 1 question
What the Cybercrime Code Act is
What the Act covers, the key definitions, how it fits with the Criminal Code, retrospectivity, the age of criminal culpability, summary trial, and the constitutional rights it limits.
Attacks on data and systems
Unauthorised access and hacking, illegal interception, data and system interference, critical infrastructure, data espionage and illegally remaining.
Computer related offences
Electronic fraud, electronic forgery, online gambling by a child, identity theft, illegal devices and the security testing defence.
Content related offences
Pornography and child protection offences, online grooming, defamatory publication, cyber bullying, cyber harassment, cyber extortion, unlawful disclosure and spam.
What Is the Online Child Pornography Offence?
Section 18(1) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: the online child pornography offence, its incorporation of the Criminal Code provisions, and the penalties.
Read the answer → No. 36What Must Police Do With Stored Child Pornography?
Section 18(5) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: the mandatory destruction duty attached to the law enforcement defence, and how it fits with the Part IV evidence powers.
Read the answer → No. 38What if Grooming Involves a Child Under 16?
Section 19(2) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: the aggravated child online grooming offence, the life sentence, and the effect of section 19 of the Criminal Code.
Read the answer → No. 49What if Cyber Bullying Results in Death?
Section 22(3) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: cyber bullying resulting in death, the life sentence for child and adult offenders, and the mandatory ICT prohibition.
Read the answer → No. 50What Penalties Apply to a Child Cyber Bully?
The child offender penalties in sections 22 and 23 of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016, the role of the Juvenile Justice Act 2014, and the ICT prohibition as an alternative to detention.
Read the answer → No. 55What Is Online Blackmail?
Sections 24(2) and 24(3) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: online blackmail, sextortion, and the rule that the truth of the accusation does not matter.
Read the answer → No. 56What Is Unlawful Disclosure?
Section 25(1) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: the unlawful disclosure offence, what it covers, and the public benefit defence in section 25(3).
Read the answer →Cyber attack and intellectual property
Cyber attack and critical infrastructure, online copyright, trade mark, patent and design infringement, unlawful advertising, ICT prohibition orders and corporate fines.
Search, evidence and investigation
Search warrants and search powers, assistance, production orders, expedited preservation, partial disclosure, restraining orders, interception, traffic data, remote forensic tools and electronic evidence.
When Can Police Search for Electronic Evidence?
Section 32(1) of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: the search power, the warrant requirement, and what “private place” and “data or thing” mean.
Read the answer → No. 83Is Electronic Evidence Admissible?
Section 43 of the PNG Cybercrime Code Act 2016: the admissibility of electronic evidence, what section 43(1) removes, and what still has to be proved.
Read the answer →Practical guidance
What to do as a victim or as an accused, what businesses must do, protecting children online, what you may post about someone, and how the Act affects social media.
Acts are amended, and figures and time limits change. Every article names the sections it relies on so you can read them. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.