The Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) issued a law on combating cybercrime that includes 53 articles, containing goals and penalties related to cybercrime.
The law aims to protect electronic transactions and reduce the incidences of cybercrime, by identifying these crimes and approving deterrent penalties for them. This will lead to achieving justice and information security, protecting Libyan public order and public morals, as well as protecting the national economy.
This will also preserve rights resulting from the legitimate use of the means of modern technology, and enhance public confidence in the Libyan health and safety of electronic transactions.
The provisions of the law shall apply to any of the crimes stipulated therein if all or some of its acts were committed inside Libya, or all of its acts were committed outside Libya. As well as its consequences and effects extended to inside Libya, even if the act was not punishable in the country in which it was committed.
The law defines cybercrime as “every act committed through the use of computer systems, the international information network, or other information technology means in violation of the provisions of this law.”
Last year, a report prepared by Lawyers for Justice called on the Libyan state to publicly acknowledge the spread of violence against women.
The report included violence on the internet, and a commitment to prevent, investigate, combat and punish gender-based violence against Libyan women.
This is part of achieving the fifth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), gender equality and the full implementation of United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
In the midst of all this, a group of Libyan experts, including lawyers, judges, activists and human rights defenders, presented a study of the draft law on combating violence against women (2021), to criminalise all forms of violence against women.
These crimes included electronic violence and hate speech online. They called for establishing mechanisms for protection and prevention, establishing a national committee to combat violence against women, and a trust fund dedicated to supporting survivors of violence.