Summary.
The draft bill amends Article 151 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal), which defines the offense of extortion. The proposed article punishes a person who, through violence, intimidation, or a serious threat, seeks undue profit or any other benefit for themselves or a third party and compels another person to dispose of property, provide information, or tolerate, do, or refrain from doing something that harms that person or a third party. It sets a prison term of five to ten years for that conduct. The provision encompasses acts affecting property as well as demands for information and actions or omissions imposed on the affected person.
The same article expressly adds another way of committing the offense: carrying out the described conduct through digital technologies, automated systems, artificial intelligence, or any other technology capable of acting on a person's representations. The list covers voice, image, video, identity, and communications, as well as any other physical or digital representation. The text includes technologies capable of generating, modifying, altering, reproducing, simulating, impersonating, or manipulating those representations. This provision connects the use of such means to the extortion conduct described in Article 151 itself and to obtaining the benefit specified there.
For this form of the offense, the article identifies the purposes of causing the victim to make a mistake, deceiving, intimidating, coercing, or exerting pressure on the victim. Those purposes are connected to the use of technology to obtain the undue profit or other benefit contemplated by the provision. Automated systems and artificial intelligence are included alongside digital technologies and other technologies with the stated capabilities. Among the means described, the proposal encompasses simulation or impersonation of identity and manipulation of communications or of a person's physical or digital representations. The person compelled by the conduct may suffer harm directly, and the article also covers harm caused to a third party.
Article 2 declares that the proposed law amends Article 151 of the Criminal Code. Article 3 provides that it would take effect upon promulgation. The draft bill concerns the Criminal Code and the public institutions responsible for applying criminal law. Its content could be relevant to or affect people who use digital technologies, automated systems, or artificial intelligence; providers of services connected with those technologies; and people whose voice, image, video, identity, or communications may be used in the conduct described.
What it proposes.
- Extortion under Article 151 of the Criminal Code.
- Extortion committed through digital technologies, automated systems, or artificial intelligence.
- The prison term for the conduct described.
Who it would affect.
- People who compel another person through violence, intimidation, or a serious threat to obtain an undue benefit.
- People who carry out the described conduct through the specified technologies.
- People harmed directly or whose third parties suffer harm.
Key points.
- Amends Article 151 of the Criminal Code, concerning extortion.Art. 1
- Describes obtaining undue profit or another benefit through violence, intimidation, or a serious threat that compels another person to dispose of property, provide information, or tolerate, do, or refrain from doing something harmful.Art. 1
- Sets a prison term of five to ten years for the conduct described.Art. 1
- Includes conduct carried out through digital technologies, automated systems, artificial intelligence, or other technology with the listed capabilities.Art. 1
- Covers generating, modifying, altering, reproducing, simulating, impersonating, or manipulating a person's voice, image, video, identity, communications, or other representations.Art. 1
- Links the use of those technologies to the purpose of causing the victim to make a mistake, deceiving, intimidating, coercing, or pressuring the victim to obtain the benefit specified in the article.Art. 1
- Expressly declares the amendment of Article 151 of the Criminal Code.Art. 2
- Provides for entry into force upon promulgation.Art. 3