PREMIUM Parliament takes cybercrime speech fight to Supreme Court News 16 min ago

Article The National Assembly has taken the battle over online speech offences to the Supreme Court, challenging a decision that struck down provisions of the Cybercrime law that had criminalised digital publication of “false or misleading information or fictitious data”.

In regard to the Court of Appeal’s finding that the State should rely on civil defamation or alternative laws, particularly the National Cohesion and Integration Act, the Speaker says civil defamation only protects personal reputation and cannot address public safety threats posed by large-scale online falsehoods.

According to the National Assembly's petition of appeal, the Court of Appeal recognised that words such as “intentionally” and “knowingly” provide the guilty mental element required for criminal liability, but then failed to apply that reasoning consistently to Sections 22 and 23.