Thrash-streaming as a form of online aggression: a criminal law analysis

Abstract

Social networking is one of the most widespread forms of modern digital technologies today. Along with the undoubted advantages of interaction and communication between people on the Internet, the social network generates certain criminological risks, including those associated with the manifestation of various forms of deviant behavior and the creation of a new subculture. Socio-political tensions, economic problems, a decline in the general cultural level, media aggression, the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as the impersonality of the internet and its capabilities contributed to the emergence and rapid spread of online aggression. Netizens have transferred their values and personal problems to the virtual space. One of the manifestations of this deviant behavior is the trash streaming, which has not yet been legally defined. The media abounds with examples of violence, insults, humiliation of human dignity, harm to life and health committed during live broadcasts on the internet. The public and legislators have drafted a bill to amend and supplement the criminal law, proposing to criminalize the commission of such acts online. This article aims at exploring these legislative initiatives and proposals. The authors were therefore faced with the tasks of formulating a general concept of this phenomenon and analyzing the existing scientific literature and the bill criminalizing this negative phenomenon. The authors applied content analysis and general scientific methods, in particular, comparison, analysis and synthesis, statistical and deductive methods, which made it possible to formulate some general conclusions. The authors consider possible objective and subjective features of the act in question and make a conclusion about the need for additional work on the bill, taking into account, inter alia, the opinion of the scientific community.