Internetdelinquenz und Prävention - Thesen

At the outset of the third millennium the modern society of science and information is confronted by a quantum leap in the field of property delinquency as a result of the digital revolution and enormous changes in the opportunity structures of technical crime. This is especially prevalent in the area of digital theft and violation of intellectual property rights.

The dynamically developing world-wide-web in principle is not an area completely detached from law and order. Nevertheless, a considerable lack of rules and regulations and a substantial degree of disorientation (anomie) of many net-citizens is actually to be found in the cyber-society with special relevance to the handling and acquisition of digital products, such as software, music, text, photos and films.

Protection of intellectual property demands in the first instance clear legal and technical solutions. However, it also requires a call for action at the primary level of prevention in order to create an increased awareness of normative rules and standards for responsible social behaviour (cyber-ethics), acknowledged by as many members of the cyber-society as possible.