Bill 61.

Summary.

The bill concerns measures against cybercrime. Its title refers to the Criminal Code (Código Penal), the Criminal Procedure Code (Código Procesal Penal), and Law 11 of 2015 (LEY 11 DE 2015), concerning international legal assistance in criminal matters. In its operative provisions, Art. 1 amends article 151 of the Criminal Code. That provision prescribes imprisonment of five to ten years for a person who, through violence, intimidation, or a serious threat and to obtain an undue profit or other benefit for themselves or a third party, compels another person to dispose of property, provide information, or tolerate, do, or omit something that harms that person or a third party. The bill proposes to increase that penalty by one half when the offense uses a telephone, email, or another electronic means of communication, and when it employs sexually intimate images, audio, or videos.

Art. 2 adds article 168-A to the Criminal Code. It proposes to increase by one half the penalties for offenses against the inviolability of secrecy and the right to privacy when information and communication technologies are used to expose, distribute, disseminate, display, transmit, sell, offer, exchange, or share real or simulated sexually intimate images, audio, or videos of a person without that person’s consent, approval, or authorization. The increase is tied to psychological or emotional harm, harm affecting any aspect of the person’s private life, or harm to that person’s own image.

Art. 3 adds article 168-B. It would penalize a person who, after receiving through those technologies real or simulated sexually intimate images, audio, or videos of a person without that person’s consent, approval, or authorization, disseminates them through the same means. For that conduct, the text provides for a fine or deprivation of liberty for three months to one year.

Art. 4 adds article 178-A, which would punish a person who harasses or threatens another through information and communication technologies with two to four years of imprisonment and multidisciplinary therapeutic treatment. The penalty would increase by one third where a hierarchical relationship arising from employment, teaching, or domestic relations of any kind entails subordination between the offender and the victim. If the offender is a public official, the bill also proposes dismissal and disqualification from holding a public sector position for a period equal to the term of imprisonment imposed.

Art. 5 identifies these amendments and additions as provisions of Book Two of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Panama (República de Panamá). Art. 6 sets commencement for the day after promulgation. The bill’s subject matter relates to public bodies involved in criminal justice and may concern users of electronic communications, employers, educational institutions, and households where relationships of subordination exist.