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- Here is the text of a proposed computer crime law in Ghana. Please note that
- this law is only proposed. It has not yet been adopted.
-
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-
-
- Ghana Computer Crime Law (Proposed)
- Computer Crime Law
-
- In pursuance of the Provisional National Defense Council
- (Establishment) Proclamation 1981, this Law is hereby made:
-
- 1. Any person who, with intent to defraud,
- (a) alters, damages, destroys or otherwise manipulates data
- or program stored in or used in connection with a
- computer, or
- (b) obtains by any means, information stored in a computer
- and uses it to his advantage or to another person's
- advantage to the disadvantage of any other person, or
- (c) uses a computer
- commits an offense.
- Charge: Computer-related fraud.
-
- ALTERNATIVE:
- (1) A person commits an offense if that person obtains access
- to a computer program or data, whether stored in or used
- in connection with a computer or to a part of such
- program or data to erase or otherwise alter the program
- or data with the intention-
- 1. (a) of procuring an advantage for himself or
- another person: or
- (b) of damaging another person's interests.
-
- 2. Any person who, by any means, without authority, wilfully
- destroys, damages, injures, alters or renders ineffective data
- stored in or used in connection with a computer commits an
- offense.
- Charge: Damaging Computer data.
-
- 3. Any person who, without authority, knowingly uses a computer
- commits and offense.
- Charge: Unauthorized use of a computer.
-
- 4. Any person who, without authority, knowingly gains access to
- a computer, computer network, or any part thereof commits an
- offense.
- Charge: Unauthorized access to a computer.
-
- 5. Any person who, knowingly and dishonestly introduces, records
- or stores, or causes to be recorded, stored or introduced into
- a computer or computer network by any means, false or
- misleading information as data commits an offense.
- Charge: Insertion of false information as data.
-
- ALTERNATIVE:
- (5) A person commits an offense if, not having authority to
- obtain access to a computer program or data, whether
- stored in or used in connection with a computer, or to a
- part of such program or data, he obtains such
- unauthorized access and damages another person's
- interests by recklessly adding to, erasing or otherwise
- altering the program or the data.
-
- 6. Any person under a contractual or other duty to introduce,
- record or store authorised data into a computer network, who
- negligently or dishonestly fails to introduce, record or
- store, commits an offense.
- Charge: Omission to introduce, record or store data.
-
- ALTERNATIVE
- (6) Any person under a contractual or other duty to
- introduce, record or store data into a computer or
- computer network who negligently or dishonestly fails to
- introduce, record or store, commits an offense.
-
- 7. Any authorised person who willfully or intentionally allows
- information from a computer to get into the hands of an
- unauthorised person who uses such information to his advantage
- commits an offense.
- Charge: Allowing unauthorised person to use computer data.
-
- 8. A person guilty of an offense under this Law shall be liable:-
- (a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not
- exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding the
- statutory maximum or both; or
- (b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term
- not exceeding ten years or to an unlimited fine, or both.
-
- 9. A court in Ghana shall have jurisdiction to entertain
- proceedings for an offense under this Law, if at the time the
- offense was committed:-
- (a) the accused was in Ghana; or
- (b) the program or the data in relation to which the offence
- was committed was stored in or used with a computer or
- computer network in Ghana.
-
- 10. In this Law, unless the context otherwise requires:-
- "access" includes to log unto, instruct, store data or
- programs in, retrieve data or programs from, or otherwise
- communicate with a computer, or gain access to (whether
- directly or with the aid of any device) any data or program.
- "computer" includes any device which is capable of performing
- logical, arithmetical, classifactory, mnemonic, storage or
- other like functions by means of optical, electronic or
- magnetic signals.
- "Computer network" includes the interconnection of two or more
- computers, whether geographically separated or in close
- proximity or the interconnection of communication systems with
- a computer through terminals, whether remote or local.
- "Computer program" includes an instruction or statement or
- series of instructions or statements capable of causing a
- computer to indicate, perform, or achieve any function.
- "data" includes a representation in any form whether tangible
- or intangible that is capable of being stored in or retrieved
- by a computer.
-
- *(END GHANA PROPOSED LAW)*
-