Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either

substantially true Substantial truth is a legal doctrine affecting libel and slander laws in common law jurisdictions such as the United States or the United Kingdom. United States law Under the United States law, a statement cannot be held to be actionable as slan ...

false information Misinformation is incorrect or misleading information. It differs from disinformation, which is ''deliberately'' deceptive. Rumors are information not attributed to any particular source, and so are unreliable and often unverified, but can turn ou ...

about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to family members or associates rather than to the general public. These acts can also involve using threats of physical, mental or emotional harm, or of criminal prosecution, against the victim or someone close to the victim. It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly of position, money, or property. Blackmail may also be considered a form of

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

. Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm. Blackmail is the use of threat to prevent another from engaging in a lawful occupation and writing libelous letters or letters that provoke a breach of the peace, as well as use of intimidation for purposes of collecting an unpaid debt. In many jurisdictions, blackmail is a statutory offense, often criminal, carrying punitive sanctions for convicted perpetrators. Blackmail is the name of a statutory offense in the United States, England and Wales, and Australia, and has been used as a convenient way of referring to certain other offenses, but was not a term used in

English law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. Principal elements of English law Although the common law has, historically, b ...

until 1968.Griew, Edward. ''The Theft Acts 1968 & 1978'', Sweet & Maxwell: London. Fifth Edition, paperback, , paragraph 12-01 at page 183 Blackmail was originally a term from the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lot ...

meaning payments rendered in exchange for protection from thieves and marauders. The "mail" part of blackmail derives from Middle English meaning "rent or tribute". This tribute (male or ''reditus'') was paid in goods or labour ("nigri"); hence ''reditus nigri'', or "blackmail". Alternatively, it may be derived from two

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

words - to protect; and - tribute or payment.

Etymology

The word blackmail is variously derived from the word for

tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...

(in modern terms, protection racket) paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to Border Reivers in return for immunity from raids and other harassment. The "mail" part of blackmail derives from

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...

''male'', "rent, tribute". This tribute was paid in goods or labour (''reditus nigri'', or "blackmail"); the opposite is ''blanche firmes'' or ''reditus albi'', or "white rent" (denoting payment by silver). An alternative version is that rents in the

were often paid in produce of the land, called "greenmail" ('green rent'), suggesting "blackmail" as a counterpart paid perforce to the reivers. Alternatively, Mackay derives it from two

words ''blathaich'' pronounced (the th silent) bla-ich (to protect) and ''mal'' (tribute, payment), cf. buttock mail. He notes that the practice was common in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland S ...

as well as the Borders. In the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

, the term ''cíos dubh'', meaning "black-rent", has also been employed.

Objections to criminalization

Some scholars have argued that blackmail should not be a crime. Objections to the criminalization of blackmail often rest on what legal scholars call "the paradox of blackmail": it takes two separate actions that, in many cases, people are legally and morally entitled to do, and criminalizes them if done together. One American legal scholar uses the example of a person who threatens to expose a criminal act unless he is paid money. The person has committed the crime of blackmail, even though he separately has the legal right both to threaten to expose a crime and to request money from a person. This observation has been rebutted by pointing out that while drinking alcohol and driving are both legal separately, their combinations are not.

Sextortion (Webcam Blackmail)

Sextortion Sextortion (a portmanteau of ''sex'' and '' extortion'') employs non-physical forms of coercion to extort sexual favors from the victim. Sextortion refers to the broad category of sexual exploitation in which abuse of power is the means of coerci ...

has been linked and is popular among people who are considered to have power or a position of power (in any form) in any field such as politics, education, and the workplace. Sextortion, by definition, is a form of blackmail where power is abused and used to extort sexual favors or images from someone in exchange for something that the victim wants/needs like a job or grade. An example of this is Webcam Blackmail. "Criminals might befriend victims online by using a fake identity and then persuade them to perform sexual acts in front of their webcam, often by using an attractive woman to entice the victim to participate. These women may have been coerced into these actions using financial incentives or threats." As reported by the NCA (National Crime Agency), both men and women can be victims of this crime. This crime can be carried out by either crime groups or individuals.

Cybercrime

Dubai Police The Dubai Police Force ( ar, القيادة العامة لشرطة دبي) is the 17,500 strong police force for the Emirate of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. They come under the jurisdiction of the ruler of Dubai, and they cover an area of ...

in the UAE stated that there have been 2,606 crimes that involve blackmail in the past three years. The reason it is so easy to commit these crimes online is the anonymity the internet gives. It is far easier and encouraging to commit crimes whenever personal identity is hidden. People have the opportunity to give in to temptation since they are anonymous and possibly commit criminal acts such as blackmailing. The ability to be anonymous encourages antisocial tendencies and the ability to spread fake news.

Notes

References

* Baker, Dennis J., ''Glanville Williams Textbook of Criminal Law''. Sweet & Maxwell: London. (2005) . * Criminal Law Revision Committee. 8th Report. Theft and Related Offences. Cmnd. 2977 * Griew, Edward. ''Theft Acts 1968 & 1978'', Sweet & Maxwell: London. * * Ormerod, David. ''Smith and Hogan Criminal Law'', LexisNexis: London. (2005) * Smith, J. C. ''Law of Theft'', LexisNexis: London. (1997)

External links

* * {{Authority control Border Reivers Crimes Illegal occupations Middle English Organized crime activity