He teased and insults on social networks risk being very expensive for the Japanese. Parliament passed a new law against the phenomenon of the so-called cyberbullying Depending on the seriousness of the violation, the law provides for penalties ranging from fines – up to 2 thousand euros – to a year in prison.
The previous lines were considered too bland. The maximum penalty? One month in prison and a 70 euro fine.
The new – tightened – rules are an experiment. The government of the Japan in three years he will have to study and examine the effectiveness of the law, trying to understand the impact it has had on freedom of expression and on the fight against harassment and online bullying. Depending on the outcome, the law can be changed, perhaps with even greater penalties.
But the law is not without flaws. For example, some Japanese legal experts believe that the definition of insult is not clear enough. The law speaks of a general humiliation in the absence of imputation to the offended person of a specific fact or error – the latter is a prerequisite for the crime of defamation, which is already punished, even online, by another law.
It is also feared that it would seriously harm freedom of expression. Above all, an example: what happens to those who call the president of Japan “an idiot”? Is it an exercise of the right to protest or a serious crime punishable by imprisonment?
Source: Lega Nerd
