Blackmail

For other uses, see Blackmail (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Bankmail.

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Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat.

As a criminal offence, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a threat to do something that would cause a person to suffer embarrassment or financial loss.[1] By contrast, in the Commonwealth its definition is wider: for example the laws of England and Wales and Northern Ireland state that:

A person is guilty of blackmail if, with a view to gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another, he makes any unwarranted demand with menaces...[2][3]

In popular culture, 'blackmail' involves a threat to reveal or publicize either substantially true or false information 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.

Acts of blackmail can also involve using threats of physical, mental or emotional harm, or of criminal prosecution, against the victim or someone close to the victim.[4][5] It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly of position, money, or property.[4][6][7][8]

Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion[4] and may be covered in the same statutory provision as extortion.[9] Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm.[10] 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.[11]

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,[12] and has been used as a convenient way of referring to certain other offenses, but was not a term used in English law until 1968.[13]

Blackmail was originally a term from the Scottish Borders meaning payments rendered in exchange for protection from thieves and marauders.[6][11][14] The "mail" part of blackmail derives from Middle English male meaning "rent or tribute".[15] This tribute (male or reditus) was paid in goods or labour ("nigri"); hence reditus nigri, or "blackmail".

  1. ^ Blackmail Law: Justicia
  2. ^ Section 21(1) Theft Act 1968
  3. ^ Section 20(1) Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969
  4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's dictionary of law. Merriam-Webster. 1996. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-87779-604-6. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  5. ^ The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2010.
  6. ^ a b "Blackmail". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  7. ^ Burton's Legal Thesaurus. McGraw-Hill Professional. 2006. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-07-147262-3. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  8. ^ The encyclopedia of American law enforcement. Infobase Publishing. 2007. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-8160-6290-4. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  9. ^ Florida Statutes § 836.05 (2024), from Florida Legislature
  10. ^ Frank Schmalleger; Daniel E. Hall; John J. Dolatowski (2009). Criminal Law Today (4th ed.). Prentice Hall. pp. 271–272. ISBN 978-0-13-504261-8.
  11. ^ a b West's encyclopedia of American law, Volume 2. West Pub. Co. 1998. pp. 569 pages. ISBN 978-0-314-20155-3. Retrieved 23 May 2011.
  12. ^ "Legislation View Page". thelaw.tas.gov.au. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  13. ^ Griew, Edward. The Theft Acts 1968 & 1978, Sweet & Maxwell: London. Fifth Edition, paperback, ISBN 0-421-35310-4, paragraph 12-01 at page 183
  14. ^ "Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: black mail". Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  15. ^ Maeve Maddox (10 May 2011). "The Difference Between Extortion and Blackmail". Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.