Blackmail

{{Short description|Coercion based on threat of revealing information}}

{{Other uses}}

{{Distinguish|Bankmail}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2021}}

{{Criminal law}}

Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat.

As a criminal offense, 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.[https://www.justia.com/criminal/offenses/white-collar-crimes/blackmail/ Blackmail Law: Justicia] By contrast, in the Commonwealth its definition is wider: for example the laws of England and Wales and Northern Ireland state that:

{{blockquote|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...[https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/21 Section 21(1) Theft Act 1968][https://www.legislation.gov.uk/apni/1969/16/section/20 Section 20(1) Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969]}}

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.{{cite book | title = Merriam-Webster's dictionary of law |publisher= Merriam-Webster|year=1996|page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd0000merr/page/53 53]|access-date=23 May 2011| isbn = 978-0-87779-604-6| url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd0000merr| url-access = registration }}{{cite book | title = The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition |year=2010|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.}} It is normally carried out for personal gain, most commonly of position, money, or property.{{cite web|title=Blackmail|work=Merriam-Webster|access-date=23 May 2011|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackmail|archive-date=21 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021072817/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blackmail|url-status=live}}{{cite book | title = Burton's Legal Thesaurus|publisher=McGraw-Hill Professional|year=2006|page=233|access-date=23 May 2011| isbn =978-0-07-147262-3| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9OGU6qOu_3YC&pg=PA233}}{{cite book | title = The encyclopedia of American law enforcement|publisher=Infobase Publishing|year=2007|page=78|access-date=23 May 2011|isbn =978-0-8160-6290-4| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PPu3GVnde-QC&pg=PA78}}

Blackmail may also be considered a form of extortion and may be covered in the same statutory provision as extortion.[http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0800-0899/0836/Sections/0836.05.html Florida Statutes § 836.05 (2024)], from Florida Legislature Although the two are generally synonymous, extortion is the taking of personal property by threat of future harm.{{cite book|author1=Frank Schmalleger |author2=Daniel E. Hall |author3=John J. Dolatowski |title=Criminal Law Today|year=2009|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=978-0-13-504261-8|pages=271–272|edition=4th}} 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.

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,{{Cite web|url=http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=ALL;doc_id=69%252B%252B1924%252BJS1%2540GS241%2540EN%252B20160127140000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=blackmail|title=Legislation View Page|website=thelaw.tas.gov.au|access-date=2016-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919150550/http://www.thelaw.tas.gov.au/tocview/index.w3p;cond=ALL;doc_id=69%252B%252B1924%252BJS1%2540GS241%2540EN%252B20160127140000;histon=;prompt=;rec=;term=blackmail|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=dead}} 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.Griew, Edward. The Theft Acts 1968 & 1978, Sweet & Maxwell: London. Fifth Edition, paperback, {{ISBN|0-421-35310-4}}, paragraph 12-01 at page 183

Blackmail was originally a term from the Scottish Borders meaning payments rendered in exchange for protection from thieves and marauders.{{cite book | title = West's encyclopedia of American law, Volume 2|publisher=West Pub. Co.|year=1998|pages=569 pages|access-date=23 May 2011|isbn =978-0-314-20155-3 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7-lGAAAAMAAJ}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/black_mail|title=Dictionary of the Scots Language:: SND :: black mail|access-date=19 June 2020|archive-date=15 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815171422/https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/black_mail|url-status=live}} The "mail" part of blackmail derives from Middle English {{lang|enm|male}} meaning "rent or tribute".{{cite web | author = Maeve Maddox | title = The Difference Between Extortion and Blackmail | date = 10 May 2011 | access-date = 18 July 2011 | url = http://www.dailywritingtips.com/extortion-and-blackmail/ | archive-date = 13 July 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110713181956/http://www.dailywritingtips.com/extortion-and-blackmail/ | url-status = live }} This tribute (male or reditus) was paid in goods or labour ("nigri"); hence reditus nigri, or "blackmail".