Article summary
The Ministry of Justice has announced that ‘cyberflashing’ is set to become a criminal offence under the Online Safety Bill. Cyberflashing typically involves an offender sending unsolicited sexual images to others via social media or dating apps, as well as via functions such as Bluetooth and Airdrop for their own sexual gratification or to cause the victim humiliation, alarm or distress. The addition of the offence follows similar actions taken to criminalise breastfeeding voyeurism and up-skirting, and builds on the Online Safety Bill’s aims of making sure criminal law is fit for the internet age by better protecting victims from harmful communications online. The offence will carry a proposed maximum sentence of two years.
To continue reading this news article, as well as thousands of others like it, sign in with LexisNexis or register for a free trial