Page 1

October 30, 2001

Official Gazette No. 37,313

SPECIAL LAW AGAINST COMPUTER CRIMES
THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
DECREE
The next,
SPECIAL LAW AGAINST COMPUTER CRIMES
TITLE I
GENERAL DISPOSITION
Article 1. Purpose of the Law. The purpose of this Law is to protect
comprehensive systems that use information technologies, as well as the
prevention and punishment of crimes committed against such systems or any
of its components, or of the crimes committed through the use of said
technologies, in the terms provided in this Law.
Article 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this Law, and complying with the
provided for in Article 9 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela, is understood by:
a) Information Technology: branch of technology that is dedicated to
study, application and processing of data, which involves the
obtaining, creating, storing, managing, modifying,
operation, movement, control, visualization, transmission or reception of
information automatically, as well as the development and use of the
"Hardware", "firmware", "software", any of its components and
all procedures associated with data processing.
b) System: any organized arrangement of resources and procedures
designed for the use of information technologies, united and regulated
by interaction or interdependence to fulfill a series of functions
specific, as well as the combination of two or more components
interrelated, organized in a functional package, so that
are capable of performing an operational function or satisfying a
requirement within specified specifications.
c) Data:
facts, concepts, instructions or characters
represented in an appropriate way to be communicated,
transmitted or processed by human beings or by automated means
and to which a meaning is assigned or can be assigned.
d) Information: meaning that the human being assigns to the data
using known and generally accepted conventions.
e) Document: record incorporated in a system in the form of writing,
video, audio or any other medium, containing data or information
about a fact or act capable of causing legal effects.

1

Page 2

f) Computer: device or functional unit that accepts data, processes it
according to a saved schedule and generates results, including
arithmetic or logical operations.
g) Hardware: physical equipment or devices considered fit
independent of their capacity or function, which make up a computer
or its peripheral components, so that they may include
tools, implements, instruments, connections, assemblies,
components and parts.
h) Firmware: program or program segment incorporated in such a way
permanent on some hardware component.
i) Data or information processing: systematic performance of
operations on data or on information, such as management, merger,
organization or computation.
j) Safety: condition resulting from the establishment and maintenance
of protection measures, which guarantee a state of inviolability of
influences or specific hostile acts that may lead to access
to the data of unauthorized persons, or that affect the operation of
the functions of a computer system.
k) Viruses: unwanted program or program segment that develops
uncontrolled and that generates destructive or disruptive effects on
a program or system component.
l) Smart card: label, identification card or card that is used as
identification instrument; access to a system; payment or
credit, and that contains data, information or both, of restricted use
about the user authorized to carry it.
m) Password (password): alphabetical, numeric or combination sequence
of both, protected by confidentiality rules, used to
verify the authenticity of the authorization issued to a user to
access the data or information contained in a system.
n) Data message: any thought, idea, image, audio, data or
information, expressed in a known language that can be explicit
or secret (encrypted), prepared in a format suitable for
be transmitted by a communication system.
Article 3. Extraterritoriality. When any of the crimes provided for in the
This Law is committed outside the territory of the Republic, the active subject will remain
subject to its provisions if, within the territory of the Republic,
produced effects of the punishable act, and the person responsible has not been tried by the
same fact or has evaded trial or conviction by foreign courts.
Article 4. Sanctions. The sanctions for the crimes provided for in this Law will be
main and accessory.
The main sanctions will concur with the accessory penalties and both may
also concur with each other, according to the particular circumstances of the crime
which it is, in the terms indicated in this Law.

two

Page 3

Article 5. Liability of legal persons. When crimes
provided for in this Law were committed by managers, administrators,
directors or dependents of a legal entity, acting on its behalf or
representation, they will respond according to their guilty participation.
The legal person will be sanctioned in the terms provided in this Law, in the
cases in which the punishable act has been committed by decision of its organs, in
the scope of its activity, with its social resources or in its exclusive interest or
preferential.

TITLE II
OF CRIMES
Chapter I
Of Crimes Against Systems That Use Information Technologies.
Article 6. Improper access. Any person who, without proper authorization or
exceeding that which has obtained, accesses, intercepts, interferes or uses a system
who uses information technologies, will be sentenced to imprisonment from one to five years
and a fine of ten to fifty tax units.
Article 7. Sabotage or damage to systems. Anyone who intentionally destroys,
damages, modifies or performs any act that alters the operation or renders useless a
system that uses information technologies or any of the components
that make it up, will be punished with imprisonment from four to eight years and a fine of
four hundred to eight hundred tax units.
Anyone who destroys, damages, modifies or disables the data or the
information contained in any system that uses information technologies or
in any of its components.
The penalty will be five to ten years in prison and a fine of five hundred to one thousand units.
tax, if the effects indicated in this article are carried out through the
intentional creation, introduction or transmission, by any means, of a virus or
analog program.
Article 8. Wrongful favor of sabotage or damage. If the foreseen offense
in the previous article is committed by recklessness, negligence, inexperience or
non-observance of the established rules, the corresponding penalty will be applied
depending on the case, with a reduction between half and two thirds.
Article 9. Improper access or sabotage to protected systems. The miseries
provided for in the previous articles will be increased between one third and the
half, when the events provided there or their effects fall on any of the
the components of a system that uses information technologies protected by
security measures, that is intended for public functions or that contains
personal or patrimonial information of natural or legal persons.
Article 10. Possession of equipment or provision of sabotage services.
Whoever imports, manufactures, distributes, sells or uses equipment, devices or
programs, with the purpose of using them to violate or eliminate the security of
any system that uses information technologies; or the one who offers or lends
services intended to fulfill the same purposes, will be punished with imprisonment from three to
six years and a fine of three hundred to six hundred tax units.

3

Page 4

Article 11. Computer espionage. Any person who improperly obtains,
disclose or disseminate the data or information contained in a system that uses
information technologies or in any of its components, will be punished with
imprisonment from three to six years and a fine of three hundred to six hundred tax units.
The penalty will be increased from one third to one half, if the offense provided for in the present
article is committed in order to obtain some kind of benefit for himself or for
other.
The increase will be from half to two thirds, if the safety of the
State, the reliability of the operation of the affected institutions or will result
any damage to natural or legal persons, as a consequence of the
disclosure of confidential information.
Article 12. Forgery of documents. Who, through any means,
create, modify or delete a document that is incorporated into a system
that uses information technologies; or create, modify or delete data from
same; or incorporates a non-existent document into said system, it will be punished with
imprisonment from three to six years and a fine of three hundred to six hundred tax units.
When the agent has acted in order to procure for himself or for another some
type of benefit, the penalty will be increased by one-third to one-half.
The increase will be from half to two thirds if the fact results in damage to
other.
Chapter II
Of Crimes Against Property
Article 13. Theft. Who through the use of information technologies, accesses,
intercept, interfere with, manipulate or use in any way a system or means of
communication to seize tangible or intangible assets or values ​of
patrimonial character by subtracting them from their holder, in order to obtain a
economic gain for himself or for another, will be punished with imprisonment from two to six
years and a fine of two hundred to six hundred tax units.
Article 14. Fraud. Anyone who, through the improper use of information technology
information, using any manipulation in systems or any of its
components, or in the data or information contained in them, manage to insert
false or fraudulent instructions, that produce a result that allows
obtain an unjust profit to the detriment of others, will be punished with imprisonment from three to
seven years and a fine of three hundred to seven hundred tax units.
Article 15. Improper obtaining of goods or services. Who, without authorization to
carry them, use a third-party smart card or instrument intended for them
purposes, or the one who improperly uses information technologies to require the
obtaining any effect, good or service; or to provide your payment without disbursement or
assume the commitment to pay the consideration due, will be punished with
imprisonment for two to six years and a fine of two to six hundred tax units.
Article 16. Fraudulent handling of smart cards or similar instruments.
Any person who by any means creates, captures, records, copies, alters, duplicates
or delete the data or information contained in a smart card or in any
instrument intended for the same purposes; or the person who, through any
misuse of information technology, create, capture, duplicate or alter the data
or information in a system, in order to incorporate users, accounts,
non-existent records or consumptions or modify the amount of these, will be punished with
imprisonment for five to ten years and a fine of five hundred to one thousand tax units.

4

Page 5

The same penalty shall be incurred by those who, without having taken part in the previous events,
acquires, markets, possesses, distributes, sells or performs any type of
intermediation of smart cards or instruments for the same purpose, or of
the data or information contained in them or in a system.
Article 17. Appropriation of smart cards or similar instruments.
Whoever appropriates a smart card or instrument intended for them
purposes, that has been lost, misplaced or has been delivered by mistake,
in order to retain, use, sell or transfer it to a person other than the
authorized user or issuing entity, will be punished with imprisonment from one to five years
and a fine of ten to fifty tax units.
The same penalty will be imposed on whoever acquires or receives the card or instrument from
referred to in this article.
Article 18. Undue provision of goods or services. Anyone who, to
knowing that a smart card or instrument intended for them
purposes, it is expired, revoked; has been improperly obtained, withheld,
falsified, altered; provide whoever presents them with money, effects, goods or
services, or any other thing of economic value will be punished with imprisonment of two
to six years and a fine of two hundred to six hundred tax units.
Article 19. Possession of equipment for counterfeiting. Anyone who without being
duly authorized to issue, manufacture or distribute smart cards or
analog instruments, receive, acquire, own, transfer, market, distribute,
sell, control, or guard any smart card manufacturing equipment or
of instruments intended for the same purposes, or any equipment or component
that captures, records, copies or transmits the data or information of said cards or
instruments, will be punished with imprisonment from three to six years and a fine of three hundred to
six hundred tax units.

Chapter III
Of Crimes Against the Privacy of People and Communications
Article 20. Violation of the privacy of the data or information of character
personal. Any person who intentionally seizes, uses, modifies or
delete by any means, without the consent of its owner, the data or
personal information of another or in which you have a legitimate interest, that are
incorporated into a computer or system that uses information technologies,
It will be punished with imprisonment of two to six years and a fine of two hundred to six hundred
tax units.
The penalty will be increased from one third to one half if as a result of the
previous events will result in damage to the owner of the data or information or
for a third party.
Article 21. Violation of the privacy of communications. Every person
that through the use of information technologies access, capture, intercept,
interfere with, reproduce, modify, divert or delete any data messages or
signal of transmission or external communication, will be sanctioned with imprisonment of two to
six years and a fine of two hundred to six hundred tax units.
Article 22. Undue disclosure of data or information of character
personal. Whoever reveals, disseminates or assigns, in whole or in part, the facts
discovered, the images, the audio or, in general, the data or information obtained

5

Page 6

by any of the means indicated in articles 20 and 21, will be sanctioned with
imprisonment for two to six years and a fine of two to six hundred tax units.
If the disclosure, dissemination or assignment had been made for profit, or if
It will result in some damage to another, the penalty will be increased from one third to one half.

Chapter IV
Of Crimes Against Children or Adolescents
Article 23. Diffusion or exhibition of pornographic material. Anyone who,
by any means that involves the use of information technologies, exhibits,
disseminates, transmits or sells pornographic or adult material,
without previously making the proper warnings for the user to restrict the
access to children and adolescents, will be punished with imprisonment from two to six
years and a fine of two hundred to six hundred tax units.
Article 24. Pornographic exhibition of children or adolescents. Every person
that by any means that involves the use of information technologies, uses
to the person or image of a child or adolescent for exhibitionist purposes or
pornographic, will be punished with imprisonment of four to eight years and a fine of
four hundred to eight hundred tax units.

Chapter V
Of the Crimes Against the Economic Order
Article 25. Appropriation of intellectual property. Who without authorization from his
owner and in order to obtain some economic benefit, reproduce,
modify, copy, distribute or disclose software or other work of the intellect that
has obtained through access to any system that uses technologies of
information, will be punished with imprisonment from one to five years and a fine of one hundred to
five hundred tax units.
Article 26. Misleading offer. Any person who offers, markets or provides
of goods or services, through the use of information technologies, and make
false allegations or attributes uncertain characteristics to any element of said
offer, so that it may result in any harm to consumers, will be
sanctioned with imprisonment from one to five years and a fine of one hundred to five hundred units
tax, without prejudice to the commission of a more serious crime.

TITLE III
COMMON PROVISIONS
Article 27. Aggravating factors. The penalty corresponding to the crimes provided for in the
This Law will be increased between a third and a half:
1. If a password has been used to carry out the event
alien improperly obtained, taken away, withheld or lost.
2. If the act has been committed through the abuse of the position of access to
data or reserved information, or privileged knowledge of passwords, in
reason for the exercise of a position or function.
Article 28. Special aggravating factor. The sanction applicable to legal persons for
crimes committed under the conditions indicated in article 5 of this Law, will be

6

Page 7

only fine, but for double the amount established for the referred
crime.
Article 29. Accessory penalties. In addition to the main penalties provided in the
previous chapters, will be imposed, necessarily without prejudice to the established
in the Penal Code, the following accessory penalties:
1. The confiscation of equipment, devices, instruments, materials, tools,
tools and any other objects that have been used for the commission
of the crimes provided for in articles 10 and 19 of this Law.
2. Community work for a term of up to three years in the cases of the
crimes provided for in articles 6 and 8 of this Law.
3. Disqualification from exercising public functions or jobs; for him
exercise of the profession, art or industry; or to work in institutions or
companies in the industry for a period of up to three (3) years after the completion of
or commuted the main sanction, when the crime has been committed with abuse
of the position of access to reserved data or information, or to the knowledge
privileged password, due to the exercise of a position or function
public, the private exercise of a profession or trade, or the performance in
an institution or private company, respectively.
4. The suspension of the permit, registration or authorization to operate or to
exercise of management positions and representation of legal persons
related to the use of information technologies, up to the period of
three (3) years after the main penalty has been completed or commuted, if for
committing the crime, the agent would have used or made appear a
legal person.
Article 30. Disclosure of the conviction. The Court may
in addition, order the publication or dissemination of the conviction by the
means that you consider the most suitable.
Article 31. Civil Compensation. In cases of conviction for any of the
crimes provided for in Chapters II and V of this Law, the judge will impose in the
judgment of compensation in favor of the victim for an amount equivalent to the
damage caused.
To determine the amount of the agreed compensation, the judge will require the
expert help.

TITLE IV
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 32. Validity. This Law shall enter into force thirty days after
of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Article 33. Repeal. Any provision that conflicts with the
present Law.
Given, signed and sealed in the Federal Legislative Palace, seat of the Assembly
Nacional, in Caracas on the fourth day of September, two thousand and one. Year
191 ° of Independence and 142 ° of the Federation.

7

