Executive clarifies laws, says online sex advertisers can be prosecuted

By DALE LUMA
PEOPLE using online platforms to advertise sex for business can be prosecuted using certain provisions in the Summary Offences Act, an official says.
National Information and Communication Technology Authority (Nicta) chief executive officer Charles Punaha told The National that the administrators of illicit Facebook pages could not be penalised under cybercrime laws as it does not contain provision for such activities.
He said, however, the Summary Offences Act contained such provisions which perpetrators could be prosecuted.
“The Summary Offences Act contains provisions that deal with prostitution and, in light of these provisions, it is possible to prosecute persons that advertise online soliciting sex for money,” he said.
“The Cybercrime Code Act itself does not contain a specific provision on prostitution or online solicitation for prostitution, however, Section 31 of that Act criminalises unlawful advertising.”
When asked if Nicta had monitoring measures in place to monitor such activities, Punaha said: “Although Nicta is the regulator of the ICT industry, it is not specifically established by law to monitor and apprehend individuals or corporations that commit such crimes referred to.
“This function is the constitutional mandate of the police.
“Nicta, however, may assist where it can when called upon by law enforcement.
“Nicta further believes that a multi-sectoral approach involving the police, Nicta, mobile operators, ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and the Censorship Board is required to address this issue.
“For this reason, among others, the SIM card registration exercise is very important as it will assist law enforcement (with the help of the mobile operators) identify, apprehend and prosecute the creators/administrators of such pages/portals.”