Estrategias legislativas en las reformas de los delitos informáticos contra el patrimonio

Published in Revista Aranzadi de Derecho y Nuevas Tecnologías (ISSN 1696-0351) 38, 2015, pp. 27-60. Both the Spanish Penal Code of 1995 and the subsequent reforms pay a great deal of attention to cybercrime. The legislatura has adopted three strategies when it comes to tackling the dangers linked to ICT. Firstly, it has established legal models parallel to the classic models, which cover conduct equivalent to traditional behaviour using new technologies, or materials that use advanced technology. Secondly, it has defined new criminal offences that are, in reality, preparatory acts for other classic offences, that go much further in their endeavour to safeguard individual legal rights. Lastly, new offences are emerging which, while apparently protecting supra-individual legal rights, actually fiercely safeguard the equity of large multinational companies in the entertainment and telecommunications sectors. This paper analyses the problems raised by these three strategies with examples taken from the Spanish Penal Code.