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{{Other uses}} |
{{Other uses}} |
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{{TAFI}} |
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{{globalize/Anglosphere|date=October 2012}} |
{{globalize/Anglosphere|date=October 2012}} |
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{{Criminal law}} |
{{Criminal law}} |
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'''Blackmail''' is an act, often |
'''Blackmail''' is an act, often criminal, involving unjustified threats to make a gain—most commonly money or property—or cause loss to another unless a demand is met.<ref name="merriam-webster">{{cite book | title = Merriam-Webster's dictionary of law |publisher= Merriam-Webster|year=1996|page=53|accessdate=23 May 2011| ISBN = 978-0-87779-604-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYs74quLWLIC&pg=PA53}}</ref><ref name="American Heritage">{{cite book | title = The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition |year=2010|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.|ISBN =}}</ref> It is [[coercion]] involving threats to reveal [[Substantial truth|substantially true]] or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates, or threats of physical harm or criminal prosecution.<ref name="merriam-webster"/><ref name="merriam-webster.com">{{cite web|title=Blackmail|work=[[Merriam-Webster]]|accessdate=23 May 2011|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackmail}}</ref><ref name="Burton">{{cite book | title = Burton's Legal Thesaurus|publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional|year=2006|page=233|accessdate=23 May 2011| ISBN =978-0-07-147262-3| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9OGU6qOu_3YC&pg=PA233}}</ref><ref name="Newton">{{cite book | title = The encyclopedia of American law enforcement|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2007|page=78|accessdate=23 May 2011|ISBN =978-0-8160-6290-4| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PPu3GVnde-QC&pg=PA78}}</ref> |
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Blackmail is the name of a [[statutory]] offense in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=ALL;doc_id=69%252B%252B1924%252BJS1%2540GS241%2540EN%252B20160127140000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=blackmail|title=Legislation View Page|website=www.thelaw.tas.gov.au|access-date=2016-09-18}}</ref> and has been used as a convenient way of referring to other offenses, but was not a term of art in [[Law of England and Wales|English law]] before 1968.<ref name="Griew, Edward page 183">Griew, Edward. ''The Theft Acts 1968 & 1978'', Sweet & Maxwell: London. Fifth Edition, paperback, {{ISBN|0-421-35310-4}}, paragraph 12-01 at page 183</ref> It originally meant payments rendered by settlers in the counties of England bordering [[Scotland]] to chieftains and the like in the [[Scottish Lowlands]], in exchange for protection from Scottish thieves and marauders into England.<ref name="merriam-webster.com"/><ref name="West">{{cite book | title = West's encyclopedia of American law, Volume 2|publisher=West Pub. Co.|year=1998|pages=569 pages|accessdate=23 May 2011|ISBN =978-0-314-20155-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7-lGAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Blackmail may also be considered a form of [[extortion]].<ref name="merriam-webster"/> Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Frank Schmalleger |author2=Daniel E. Hall |author3=John J. Dolatowski |title=Criminal Law Today|year=2009|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=0-13-504261-5|pages=271–272|edition=4th}}</ref> Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt.<ref name="West"/> Some [[U.S. state]]s distinguish the offenses by requiring that blackmail be in writing.<ref name="West"/> In some jurisdictions, the offence of blackmail is often carried out during the act of [[robbery]]. This occurs when an offender makes a threat of immediate violence towards someone in order to make a gain as part of a theft. |
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⚫ | Blackmail may also be considered a form of [[extortion]].<ref name="merriam-webster"/> Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Frank Schmalleger |author2=Daniel E. Hall |author3=John J. Dolatowski |title=Criminal Law Today|year=2009|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=0-13-504261-5|pages=271–272|edition=4th}}</ref> Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt.<ref name="West"/> Some [[U.S. state]]s distinguish the offenses by requiring that blackmail be in writing.<ref name="West"/> In some jurisdictions, the offence of blackmail is often carried out during the act of [[robbery]]. This occurs when an offender makes a threat of immediate violence towards someone in order to make a gain as part of a theft. |
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==Etymology== |
==Etymology== |
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=====Similar offences===== |
=====Similar offences===== |
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{{Refimprove section|date=July 2012}} |
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David Ormerod said that the offence created by section 40 of the [[Administration of Justice Act 1970]] is related to blackmail.<ref>Ormerod, David. Smith and Hogan's Criminal Law. Thirteenth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2011. p. 950. (The author included this offence in a chapter titled "blackmail and related offences").</ref> |
David Ormerod said that the offence created by section 40 of the [[Administration of Justice Act 1970]] is related to blackmail.<ref>Ormerod, David. Smith and Hogan's Criminal Law. Thirteenth Edition. Oxford University Press. 2011. p. 950. (The author included this offence in a chapter titled "blackmail and related offences").</ref> |
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======Civil liability====== |
======Civil liability====== |
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A blackmailer who threatens to publish a defamatory statement of and concerning an individual may be liable to be sued after the regulations of the Defamation Act 2013<ref>http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/26/section/11/enacted</ref>. Offenders of defamation may be taken to court if serious harm is done to the victim. The requirement for serious harm defines: <br> |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2012}} |
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(1) A statement is not defamatory unless its publication has caused or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the claimant. <br> |
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A blackmailer who threatens to publish a defamatory statement of and concerning an individual may be liable to be sued for either [[libel]] or [[slander]] if he subsequently carries out that threat. |
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(2) For the purposes of this section, harm to the reputation of a body that trades for profit is not “serious harm” unless it has caused or is likely to cause the body serious financial loss. <br> |
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The trial for the offence must be with a jury in the case of charges with cases of<ref>http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1981/54/section/69</ref>: <br> |
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(a) fraud <br> |
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(b) malicious prosecution <br> |
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(c) false imprisonment <br> |
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======History====== |
======History====== |
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"Whoever, under a threat of informing, or as a consideration for not informing, against any violation of any law of the United States, demands or receives any money or other valuable thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/873-|title=18 U.S. Code § 873 - Blackmail|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=2016-09-18}}</ref> |
"Whoever, under a threat of informing, or as a consideration for not informing, against any violation of any law of the United States, demands or receives any money or other valuable thing, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/873-|title=18 U.S. Code § 873 - Blackmail|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|access-date=2016-09-18}}</ref> |
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===Europe=== |
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====Austria==== |
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For the offense of blackmailng in Austria the punishment is imprisonment for a time from six months up to five years according to §144<ref>https://www.jusline.at/gesetz/stgb/paragraf/144</ref> of the Austrian Criminal Code. |
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====Germany==== |
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In the German Criminal Code, the offense of blackmail (Erpressung) is set to be punishable by a fine or imprisonment up to five years. Specific laws exist for continuous blackmail threats or offenses against constitutional organs or against personal freedom in case of abduction<ref>https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/</ref>. |
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====France==== |
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The French Code pénal considers the offense of blackmail (chantage) with a fine of up to 75 000 euros or imprisonment for 5 years in Article 312-10. Blackmailing in French law falls under the section of extortion <ref>https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichCodeArticle.do;jsessionid=84C7A6ECF6DA66B58599DD53BA924500.tpdila19v_1?idArticle=LEGIARTI000006418180&cidTexte=LEGITEXT000006070719&dateTexte=20170813</ref> |
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==Objections== |
==Objections== |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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{{div col|colwidth=20em}} |
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{{columns-list|2| |
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*[[Abusive power and control]] |
*[[Abusive power and control]] |
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*[[Blind item]] |
*[[Blind item]] |
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*[[Webcam blackmail]] |
*[[Webcam blackmail]] |
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*[[Whitemail]] |
*[[Whitemail]] |
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{{div col end}} |
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}} |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |