THE joint select committee (JSC) reviewing the country’s 2015 cybercrimes law is divided on a proposal by the education ministry for provisions from the Child Pornography Prevention Act to be subsumed into cybercrimes legislation, to bring harsher penalties for offences committed against children.

Legal officer for the ministry, Anastasia Gordon-Jones, outlined at Wednesday’s virtual deliberations that the proposal to merge the provisions would see the application of penalties coming over from the Child Pornography Prevention Act, bringing sentencing for certain cybercrimes up to 20 years.The ministry originally offered the recommendation at a meeting of the committee last year.

The JSC is now deliberating on submissions made by various stakeholder groups to determine which proposals to adopt in its report to Parliament.Government members Natalie Campbell Rodriques and Senator Kavan Gayle have expressed strong support for the merging of the provisions.

On the other hand, Chief Parliamentary Counsel Judith Grant, as well as Solicitor General Marlene Aldred disagreed.Also, the question of whether the law should take into consideration underaged offenders was raised by Opposition committee member Julian Robinson.

“Under the Cybercrimes Act there are certain offences that children or students could commit and they do so in some cases out of immaturity, and pranks and just plain stupidity, and I wouldn’t want the same level of penalty to be imposed on someone who is under 18, versus an adult who is obviously engaging in something that is more exploitative. In looking at making the penalties harsher, I just want some consideration to be given where it may be peers who are doing it, versus an adult who is doing it to a child,” he pointed out.

Senator Gayle, too, believes a distinction should be made between penalties for cyber offences committed by children and those perpetuated by adults.

Legal services adviser for the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, Nicole Chambers, meanwhile, noted that in other jurisdictions cybercrimes and child pornography laws are included in the same legislation, but separated.

She stressed that some of the provisions in Jamaica’s 10-page child pornography prevention law overlap with the Cybercrimes Act, and that it does not make any reference to children as offenders.

The chief parliamentary counsel said it would be inappropriate to merge the two pieces of legislation, pointing out that, “the Child Pornography Prevention Act doesn’t only treat with child pornography when it is committed as a cybercrime. It covers child pornography, whatever the medium.”

She added that section four of the Cybercrimes Act captures offences that exceed certain penalties such as those that are punishable by jail time of over a year, which would cover the sentences in the Child Pornography Prevention Act.

The solicitor general, in her disagreement with collapsing child pornography prevention provisions into the legal framework for cybercrimes, pointed out that the child pornography prevention legislation was created in order to meet international obligations, and goes beyond cybercrimes.

“The intention at that time, and I have not been advised of any policy change, in implementing that act in the manner in which it was done was to ensure that we fully comply with our international obligations, and so for MSET (Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology) to take this on when it doesn’t fall within the portfolio remit of MSET is not something I can support,” she stated.

Aldred stressed that any move to merge the laws would be a major policy shift by the Government that would also have to involve Cabinet.