CyberUp reacts to new amendment to Criminal Justice Bill
In an exciting update, an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill has been tabled today on reform to the CMA and the introduction of ‘a statutory defence’. This is a key ask of the CyberUp Campaign. The amendment will hopefully be raised tomorrow at Committee Stage.
The Criminal Justice Bill aims to strengthen the ability of the criminal justice system to pursue those who have benefited from criminal activity and enable the government to work in stronger partnership with law enforcement. With cybercrime and online fraud on the rise it is key that we use the opportunity of the Bill to raise reform of the CMA. The introduction of a ‘statutory defence’ for legitimate activities could protect cyber professionals and increase the UK’s ability to combat cybercrime, fraud, and foreign interference, whilst unlocking further growth for our already successful British tech industry.
The full amendment can be viewed here and below:
Amendment NC52 and NC53
To move the following Clause—
“Definition of unauthorised access to computer programs or data In section 17 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, at the end of subsection (5) insert— “(c) he does not reasonably believe that the person entitled to control access of the kind in question to the program or data would have consented to that access if he had known about the access and the circumstances of it, including the reasons for seeking it; (d) he is not empowered by an enactment, by a rule of law, or by the order of a court or tribunal to access of the kind in question to the program or data.””
To move the following Clause—
“Defences to charges under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 (1) The Computer Misuse Act 1990 is amended as follows. (2) In section 1, after subsection (2) insert— “(2A) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (1) to prove that—
(a) the person’s actions were necessary for the detection or prevention of crime; or
(b) the person’s actions were justiied as being in the public interest.”
(3) In section 3, after subsection (5) insert— “(5A) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (1) to prove that— (a) the person’s actions were necessary for the detection or prevention of crime; or (b) the person’s actions were justified as being in the public interest.”