Criminal-Legal Evaluation of Crimes Committed Using Synthetic Reality (Deepfake Technology): Issues of Qualification and Legislative Regulation in the Russian Federation

Introduction. Nowadays, rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has contributed to synthetic reality (deepfake technology) becoming a tool for committing dangerous cybercrimes. Currently, the legal system is facing challenges that were difficult to imagine 20 years ago. Despite a great attention paid to technological progress, the review of scientific works has revealed a legal vacuum and fragmented data on judicial practices with regard to this subject in the Russian Federation. Therefore, there arises the need to analyse the transformation of the objective side of the crimes. The aim of the article is to analyse the criminal-legal evaluation of crimes committed using deepfake technology and to develop a comprehensive approach to qualification of these acts for improving the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Materials and Methods. The article analyses the scientific publications referring to the cybersecurity and legal norms of the acting criminal law of the Russian Federation. The study was carried out using the system analysis, dogmatic, and comparative legal approaches. The methodological tools included the concepts of multi-level liability and analysis of the legislative initiatives in the Russian Federation.
Results. It was established that traditional signs of corpus delicti (of such crimes as slander, theft, etc.) do not fully cover the specifics of automated deception. The features of “virtual theft” have been demonstrated, and the difficulties of proving the deliberate fakeness of content have been revealed. The need to implement mandatory digital labeling has been justified, and measures to improve Article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation by introducing a new aggravating circumstance have been proposed.
Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study can serve a basis for reforming the cyber law of the Russian Federation. It is proposed to emphasize the need of transiting to a model of distributed liability of AI subjects. The present study can be deemed significant for the Russian juridical science, as it provides an opportunity to ensure a balance between the technological progress and personal security

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