PARLIAMENT is in the process of appointing a select committee comprised of members from both houses to review the 2010 Cyber Crimes Act.

The legislation addresses the protection of intellectual property on the worldwide web, as well as hacking, and seeks to prevent the misuse of data by making it illegal for people to invade the privacy of individuals who supply information such as their credit card numbers.

It will also address the issue of pornography so that people will not have all kinds of material forced upon them over the Internet. The Act was passed in 2010 with the prerequisite that it be reviewed in two years.

The Act allows law enforcement officials to "properly investigate and prosecute cyber crimes". It also provides criminal sanctions for unauthorised access to and use of computer systems and data, and for crimes facilitated by the misuse of computer systems and data.

On Tuesday, Leader of the House of Representatives Phillip Paulwell announced that six members of Parliament had been named to a select committee to review the Act. They will join members of the Senate, who will be selected at today's sitting.

The six from the House of Representatives are Julian Robinson, chairman; Mikael Phillips, Raymond Pryce, Dr Dayton Campbell, Gregory Mair, and Dr Andrew Wheatley.