Ministry of Interior prepared draft law on cyber security of Ukraine

The bill, which was published on the web site of parliament on March 11th, for the first time in Ukraine, introduces the concept of "cyber security" and "cyberspace" and expands the list of crimes that threaten national security. It proposes to include into the list of crimes an unauthorized interference into the work of government information resources, promotion of violence, cruelty, pornography and separatism in the Internet.

Member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Serhiy Grinevetsky is confident that the next step will be to strengthen accountability for these violations.

According to Oleh Malskiy, partner of AstapovLawyers law firm, the increased status of these offenses to the level of national security threat can lead to empowerment of the law enforcement agencies. "Expanding competence in this sphere will provide the authorities with more options when checking companies, - he said. - For example, it will allow to seize documents under the pretext of national security threats."

The explanatory note to the document states that its purpose is "to establish a legal basis for further development of laws and regulations to protect the interests of citizens and the state cyber space."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior initiative is associated with the government's attempts to restrict civil liberties.