La inducción al suicidio y a las autolesiones de menores y otros sujetos vulnerables a través de las TICs

Abstract

The risks arising from the use of the internet by minors and other vulnerable subjects are increasingly present in society. For this reason, regulations have been introduced in our legal system to mitigate the negative consequences that may arise from the use of the internet. Organic Law 8/2021, of 14 June, on the comprehensive protection of children and adolescents against violence, has incorporated into the Criminal Code, among others, the crimes of inducing suicide and self-harm through ICTs (arts. 143 bis and 156 ter CP, respectively). The inclusion of these offences in the Criminal Code has been much debated for several reasons. Firstly, there is a debate as to whether the introduction of the offences in the criminal law truly responds to political-criminal reasons; and secondly, whether such behaviours could have been punished by applying offences that were already in the Criminal Code. Moreover, from a technical point of view, some errors can be identified in the configuration of the precepts that contain these offences, giving rise to interpretative problems. These and other more specific issues are the subject of this paper. The aim of this article is to study the relevance of these offences, to analyse their content and, finally, to include a proposal in this respect.