信息理论视角下的数字财产及其刑法保护

对于数字经济时代的传统网络虚拟财产、新型加密资产和数据等数字财产,大部分研究承认了各个类别数字财产的财产属性,却未能就数字经济时代的财产属性进行一个整体性的阐发。少部分研究认可了数字财产的财产属性,却否定了侵犯数字财产该当财产犯罪的构成要件,未能在现有刑法框架下合理解释和处理侵犯数字财产的犯罪。从信息理论出发,可以看到,财产是一种信息系统,一种阶层性地记录和传播事物性、财物性、财产性的信息有机体。三种数字财产都可能符合这些财产属性。数字财产的信息理论使数字财产犯罪的刑法定性评价与定量分析具备可行性。在刑法定性评价上,本身具有可复制性的数字财产如数据一般不会被获取型犯罪所侵害,但可为毁灭型犯罪所侵害。在刑法定量分析上,应当重视财物性的本质在于使用价值,交换价值只是对可能实现的使用价值进行估算形成的合意。因此,犯罪数额的认定标准不仅包括交换价值意义上的金额标准,还包括更契合使用价值这一财物性本质的数量标准。

In the era of digital economy,most researches acknowledge the property attributes of various types of digital property such as traditional network virtual property,data and new crypto assets,but fail to provide a holistic analysis of property attributes.A few researches acknowledge the property attribute of digital property,but deny the infringement of digital property as property crime in virtue of the constituent elements,and fail to explain and deal with the crime of infringing on digital property reasonably under the existing criminal law framework.Starting from information theory,it can be seen that property is a kind of information system or organism which records and spreads thingness,value and possession in a hierarchical way.All three types of digital property may conform to these property attributes.The information theory makes the qualitative evaluation and quantitative analysis of digital property crime feasible.In the qualitative evaluation criminal law,digital property such as data that is inherently reproducible cannot be infringed by acquisition-type crimes,but can be infringed by destruction-type crimes.In the quantitative evaluation of criminal law,the essence of property is the use value and the exchange value is only an agreement achieved by estimating certain possible use value,so the criteria for determining the amount of crime include not only the amount criteria in the sense of exchange value,but also the quantity criteria which are more fit the nature of use value.