Criminal law of Information and Communication Technologies (2014/2015)

Learning outcomes

The course will analyze the new illegal phenomena related to the use of the new technologies and Internet, also through social networks (for example: online defamation, frauds - connected to online banking, phishing, identity theft - privacy violation, copyright infringement, child pornography, child grooming, cyberterrorism, cyberlaundering).
The course will analyze, taking into consideration real cases, the applicable criminal law, in particular for illegal activities down to the new concept of “cybercrime”, which is a transnational and global crime.
For this reason it’s necessary to analyze the most important international and European legal sources (Cybercrime Convention and Lanzarote Convention of the Council of Europe, European directives on: attack against information systems, child pornography, intellectual property, e-commerce and privacy)
Special attention will be given to the Internet Service Providers criminal liability, subject of recent European Court of Justice and Italian Corte di Cassazione judgements (cases Google, Netlog etc.).
In this area particular attention will be paid to the need to regulate the collection of data and the digital evidence, which are becoming increasingly important for the detection and prosecution of every criminal offence, not only “cybercrime”

The course is divided into 3 parts:
1. The analysis of the criminal code and its amendments, also in order to implement international conventions and the european law, in particular: computer related frauds, damages, computer forgery, illegal access, illegal interception.
2. Criminal offences provided by special law (privacy protection and intellectual property protection)
3. Illegal use of Internet, in particular online defamation, child pornography, crimes committed through social networks, Internet Service Providers and bloggers criminal liability

The final exam is oral.
Students who attend the course can develop short papers, in agreement with the professors, replacing parts of the program.