A push to strengthen national electronic crime legislation has resulted in new punitive measures for uncooperative digital service providers, sparked by a personal account of cyber victimization from a sitting government minister.
During parliamentary debate on the 2026 Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Bill, Education Minister Daryll Matthew – who also represents the St. John’s Rural South constituency – told lawmakers he had recently fallen victim to financial cybercrime just days before the discussion, with his bank currently working to resolve the incident. Matthew used his personal experience to emphasize the urgent need for more robust legal tools to combat rapidly evolving cyber threats, arguing that artificial intelligence has left law enforcement playing catch-up with criminal actors.
“With the advent of artificial intelligence, it’s becoming almost impossible to discern what is real and what is fake,” Matthew told the chamber. “The criminals always seem to be one step ahead.” To address persistent delays in obtaining critical electronic evidence from service providers during criminal probes, Matthew proposed a system of escalating, daily financial penalties for companies that fail to comply with court-ordered information requests within a set timeframe. He argued that ongoing delays put the public at risk, justifying immediate and cumulative consequences for non-compliance.
“I would love to see a daily penalty included for every day that the service provider, or whoever the request is made to, does not comply with the request,” Matthew said. “After that period no compliance is forthcoming, then you charge daily because we need to protect our people. We need to protect society.”
The proposal received swift backing from Attorney General Sir Steadroy Benjamin during the bill’s committee stage, and parliamentarians ultimately voted to incorporate Matthew’s recommendation into the final amended legislation. Under the new rules, telecommunication firms and other relevant service providers are granted a maximum of 21 days to fulfill court-ordered production requests for electronic evidence. For every day they remain out of compliance after this window, they can be fined up to $5,000.
Government officials confirmed the new penalty structure was a direct response to consistent challenges law enforcement investigators have faced when trying to access electronic records held by private service providers. In addition to the new daily penalties, the amended bill expands the scope of data that can be requested under production orders to include information stored via cloud-based services, and formally adds the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy to the list of agencies authorized to use the law’s investigatory powers.
Matthew framed the package of reforms as a critical incremental step to safeguard Antigua and Barbuda’s citizens and businesses from the growing threat of financial fraud and other electronic crimes. “We need to do as much as we can and I believe this really is a step in the right direction,” he said.