The government and the supporting parties agree to criminalize identity theft, not least on the Internet. It writes the Ministry of Justice in a press release.
It is currently only illegal to publish to be someone else on the internet if there is an economic motive. But there are more and more cases where citizens’ photos and personal information are being misused for other purposes.
– To experience having one’s identity stolen or abused – for example by creating a fake profile on a social media with one’s name and image – is very unpleasant and offensive to the person it affects.
– Therefore, we now agree with the Radical Left, SF and the Unity List to insert an independent provision on criminalization of identity theft in the penal code, so that the legislation follows the development of digital crime, writes Minister of Justice Nick Hækkerup (S).
The problem of identity theft on the web has been underlined by a string of cases, including the documentary series about Malte Prehn, who for years misused his profile pictures.
Legal spokeswoman for SF, Karina Lorentzen Dehnhardt, who has put forward a resolution in the area, says that “everyone thinks it is already illegal”, but that it is not.
– If you commit an identity theft today, then there is nothing in the criminal law that covers it, if there is no financial motive. Because then it’s fraud. But a lot of identity theft is not with a financial motive in mind.
– But today, unfortunately, it is not illegal to steal other people’s pictures and use them for harassment, stalking or anything else, she says.
The government and the supporting parties agree that after the summer holidays, a bill must be submitted which, under the law on breaches of the peace and honor, must make it prohibited unjustified to impersonate “oneself to be another person using this person’s identity information”.
The penalty will be up to six months in prison.
– It must be absolutely horrible to have your identity stolen. That others pretend to be you. Unfortunately, we know this is happening. The Penal Code has not been updated for the digital world we live in, and I think this will make a noticeable difference, writes the Unity List’s legal spokesperson, Rosa Lund.
Source: The Nordic Page