Collective phenomena of the digital space - Criminological dimensions and challenges to criminal law

数字化的进步使新的通信形式成为可能。相当多的人参与公共讨论，并利用社交数字空间发表情绪化的、批评性的言论，包括攻击第三方。该项目通过探索网络Twitter来深入研究这些现象。迄今为止，根据目前的法律现状，刑法对上述问题的研究仅限于个人的刑事责任。犯罪学研究，尤其是在德语区，基本上是缺失的。考虑到由相当多的人同时行动造成的具体影响，以及社会科学的发现，在这些情况下，假设集体具有中心行动者和强大的群体动态效应，需要进一步的犯罪学和刑事研究。该项目旨在探讨这些现象的潜在危害，并在此基础上审查德国刑法。本研究基于实证调查。为此，一个编程软件在六个月的时间里，通过评估德语Twitter网络中使用的标签所定义的新主题，自动收集适当的数据。通过这种方式，它在早期阶段就认识到正在出现的问题，并记录所涉及的所有帐户的参与情况和结构。这是在现象发生时发生的，所以记录包含所有的推文，包括那些后来被删除的，可能包含更多批评或犯罪相关内容的推文。在项目范围内，收集的数据将得到补充和评价。基于统计值和文本分析，揭示了集体现象的基本结构、内容和语言过程，由此可见受到损害的法律利益。此外，参与者的结构和参与强度通过社会网络分析进行了检验。这些发现被用来审查归罪制的刑事制度，并调查关键行为者的刑事责任。此外，还分析了具体行为，如使用自动账户，所谓的机器人，以及这种现象的多重参与以及这种行为的可惩罚性。

The progress of digitalisation enables new forms of communication. A considerable number of people take part in public discussions and use the social digital space to make emotional, critical statements, including attacks against third parties. The project takes a closer look at these phenomena by exploring the network Twitter.So far, research in criminal law regarding the above-mentioned matter has been limited to the criminal liability of individuals according to the current legal situation. Criminological research, especially in the German-speaking area, is largely absent. Considering the specific effects, which result from simultaneous action of a considerable number of people, and regarding social science findings, which in these cases assume collectives with central actors and strong group-dynamic effects, further criminological and criminal research is required.The project aims to explore the harming potential of these phenomena and, on this basis, to review the German criminal law. The study is based on an empirical survey. For this purpose, a programmed software automatically collects appropriate data by evaluating the emerging topics, defined by the used hashtag, in the German-speaking Twitter network over a period of six months. In this way, it recognizes rising topics at an early stage and records the participation and the structure of all accounts involved. This happens while the phaenomenon is taking place, so the record contains all tweets, including those that have been deleted later and that may contain more critical or criminally relevant content.Within the project, the collected data will be complemented and evaluated. Based on statistical values and text analysis, basic structures of the collective phenomena as well as their content and language courses are shown, whereby the impaired legal interests become visible. In addition, the structure of the actors involved, and the intensity of participation are examined by a social network analysis. These findings are used to review the criminal system of imputability and to investigate the criminal liability of key actors. In addition, specific behaviours, such as the use of automated accounts, so-called bots, and the multiple involvement in such phenomena as well as the punishability of this behaviour are analysed.