Specific Offence of Cyber-Sextortion for Sri Lanka

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 in combating cyber sextortion. The analysis reveals that although Sri Lanka lacks specific law 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 Cyber 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, especially at state level. Analysis of these laws reveal that most of the state laws, except one, are focused on cyber-sextortion which involves threats to distribute sexually explicit images of a victim and are not broad enough to cover forms of cyber-sextortion involving other types of threats. Having mental elements which focus on intent to cause fear or alarm rather than intent to compel the victim to comply with the demands of the perpetrator was also identified as a drawback of these laws. The paper concludes by proposing adoption of a targeted law on cyber sextortion for Sri Lanka and outlining the key elements of a suitable law.