‘Avoid nude photos, videos’, MP warns

Young women were warned on Tuesday against taking part in compromising videos or pictures for “love”.

And they have also been urged by St James North MP Edmund Hinkson to love themselves first before they love any man.

“Do not send anything to any man like that,” he said. “Don’t let no man, no matter how much you feel he loves you today, take any videos [or] pictures of you. Don’t. That is today, you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Don’t do it. It could have adverse effects on you for the rest of your life.”

As he voted in support of the new Cybercrime Bill to replace the 19-year-old Computer Misuse Act, Hinkson acknowledged the need to protect children and senior citizens, while condemning child grooming by Internet users who “woo” minors.

He commended the new bill’s heavy fines of $100 000 or ten years imprisonment for those found guilty of online sexual acts, and a $70 000 fine and up to seven years jail time for cyberbullying, saying no reasonable person would disagree with the measure.

Hinkson also praised the bill’s stronger penalty for child pornography which doubled the original Computer Misuse Act‘s potential fine to $100 000.

He said “emotionally fragile” young people are likely to do themselves harm when they are at their most vulnerable and affected by the actions of others.

The backbencher declared that the Cybercrime Bill was very necessary to replace the Computer Misuse Act which was now inadequate for these modern times. He said the bill’s universal language represents international best practice formulated with the assistance of the Council of Europe which established the Budapest Convention in 2004.

Hinkson also supported criminally prosecuting a person who damages another’s reputation with the posting of sexually explicit material, suggesting that it is difficult for the average citizen to meet the $10 000 to $20 000 costs to pursue civil proceedings.
(SP)