A platform for the discussion of the new cyberlaws

by Franco Aloisio

A one-day conference examining the new proposed legislation on e-commerce, data protection and computer misuse will be held on 23 June at the Westin Dragonara Resort.

Organised by EuropAdvise Ltd and Gatt Frendo Tufigno Advocates, the conference - "The New Cyberlaws and Your Business" - will be a forum where the white paper on these three laws will be discussed.

Dr Michael Frendo, who will be chairing the conference, told The Malta Business Weekly that the proceedings of the conference will be submitted as official comments on the white paper.

"This conference comes at a time when the legal aspects of information technology is a very topical subject. It is a time when new opportunities could be created in this field, such as e-commerce, if the proper legislation is in place," Dr Frendo said.

He added that these three laws form the basic legislation which will encourage the flourishing of e-commerce and related business. Other laws could be enacted to develop further this new area.

"The conference has a precise knowledge of what is being proposed in terms of e-commerce, data protection and computer misuse. Hence the discussion can be very focused."

Dr Frendo said that the proposed laws are fully compatible with EU legislation. This will be the topic of his paper which will be presented during the conference.

The first session of the conference will deal with an overview of the new cyberlaws. Among the speakers in this session will be MITTS CEO David Spiteri Gingell and Terranet CEO Keith Fearne. The second session, the Maltese E-Commerce laws and developments in the EU, will be addressed by Michael Frendo, managing partner, Gatt Frendo Tufigno, Advocates.

"From the Jetage to the Netage - e-commerce and the aviation industry", will be the title of the address of Philip Micallef, from the Societe Internationale de Trasport Aerienne (SITA).

Roger Xuereb Archer from KPMG will speak on "Public key infrastructure - enabling e-commerce", while the CEO of GO Mobile, Juanito Camilleri will speak on "Commerce on the GO!"

Another session of the conference will be dedicated to discussing an e-commerce infrastructure for business computer associates. The speakers in this session include Alan Griffiths, partner E-Communications online, a subsidiary of Chime Plc. An outline of the new data protection legislation will be given by Paul Mifsud Cremona and Paul Caruana.

The implications for organisations of data protection will be discussed by Eric Muscat of KPMG, while health and the internet will the topic of the speech by Myra Tilney of the Medical Association of Malta. Finally Inspector Paul Caruana will discuss computer misuse. The sponsors of this conference are E-Shore, Go Mobile, Computer Solutions Limited and The Malta Business Weekly.