Criminal Liability for So-Called Cyber Rape on the Grounds of Article 191a of the Criminal Code

Abstract

In the times of global ICT networks, activities pursued online are not limited by space and time, and the content shared in cyberspace may reach a potentially unlimited audience. Even if access to this content requires some additional conditions to be fulfilled, it is usually not as problematic as to make this access more restricted. The ease of sharing and the illusory sense of complete anonymity online contributes to sharing multimedia materials also featuring content prohibited by law. A highly disturbing and, unfortunately, increasingly common phenomenon is the online sharing of images of people engaged in a sexual intercourse - with these images being shared without their knowledge and consent. Polish criminal law is aware of the significance of the problem, penalising behaviour involving recording and publishing images of nude persons engaged in sexual activity. It seems, however, that the category of punishable acts is too narrow, which shall be subject to criticism. The objective of the discussion presented herein is to make an attempt to analyse the scope of criminalisation regulated under Article 191a of the Criminal Code (hereinafter: the CC) and formulate a set of de lege ferenda demands.