The draft introduces several new criminal provisions. It aims to protect people from image-based sexualized violence, including rape videos, sexualized deepfakes and secretly made intimate recordings, for example in a sauna. Secret recordings of clothed intimate body parts would also become a criminal offense if the depiction is clearly sexualized.
Further changes target identity theft through fake profiles and cyberstalking with satellite-based trackers. Under the plans, victims should find it easier to defend themselves in court and to get accounts blocked. Hubig said: “Digital violence is like a wildfire.” Sexualized deepfakes and voyeuristic recordings circulate online millions of times, and even videos of rapes are shared. “We must not accept this,” the minister said.
Criticism from the judges’ association
The German Judges’ Association (Deutscher Richterbund) said tougher laws alone are not enough in the fight against digital violence. Its federal managing director, Sven Rebehn, said the federal states must end the staffing crisis in the overburdened criminal justice system. The right of victims to obtain information also stands or falls with whether it can be enforced, he said; that requires more judges and the retention of internet addresses.
Source: Tagesschau
