European Law Could Give Hackers Mimimum Two-Year Sentence 147
judgecorp writes "A proposed European law would apply a minimum two-year prison sentence for hacking across the region. This is a step up for nations including Britain, whose Computer Misuse Act currently has a two-year maximum sentence."
Minimum or minimum maximum (Score:2, Informative)
The article from the first link says that the law in question would require member states adapt a maximum penalty of at least two years. This doesn't sound like what we would normally call a "minimum sentence".
Re:Minimum Sentences (Score:4, Informative)
The article is not entirely clear on the minimum sentence part. From the body of the text it appears that it's that the maximum sentence should be at least two years (which makes sense, given that individual member states would be free to set higher maximum sentences if it's a directive), and five if there are aggravating circumstances. Also, given that petty offenses should not carry criminal sanctions at all does not mesh with a minimum two year sentence.
The only part that mentions a two year minimum sentence is the summary paragraph, which may be the result of poor editing.
There's a video recording of the committee meeting, but I don't really have the time to search through it to find what was actually decided. I guess it'll become clearer within the next few days.