Citing doctored images circulating online showing her and other legislators in handcuffs, Member of Parliament for St James West Central Marlene Malahoo Forte told Parliament on Tuesday that the amendments to the Cybercrimes Act still leave Jamaicans exposed to reputational attacks that investigators cannot effectively pursue.

The warning came before the Bill to amend the Act was approved in the House of Representatives, bringing debate in the Lower House to a close on how to modernise Jamaica’s cyber laws.

Malahoo Forte argued that while the legislation strengthens several offences, it does not confront what she described as the growing crisis of AI-generated lies and anonymous online smears hosted on overseas platforms.

“What I believe we need to address urgently is how we deal with people who publish on the Internet [and], on the Internet a number of fake reports are going around. Numerous fake reports and you know they are artificially generated, artificially altered. I even see some published with myself and other members of this honourable House in handcuffs and they are going viral,” she told the chamber, explaining that she had referred the matter to investigators only to be informed that little could be done.

According to Malahoo Forte, the problem lies in the inability of local authorities to compel foreign websites to release Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or subscriber details. She said the existing law focuses mainly on threats to life and fails to address malicious defamation conducted across borders.

“It cannot be that we have a legal framework and those who are to enforce it are saying that they are powerless to enforce it because of the law, they cannot compel anyone to provide information outside of Jamaica,” Malahoo Forte said as she urged Parliament to craft provisions with extraterritorial reach.

She recounted the personal impact of the digital hoaxes, noting that constituents had contacted her in distress after seeing the fabricated images.

“I had a member of my constituency call me crying, saying, ‘My MP, is it true that you were arrested because a picture is circulating with you in handcuffs’. It’s not funny, it really is not funny, and then another call, people are pleading for me and begging for me because I’ve been arrested and if you look closely at the image you can tell the image doesn’t have anybody of the Jamaica Constabulary Force,” she said.

Cybersecurity experts have warned that the rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has made it easier to clone voices, manipulate photographs and fabricate news stories, often faster than police can respond.

The amendments approved Tuesday introduce tougher penalties for several online offences, but Malahoo Forte maintained that enforcement gaps remain.

“We make light of it, but the truth is that it is harmful and these things do not just happen, people sit down and they fabricate and they utilise the tools that are available in this digital age, they distort images, they make up stories, they use your voice and your image and the police are saying that they can’t do anything about it because, gone are the days when they could say to the telecoms company ‘give us the IP address’, [now] they are telling them that they can’t get it without a court order and then when they get the court order they are dishonouring the court orders,” she said.

Malahoo Forte insisted that Jamaica’s Independence Act empowers Parliament to pass laws with effect beyond its borders, a tool she said must now be used to protect citizens from digital harm that originates overseas.

“So we can’t legislate in vain, we have to ensure that when we pass laws they can be enforced and those who are to benefit from the laws can get the benefit. So all matters dealing with a cyber space must be able to reach beyond the territorial jurisdiction to where the harm is committed, and the Parliament of Jamaica has the power to do so under the Jamaica Independence Act, which is one of our constitutional instruments,” argued Malahoo Forte.