VIDEO FOOTAGE DEPICTING RAPE TO BE MADE A CRIMINAL OFFENSE

BERLIN, OCTOBER 7 /SRNA/ - Germany plans to criminalize the possession, production, and distribution of video footage depicting rape as part of a bill targeting digital violence.

The bill, which the government will consider today, also includes new criminal offenses covering identity abuse and the unauthorized creation and distribution of sexually suggestive materials, including fake videos and photographs /deepfakes/.

These are materials that have been manipulated to falsely depict a real person as naked or engaged in sexual acts.

Under current German law, the possession and production of video footage depicting rape is not prohibited when it is intended for private use, and its distribution is not automatically a criminal offense. Whether an offense has been committed depends on what is depicted, how and where the footage was recorded, and who uses it.

Under the draft bill, taking or distributing unauthorized photographs of another person's genitals, buttocks or breasts would also constitute a criminal offense.

The rules on digital voyeurism would apply regardless of whether the photographs were taken in public places, such as a sauna or nudist beach, or in private spaces.

The law proposed by Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig would also explicitly criminalize the use of a fake profile in the name of a real person to communicate in a way that harms that person's reputation, DPA reports.