[JURIST] The Supreme Court of the Philippines [official website] on Tuesday has again stopped the government from enforcing a cybercrimes law [RA 10175, PDF] passed last year. The law was also suspended for 120 days [JURIST report] in October so the court could consider the civil liberty implications of the law. The court has issued a fresh temporary restraining order for more time to scrutinize the law [AFP report] for possible violations of constitutional provisions on freedom of expression.

Cybercrime and electronic privacy laws have been a focus of courts and legislatures throughout the world. Earlier in September New York Governor Andrew Cuomo [official website] signed into law a bill [JURIST report] that amends the state’s penal code to prohibit the access and viewing of child pornography on the Internet. Internet search company Google [corporate website] has faced investigations and legal action over privacy concerns and electronic security matters in Switzerland, the EU, Japan and the US [JURIST reports] over the past year.