Title: Virtual criminal law in boundless new environments

Authors: Bart J.V. Keupink

Addresses: Faculty of Law, Department of Criminal Law Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract: With the growing financial importance of virtual worlds, crime spreads its wings. This paper looks at potential criminal acts in virtual worlds. The author concludes that real life criminal law is applicable on virtual activities when those activities break through the expectations participants and developers are legitimately allowed to have. Even though criminal law can be applied to virtual criminal behaviour, the question remains whether it is expedient to use criminal law and to prosecute virtual world participants. The answer to this question can, without empirical data, only be a political one and is therefore left open in the end.

Keywords: virtual behaviour; criminal liability; cybercrime; criminal behaviour; internet; virtual worlds.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTTC.2007.017803

International Journal of Technology Transfer and Commercialisation, 2007 Vol.6 No.2/3/4, pp.160 - 170

Published online: 16 Apr 2008 *

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