Using the Internet as an aggravating circumstance: is it a civilizational transformation or prejudices of the past?

Introduction. The paper discusses the current problems of modern criminal law concerning the introduction of some qualifying features that establish a special way of committing a crime on the Internet. The proposals aimed at introducing a new aggravating circumstance into Part 1 of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are substantiated: “the commission of a crime using information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet.” In this regard, the purpose of the study is the analysis of the impact of information technology on the stability of the development of society through the establishment of criminal law prohibitions. The question is raised about the goals and objectives of introducing new provisions of criminal law establishing enhanced criminal liability for crimes on the Internet. Methods. Using the comparative legal method of scientific research as the main one, the authors trace the development of theoretical and legislative ideas about the impact of information technologies on public relations, analyze controversial issues of modern criminal law science, clarify and correct previously formed positions on the need to introduce new elements of crime. Results. Based on the conducted research, the opinion is substantiated about the absence of a systematic approach in the formation of the norms of Articles 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, 1281 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and 133 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, taking into account the interpretation of the norms of the criminal law proposed by the authors. Conclusions. It is advisable to amend the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by excluding the feature “using information and telecommunications networks, including the Internet” from the Special Part. In addition, to eliminate the contradictions caused by the provisions under consideration, Part 1 of Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation should be supplemented with “the use of information and telecommunication networks, including the Internet.” The authors conclude that the new sign of crime slows down the civilizational transformation of criminal law norms, which does not allow timely responses to the challenges of modern reality.