Johannesburg — Public and private sector delegates from 14 countries, including SA, attended a conference in Swaziland this month to discuss the current status of cyberlaws and future developments.

"There are very good reasons to harmonise cyberlaws in the SADC region," said says IT lawyer Reinhardt Buys , a member of the South African delegation.

"Harmonisation will ensure cross- border enforcement of cyber crimes such as hacking, computer fraud and online scams, allowing for the extradition of cyber criminals."

If the region used common standards to collect and present electronic evidence and freely shared that information, more criminals would be caught more easily, he says.

Standard laws will also prevent defendants from canvassing for their case to be heard in a particular country so they could go where the laws are weakest.

Although most people in southern Africa still do not have access to a computer or a telephone line, access to the internet and mobile commerce is growing as people use their cellphones or other handheld devices.

While several SADC countries have yet to pass any cyberlaws, most are in the process of either developing policies or drafting legislation.

SA and Mauritius both have a number of laws governing the use of the internet for communication, entertainment and trade. SA enacted the Electronic Com munications and Transactions Act in 2002 and a draft Convergence Bill is currently being debated.

Namibia will have a new law ready in the second half of this year.

"Ensuring cyberlaw harmonisation throughout the region will not be easy," said Buys.

"Delegates from some countries expressed the fear that issues such as e-commerce and cybercrimes have to compete for attention and resources with more pressing regional issues such as HIV/Aids and poverty relief."

The conference ended closed with firm commit ments from all the delegates to speed up cyberlaw enactment and enforcement. Other initiatives included the creation of a SADC cyberlaw website and the creation of model laws for the region.