Each day there is an increasing number of crimes that are denounced through the digital world. Such information regards not only crimes which happened in the “physical world” and are made public by social networks, but also to properly virtual (digital) crimes.
It is important to make such differentiation, as properly virtual crimes, that being those that are committed through the use of digital means, are a relatively new figure and their legal treatment is still much discussed. In Brazil we have the beginnings of legislation regarding the theme, but there are still many doubts and discussions regarding their framing, applicable punishment, when they are consummated, etc.
By their turn, crimes committed on the “physical world” but that are revealed through social networks, online platforms or any other means that makes use of the internet, are not properly digital crimes, but the same crimes traditionally provided for in the Criminal Code and other laws, whose investigation, procedure and judgment will follow the provisions stated in such legislation.
As an example, if somebody buys a product in a site and after verifies that the page was fake and that they were scammed, such situation is treated as a digital crime, because it occurred by virtual means. On the contrary, if somebody is assaulted or pilfered on the street and discloses that by digital platforms, the crime does not become virtual. It keeps being a crime from the physical universe and will legally be treated that way.
As mentioned above, there still are many discussions related to virtual crimes since they are a recent figure.
Every day we hear many discussions about supposed “virtual crimes”, especially as a result of the media’s participation and the way which it discloses situations involving famous people. But many of those discussions actually concern about “common” crimes (committed in the physical universe) and have parallel discussions concerning the violation of privacy and intimacy through the digital world, which do not necessarily characterize a crime, but may lead to discussions on the civil sphere about indemnifications.
Once again an example to facilitate the comprehension: if A accuses B of rape, the crime itself is that traditionally set forth in the Criminal Code. The disclosure of what happened through social networks does not turn what happened into a virtual crime. Now imagine that in the same example B, exercising his right to defense and protecting his image in the media, discloses through the social networks conversations that he had with A, to show that the crime of which he is accused did not happen. Then the initial discussion turns into at least three others in the legal universe:
i) the first discussion shall be: the crime of rape happened?
ii) the second discussion: proved that there was no crime, the accusation disclosed through social networks characterizes crime, practiced by A against B’s honor? (which here would be a crime of the virtual sort, since it was committed through the use of social networks)
iii) the disclosure of conversations between A and B through the social networks characterizes violation of privacy and intimacy? Do any of them have a right to receive an indemnification? Who? And what about the issue related to the right to defense? If B is a person who lives of the use of his image by the media, wouldn’t the non-disclosure of the conversations a violation of his right to defense?
The discussion isn’t simple and does not have a right answer for every case. It is a complex mixture of situations from the physical and digital universe which needs a case by case analysis.
Questions involving the disclosure of private conversations through social networks also are recurring and generate uncountable discussions in the civil and criminal spheres that must be evaluated according to the facts of the specific situation.
It is always advisable to request the help of a professional from the legal area in cases involving discussions about false accusations disclosed through the internet, digital crimes, disclosure of personal information through the social networks, indemnifications and others related. These themes still are new in Brazilian law and need a careful technical analysis, not being a single answer that may solve the whole situation.
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