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Back to Revised Laws of Saint Lucia (2022)

2. Interpretation

In this Act—

“access” in relation to any computer system, means instruct, communicate with, store data in, retrieve data from, or otherwise make use of any of the resources of the computer system;

“asymmetric cryptosystem” means a system capable of generating a secure key pair, consisting of a private key and a public key;

“computer” means a device that accepts information, in the form of digitalized data, and manipulates the information for some result based on a program or sequence of instructions on how the data is to be processed;

“computer service” includes data processing and the storage or retrieval of data;

“computer system” means a device or combination of devices, including input and output devices, except calculators which are not programmable, and capable of being used in conjunction with external files which contain computer programs, electronic instructions, input data and output data that performs logic, arithmetic, data storage and retrieval, communication control and other functions;

“damage” means, except for the purposes of section 31, any impairment to a computer system or the integrity or availability of data, a program or system, or information in a computer, that—

(a) causes loss aggregating at least $10,000 in value, or such other amount as the Minister may, by Order published in the Gazette, prescribe except that any loss incurred or accrued more than one year after the date of the offence in question shall not be taken into account;

(b) modifies or impairs, or potentially modifies or impairs, the medical examination, diagnosis, treatment or care of a person;

(d) threatens the public interest, public health or public safety;

“data” means—

(a) information recorded in a form in which it can be processed by equipment operating automatically in response to instructions given for that purpose; and

(b) representations of facts, information and concepts held in any removable storage medium;

“decryption information” means information or technology that enables a person to readily retransform or unscramble encrypted data from its unreadable and incomprehensible format to its plain text version;

“digital signature” means—

(a) an electronic signature consisting of a transformation of an electronic record using an asymmetric cryptosystem such that a person having the initial untransformed electronic record and the signer's public key can accurately determine—
1. (i) whether the transformation was created using the private key that corresponds to the signer's public key, and
1. (ii) whether the initial electronic record has been altered since the transformation was made; and

(b) voice recognition features, digital finger-printing or such other biotechnological features or process, as may be prescribed;

“electronic” in relation to technology, means technology- having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, biometric, photonic or similar capabilities;

“electronic record” means a record created, generated, sent, communicated, received or stored by electronic means and which can be read or perceived by a person or a computer system or other similar device;

“electronic signature”—

(a) means information that is—
1. (i) contained in, attached to or logically associated with, an electronic record, and
1. (ii) used by a signatory to indicate his or her adoption of the content of that record;

(b) does not include any signature produced by a facsimile machine or by an electronic scanning device;

“encrypted data” means data which has been transformed or scrambled from its plain text version to an unreadable and incomprehensible format, regardless of the technique utilized for transformation or scrambling, and irrespective of the medium in which such data occurs or can be found for the purposes of protecting the content of such data;

“function” includes logic, control, arithmetic, deletion, storage and retrieval and communication or telecommunication to, from or within a computer system;

“indecent photograph” includes an indecent film, a copy of an indecent photograph or film, and an indecent photograph comprised in a film;

“information and communication service” means any service involving the use of information and communication technologies and telecommunication;

“information and communication technologies” means technologies employed in collecting, storing, using or sending out information and those involving the use of computer systems or any telecommunication system;

“intercept” in relation to a function of a computer system, includes listening to, or recording a function of a computer system, or acquiring the substance, its meaning or purport of such a function;

“key” means either a public key or private key;

“key pair” means a combination of a public key and a private key;

“Minister” means the Minister responsible for Information;

“modify” means to alter the contents of a computer system by the operation of any function of that computer system or any other computer system as a result of which, any—

(a) program or data held in the computer system is altered or erased;

(b) program or data is added to the contents of a computer system; or

“password” means any data by which a computer service or a computer system is capable of being accessed, obtained or used;

“photograph” includes—

(a) the negative as well as the positive version; and

(b) data stored on a computer disc or by other electronic means which is capable of conversion into a photograph;

“plain text version” means original data before it has been transformed or scrambled to an unreadable or incomprehensible format;

“private key” means a key known only to its owner in an asymmetric cryptosystem;

“program” means a set of instructions expressed in words, codes, schemes or any other form which is capable, when incorporated in a machine readable medium, of causing a computer to perform or achieve a particular task or result;

“property” means—

(a) property of any kind, nature or description, whether moveable or immovable, real or personal, tangible or intangible;

(b) any currency, whether or not the currency is legal tender in Saint Lucia;

(c) information, including an electronically produced data or program, or a copy of the data or program, whether tangible or intangible, human or computer readable data, or data while in transit; or

(d) any right or interest in property;

“pseudo-photograph”—

(a) means an image, whether made by computer graphics or by any other means, which appears to be a photograph; and

(b) includes a copy of a pseudo-photograph and data stored on a computer disc or by other electronic means capable of conversion into a pseudo-photograph;

“public key” means a key known to everyone in an asymmetric cryptosystem;

“record” means information that is inscribed, stored or otherwise fixed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form;

“service provider” means any person who provides an information and communication service, including telecommunication service;

“subscriber” means a person using the services of a service provider;

“subscriber information” means any information, contained in the form of computer data or any other form, that is held by a service provider, relating to subscribers, other than traffic or other data, by which can be established—

(a) the type of the communication service used, the technical provisions taken to use the communication service, and the period of the service;

(b) the subscriber's identity, postal or geographical address, telephone and other access number, billing and payment information, available on the basis of a service agreement or arrangement; or

(c) any other information on the site of installation of a communication equipment available on the basis of a service agreement or arrangement;

“telecommunication” means a transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, optical or other electro-magnetic systems whether or not the signs, signals, writing, images, sounds or intelligence have been subjected to rearrangement, computation or other processes by any means in the course of the transmission, emission or reception;

“traffic data” means any data relating to a communication by means of a computer system and generated by the system that form part in the chain of communication, indicating the communication's origin, destination, route, time, date, size, duration, or type of underlying service;

“underlying service” means the type of service that is being used within the computer system.