Govt submits proposal to parliament seeking legislative authorisation to approve cybersecurity legislation package
DÍLI, 31 July 2026 (TATOLI) – The Government submitted to the National Parliament a draft Law Proposal seeking legislative authorisation to approve a comprehensive cybersecurity legislative package, covering crimes and criminal proceedings in the digital sphere, and establishing the legal framework for national cyberspace.
The proposal, approved by the Council of Ministers on July 22nd, was presented by the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Agio Pereira, and then submitted to the National Parliament by Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão.
The initiative aims to provide Timor-Leste with a modern and coherent legal framework to address growing threats in cyberspace, strengthening the State’s capacity to prevent, investigate, combat, and suppress cybercrime; protect critical infrastructure; and promote a safer digital environment for citizens, businesses, and institutions.
“The explanatory memorandum accompanying the proposal highlights the growing dependence on digital technologies and the increasing risks associated with cyberattacks, computer fraud, data breaches, the dissemination of illegal content, and other forms of crime committed in the digital environment,” said in a statement.
The proposed legislative authorisation will enable the Government to adopt a set of laws that includes the National Cybersecurity Strategy, the legal framework for national cyberspace security, the framework for digital services, and the criminal and criminal procedural framework applicable to crimes committed in the digital environment, including rules on the collection, preservation, and use of electronic evidence.
Under the requested authorisation, the Government will be able to define new types of crimes committed in the digital environment, establish specific procedural mechanisms for the prevention, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrime, regulate the collection and preservation of digital evidence, define the responsibilities of digital service providers and the mechanisms for notifying, removing, or blocking illegal content, strengthen international cooperation on cybercrime, establish a whistleblower protection system with a particular focus on the online safety of minors, and establish a national framework for governance, monitoring, prevention, response, and coordination in the area of cybersecurity.
The proposal also provides for the establishment of rules on the protection of personal data and privacy, the chain of custody for digital evidence, procedural safeguards, and judicial oversight of measures that restrict rights, as well as the creation of a national cybersecurity authority and mechanisms for cooperation between national and international entities. The measures also cover the protection of critical infrastructure, the regulation of the obligations of digital service providers, awareness campaigns and institutional capacity-building, and a specific whistleblower protection regime for cybercrime.
Through this initiative, the Government aims to ensure that Timor-Leste has a legal framework aligned with international best practice, capable of strengthening national cyberspace security, protecting citizens’ rights, and supporting the secure development of the economy and digital services.
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