Cybercrimes Act, 2015, unauthorised access to computer program or data
Cybercrimes Act, 2015 (Act 31 of 2015), s. 3
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.
As of 5 September 2026.
What it requires
- Do not knowingly obtain, for yourself or another person, access to any program or data held in a computer unless you are entitled to control that access or have the consent of a person who is so entitled.
- No reported Jamaican decision has held that reading a public, unauthenticated page without defeating any access control falls within this offence, but the statute's consent-based test does not itself exempt public pages.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
On summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate: a fine not exceeding JMD 3,000,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years for a first offence, up to JMD 4,000,000 or four years where damage is caused, and up to JMD 5,000,000 or five years for a second or subsequent offence (s. 3(3)(a)). On indictment before a Circuit Court: imprisonment up to seven years for a first offence, ten years where damage is caused, and fifteen years for a second or subsequent offence, with an unspecified fine at each tier (s. 3(3)(b)). A sentencing court may separately order the convicted person to pay compensation to anyone who suffered loss (s. 15).
Penalty structure
Highest summary-conviction fine, for a second or subsequent offence (s. 3(3)(a)(iii)). A first offence caps at JMD 3,000,000 and a first offence causing damage at JMD 4,000,000. On indictment before a Circuit Court the fine is unspecified and imprisonment may reach fifteen years for a second or subsequent offence (s. 3(3)(b)).
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 5 September 2026
- Currency
- JMD
- Fixed cap
- 5,000,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Jamaica Constabulary Force, prosecuted before a Resident Magistrate or, on indictment, a Circuit Court
What it reaches
Obligation class
Access restriction
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Section 3(1) makes it an offence to knowingly obtain, for oneself or another person, any unauthorised access to a program or data held in a computer. Section 2(4) defines access as without authorisation whenever the person is not themselves entitled to control the access and does not have the consent of a person who is so entitled, without requiring that the person defeat a technical security measure, a broader trigger than Kenya's or several other jurisdictions' formulations.
Section 3(3) tiers the offence by forum and repeat conduct: on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate, a fine not exceeding JMD 3,000,000 or imprisonment not exceeding three years for a first offence, rising to JMD 4,000,000 or four years where damage is caused, and JMD 5,000,000 or five years for a second or subsequent offence; on indictment before a Circuit Court, imprisonment alone up to seven, ten, or fifteen years across the same three tiers, with the fine left unspecified.
Section 15 lets the sentencing court, in the same criminal proceedings, order the convicted person to pay compensation to anyone who suffered loss from the offence, without prejudice to any other cause of action the victim may separately have; this is a court-ordered ancillary remedy rather than a freestanding civil claim. This Act repealed and replaced the Cybercrimes Act, 2010.
When LexLint raises it
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Read the law
Text of the Cybercrimes Act, 2015 as published by the Houses of Parliament of Jamaica