Combatting Cyber-Sextortion; Lessons for Sri Lanka from Australia and the United States

Abstract

With the world rapidly becoming digitalized and the internet being an indispensable part of human life, incidents of cyber harassment including cyber-sextortion have also increased. Cyber-sextortion often involves a perpetrator threatening to disseminate private sexual images or videos of a victim unless more sexual image/sexual favours, money or other benefit are provided by the victim. This paper analyses the adequacy of current laws in Sri Lanka in comparison with those of Australia and USA in combating cyber-sextortion. The analysis reveals that although Sri Lank lacks specific laws on cyber-sextortion, some of its existing criminal laws such as the Penal Code provisions on extortion, criminal intimidation, sexual harassment and obscene publications relating to children can be used to a certain extent to prosecute cyber-sextortion. Some provisions of the Computer Crime Act of 2007, Prohibition of Ragging and Other Forms of Violence in Educational Institutions Act of 1998 and Obscene Publications Ordinance No. 4 of 1927 too can be used to a certain extent for this purpose. Australia, on the other hand, has targeted laws on cyber-sextortion, both at federal and state levels. At the Commonwealth level, section 474.14A of the Criminal Code of 1995 and several provisions of the Enhancing Online Safety Act 2015 (as amended) provide an apt gateway to combat cyber sextortion, while at states level, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Australian Capital Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria appear to have more comprehensive cyber sextortion laws in terms of capturing the offence. USA at the federal level does not have specific provisions on cyber-sextortion but has used non-specific provisions such as general extortion, child pornography, hacking and stalking laws for prosecutions on cyber-sextortion while at the state level, some states have introduced quite comprehensive targeted laws on cyber-sextortion, some have provisions that cover only certain types of cybersextortion. The paper concludes by proposing adoption of a targeted law on cyber sextortion outlining the key elements of a suitable law for Sri Lanka and until then to rely on non-specific provisions which are already available, in order to prosecute perpetrators of cyber-sextortion.