Proposed legislation in Iraq has free speech and human rights watch groups on alert. According to a translation from the Centre for Law and Democracy, Articles 3, 4, and 5 of Iraq's IT Crimes Law would impose a mandatory life sentence for anyone
using a computer or the Internet to do any of the following:
- compromise the unity of the state;
- subscribe, participate, negotiate, promote, contract or deal with an enemy ... in order to destabilize security and public order or expose the country to danger;
- damage, cause
defects, or hinder [systems or networks] belonging to security military, or intelligence authorities with a deliberate intention to harm [state security].
- promote ideas which are disruptive to public order ;
- implement
terrorist operations under fake names or to facilitate communication with members or leaders of terrorist groups ;
- promote terrorist activites and ideologies or to publish information regarding the manufacturing, preparation and
implementation of flammable or explosive devices, or any tools or materials used in the planning or execution of terrorist acts ; facilitate or promote human trafficking in any form ;
- engage in trafficking, promoting or
facilitating the abuse of drugs .
The Act also includes provisions to punish network users who create chaos in order to weaken the trust of the electronic system of the state, provoke or promote armed disobedience, disturb public order or harm the reputation of the
country, or intrude, annoy or call computer and information network users without authorization or hinders their use. Copyright infringement and hacking would also land users in big trouble under the Act, which proposes a 2- to 3-year
prison term for either offense.
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