CyberSafeTT welcomes and supports Her Excellency President Christine Kangaloo’s call for swift action on artificial intelligence (AI) legislation during the ceremonial opening of Trinidad and Tobago’s 13th Republican Parliament. Her remarks reflect a forward-looking awareness of both the promise and peril AI poses to our society—especially if left unregulated.
What significantly resonates with CyberSafeTT is her comparison to the delayed regulation of social media via the failure to properly enact the Cyber Crime Bill, which continues to plague all citizens not just women and underscores the need for anticipatory governance. AI, unlike previous technologies, evolves rapidly and can amplify systemic inequalities, manipulate information at scale, and erode public trust if left unchecked.
If administered properly, the Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence, can lead the Caribbean in ethical tech governance; but they need inter-ministerial support to achieve and to ensure that they don’t just administratively check the boxes. Such structural shifts must be underpinned by modern, enforceable legislation—not only to prevent harm but to guide responsible innovation.
With this inter-ministerial support we must look at modernizing the outdated legislative foundation on which any such regulation would stand. The current Computer Misuse Act (Chap. 11:17), last updated in 2011, is no longer sufficient. While still useful for prosecuting basic offences like unauthorized access or system interference, it lacks any reference to ransomware, phishing, data privacy rights, or the misuse of AI and algorithmic systems.
Moreover, our Data Protection Act remains largely dormant, and we are yet to establish robust enforcement mechanisms for digital privacy, transparency, and accountability.
Without urgent reforms to these foundational frameworks, AI laws—no matter how well-intentioned—will be built on legislative quicksand.
To move forward responsibly, CyberSafeTT urges Parliament to:
- Modernize the Computer Misuse Act to reflect current and emerging cyber threats;
- Operationalize and enforce data protection and privacy rights in line with global best practices;
- Legislate AI (AI Policy Development) accountability, ensuring transparency, fairness, and redress mechanisms;
- Invest in institutional capacity for cybersecurity law enforcement, regulation, and education.
We echo the President’s reminder: Trinidad and Tobago cannot afford to wait until digital harm becomes headlines. From the non-consensual spread of intimate images to algorithmic discrimination and job displacement, the risks are real and rising.
Let us lead—not just in reacting to harm, but in shaping a digital society that is ethical, inclusive, and secure by design.
