Cameroon lacks comprehensive cybercrime and data protection laws, making its internet one of the riskiest. Appropriate legislation and regulation could help address this by [1] making Cameroon's internet safer and encouraging e-business, [2] protecting citizens' data privacy and security, and [3] supporting technology development in sectors like education, governance, and healthcare. However, cybercrime poses technical, legal, and operational challenges due to issues like anonymity, transnational nature, and lack of technical expertise. Cameroon needs to adopt a comprehensive framework that criminalizes specific cybercrimes, amends procedural laws, and establishes collaborative regulatory strategies with stakeholders to create a safer cyber environment.

1. A MODEL LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR
CAMEROON
1 INTRODUCTION
A country without cyberlaws is a danger to itself and to the global village at
large. On this background the allegation of Cameroon being home to the
world's riskiest Internet sites according to the cyber-security firm McAfee ,is a
cause for concern and therefore warrants appropriate legal and regulatory
responses at the national and international level.
In a poor and heavily indebted country like Cameroon,where the youths have
moved from classrooms to cyber cafes for cyber abusive reasons, where our
children, business, lives, and property are at risk for lack of the necessary laws,
where government’s flexible and spontaneous responses are far from reality and
everything answers to a highly centralized form of government, confiscated by
those close to the regime. , where a greater number of the citizens live in rural
areas,where there are no appropriate laws to apprehend and prosecute cyber
criminals, there is need for a legislative and regulatory rethink .
2.What Will BE The Advantages Of An Appropriate Legislative And
Regulatory Measures For Cameroon?
- Cameroon Will be haven free from cyber criminal
- The law will encourage e-business, create a competitive environment and
enhance confidence and trust with assurances of confidentiality, integrity,
authenticity, in sensitive information -data and privacy protection, and
therefore increase further developments in ICTs , especially in our health sector, our
educational system, our governance, our military

2. 3 A brief On Cameroon’s context of Cyber crime
Cameroon’s Cyber crime can be understood as:
-Computer-aided crimes originating in Cameroon but having its effect in another
Country
- Computer-aided crimes committed by Cameroonians located in Cameroon and
having the effect in Cameroon
- Computer-aided crimes committed by Cameroonians located outside Cameroon
and having effect in any other country including Cameroon
Therefore the computer element is a recent element in Cameroon
criminal system.
4 Why Is Cybercrime A Challenge ?
- Anonymity enjoyed by the perpetrator creates a room for impunity
as the elements of a crime; the physical presence, re actus, the mental
element –mensrea and the result cannot be coordinated to prosecute
-The borderless nature of the Crime and therefore multijurisdictional challenges
associated with cybercrimes’
-The complexity of the new crime and lack of technology makes understanding
difficult , detection and prosecution difficult
-Ignorance of most Cameroonians to the nature and existence of cybercrime .
5 Challenges Posed By cybercrimes
- Technical challenges

3. Lack of physical and anonymity and transborder nature of cyber crimes make it
diff+icult to trace a criminal
- Legal challenges
- The inherent trans-national nature of the internet is rendering the traditional
concept of distance meaningless and allowing criminals to act with impunity due to
lack of a legal structure capable of deterring and punishing cybercrime .
-Outdated laws and regulations, weak enforcement mechanisms for protecting
networked information, create an inhospitable environment in which to conduct e-
business within a country and across national boundaries.
Operational challenges
Cybercrime raises complex technical and legal issues which will require
Cameroon to have individuals dedicated to cybercrime and these individuals must
have a sound understanding of computers and telecommunications. Lack of an
efficient resources is a cloak to cyber to trying cyber criminals.
6 Model Law for Cameroon
Cameroon needs a clearly defined rule of law including a strong deterrent for
cybercrime,
- Further, Cameroon must create a robust, standard and interoperable laws by
incorporating standard models into her own legislation,
Cameroon must take into consideration her cultural diversity in making her
cyberlaws.
-Cameroon must follow the existing international initiatives providing guidance
for an effective framework addressing this crime.
This law can adopt the model of
- The United Nation’s Convention On The Use Electronic Communication In
International Contracts

4. - The Council of European Convention on Cybercrime-
- UNICTRAL Model Law on e-commerce (1996)
- UNICTRAL Model Law on e-signature (2001);
- - Further, the country has the added advantage of learning and borrowing
from the experiences of some countries like the United Kingdom, the
United States and her sister African Countries like South Africa, Morocco,
Tunisia, Egypt, Mauritius that have already enacted cybercrime law
- An Appropriate Substantive criminal law For Cameroon:
-Creating a new law specifically targeting the following offences;
i A New Law For Illegal access In Cameroon prohibiting intentionally
accessing the whole or any part of a computer system, without the right to do so
ii A New law That Outlaws Illegal interception proscribing intentionally
intercepting non-public transmissions of computer data, including electromagnetic
emissions, to, from or within a computer system, by technical means.
iii A New Law That Outlaws Data interference and protects computer
programmes criminalizing intentionally damaging, deleting, deteriorating,
altering or suppressing computer data without right
VI A New Law That Protects Cameroon’s Critical Infrastrutures By
Outlawing System interference
A cybercrime and cyber security law for Cameroon must prohibiting serious
intentional hindering of the functioning of Cameroon’s critical infrastructures like
energy, like CRTV,SONEL, SNEC, Banking system, Insurance. SONARA
v New Law That Criminalises The Misuse of Devices used for
committing crimes
A T he Old Laws Need to be Amended to Cover

5. Computer-related forgery,
Computer-related fraud,
Computer-related extortion,
Child pornography,
Intellectual property offences like Copyright infringement,Trade mark And
Domain Name
Cyberterrorism .
An Appropriate Procedural laws
The Criminal Procedure Code Of 2005 must be amended to cover computer
related crimes.
-The laws must cover the new investigating challenges
-Evidential issues
7 Regulatory Framework
The government of Cameroon must design , adopt and implement the following
Strategies;
collaborative And Consertative strategies with Cybersecurity Stakeholders
-Individuals:
- Private Sector:
- Public Sector:
- Development Partners
-Civil Society and the Media as a Sector.
- Trade Unions.
- Cameroonians in Diaspora
g. Education/ Academia;
- Strategies must be tailored to the rural areas, therefore bringing solution closer to
the problem .

6. 8 What Progress For Cameroon?
On Legislation;
- Cameroon’s bill on cyber crimes And Cybersecurity and also a draft bill on the
protection of ICT consumer is indicative of progress creating a safe cyber
environment.
- There is law no 2000/11of19 Dec.2000 on the protection of copyright and other
associated rights which protects computer programmes in Cameroon
- Law no. Of 27 May 2009 On identification of mobile telephone subscribers will
among other reasons fight against cyber threat , sabotage, and fraud.
-Sensitization is being done by the academia, civil society, media, Cameroonians
in the diaspora and other international and regional partners
On Collaboration
- There is the Yaounde protocol on common standards on the fight against
cybercrimes to fight impunity within the sub region
-The protection of intellectual property, specifically computer programmes by the
organisation Of Africa intellectual property by the Bangui Charter is enough proof
that the regional is moving towards a positive side.
Collaborative efforts with South Korea on a project to improve Internet security
are far underway. This will boost Internet security, electronic commerce, and
electronic banking in Cameroon and the Kigali protocol are indicative of a positive
step

7. Recommendations
Taking regulatory strategies closer to the rural areas
Increased emphases on voluntary safety measures for entreprises and individuals
-Creating Awareness
-Capacity building Of Human Resource
International cooperation
THANK YOU