Youth Parliamentarians took the floor on Monday, with the Opposition calling for urgent and comprehensive cybercrime legislation to protect victims of cyberbullying and penalise perpetrators.
00:00Be it resolved that this youth parliament call on the government of Trinidad and Tobago to urgently enact legislation and implement data-driven policies to mitigate the effects of cyber bullying.
00:13The youth had the floor today as they brought arguments in respect of a topic that affects many young people in these modern times, cyberbullying.
00:21According to the 2019 Trinidad and Tobago National School Climate Survey Report, as social media increases, so does cyberbullying.
00:33And when students were asked how often they were cyberbullying, not a single one said never. Not one.
00:41So just to clarify that for the government, that's zero percent.
00:45So while the Wi-Fi might drop sometimes, cyberbullying clearly doesn't.
00:55The youth opposition laments that while cyberbullying has long-lasting consequences, including suicide, the cybercrime bill that was introduced in 2017 is yet to become low.
01:06They hide behind outdated legislation, like the Computer Misuse Act, the Offenses Against the Person Act, and might I remind you, the cybercrime bill, which was never actually passed.
01:19The youth opposition also proposed policies to help mitigate the incidence of cyberbullying, such as mandatory reporting.
01:27Too many cases don't even leave school wars. Children are afraid to speak up because they are afraid things might just get worse.
01:36This is why the opposition is proposing a bill that ensures accountability.
01:42And what better way to start this? By making sure schools are mandatory acting on this.
01:48By a mandatory to protect victims, mandatory to investigate and mandatory to make sure these children are heard.
01:54As ACPA Wayne Meister stated on October 9, 2025, many incidents of cyberbullying and school violence are kept inside their walls to avoid stigmatization, in some cases, may on their prestige.
02:06However, the youth government argued that legislation is not the solution to this societal problem.
02:13Cyberbullying is real, it is harmful, and it demands action.
02:17However, not every problem requires there to be a new crime.
02:20Because if new offenses solved every social problem, then by now the world would have no crime.
02:25We must also be aware of over-criminalizing our youth.
02:29Like you all said, throwing young people in jail. Young people being those over 18 but under the age of 25.
02:3660% of perpetrators of cyber-related offenses are under the age of 25.
02:41We're supposed to be protecting young people, not throwing them in jail cells and courtrooms,
02:44because this parliament legislated with fear rather than wisdom.
02:48The youth government says its investigative and enforcement agencies are yielding results.
02:53The TTPS Cyber and Social Media Unit has increased its investigative capacity, managing over 550 cybercrime reports in 2023,
03:03including cyber-stalking, child grooming and impersonation.
03:06That is not an action, that is active policing.
03:09The telecommunications of authority in Trinidad and Tobago, for those who spoke about takedown attempts,
03:15has actually reported a 36% increase in takedown of all harmful content online,
03:20which means that real victims are getting remedies faster than ever.
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