Boland, Michael James (2025) Developments in the Law Governing Online Activity: The Criminalisation of Catfishing and Civil Relief in Cases of Image-Based Sexual Abuse. Irish Criminal Law Journal, 35 (1). pp. 7-14. ISSN 0791-539X
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Michael James Boland, Developments in the Law Governing Online Activity - The Criminalisation of Catfishing and Civil Relief for Image-Based Sexual Abuse (2025) 35(1) Irish Criminal Law Journal 7-14.pdf
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Abstract
This article considers the practice of catfishing and makes the case for it becoming a criminal
offence. It draws on the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) Bill 2024 which proposed the
creation of such an offence. Although the Bill collapsed upon the 2024 general election being called, the article
urges that the Bill or at least the issue that the Bill seeks to address, namely catfishing, be reconsidered in the
new Oireachtas. The article argues that a legislative response to this issue is necessary considering the extensive
harm that catfishing can cause and the multiple individuals that it affects. It is further argued that catfishing
ought to be a standalone offence notwithstanding assertions that the practice is punishable under pre-existing
offences like harassment. The article proceeds to discuss some recent developments in the law governing online
activity that the aforementioned Bill will join provided it becomes law. In particular, the developments
discussed here raise the prospect that there are now civil as well as criminal law remedies in cases of
image-based sexual abuse.
Item Type: | Article |
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Keywords: | Deception; Harassment; Ireland; Online safety; Sexual abuse; Sexual grooming; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Law |
Item ID: | 19714 |
Depositing User: | Michael Boland |
Date Deposited: | 17 Apr 2025 08:54 |
Journal or Publication Title: | Irish Criminal Law Journal |
Publisher: | Thomson Round Hall |
Refereed: | Yes |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/19714 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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