Bolivia committee approves digital violence bill

Update November 3, 2026: Bolivia’s Chamber of Deputies Human Rights Committee approved Bill No. 873/2025-2026 on the prevention and fight against digital violence. New data from Fundación Internet Bolivia on digital violence against women and the reach of Law 1636 were also released.

Bolivia’s Chamber of Deputies Human Rights Committee approved Bill No. 873/2025-2026 on the prevention and fight against digital violence. The initiative brings back the debate over crimes committed in digital environments and is now set to move to the full Chamber of Deputies, according to eju.tv.

What does the bill include?

The text seeks to establish a legal response to conduct tied to abuse and the misuse of personal information in digital environments. The criminal offenses it aims to add include cyberstalking, cyberharassment, sextortion, identity theft, and the nonconsensual disclosure of personal data, according to information released by the Chamber of Deputies.

La Patria Bolivia added that the initiative would carry prison terms of three to 10 years for digital violence offenses, although the available material does not break down those penalties by conduct. That same report said the bill also foresees immediate-response mechanisms from operators, who would be expected to provide the information needed for complaints to reach the competent authorities.

What background did the proposal have?

The earlier version presented by Daniela Cabrera and Deputy Minister Jessica Echeverría proposed adding digital harassment and the violation of sexual privacy in digital environments to the Penal Code, with penalties of three to 10 years. That stage helps trace how the initiative evolved into Bill No. 873/2025-2026, which has now advanced in committee.

At that presentation, Cabrera said the goal was to classify conduct that is now scattered across other criminal offenses or lacks a specific response in the digital environment. The proposal was later revised and continued through the parliamentary process until approval by the Human Rights Committee.

What do the data show about digital violence?

Fundación Internet Bolivia reported that, among the women surveyed, 31% said they had experienced personal data abuse, 27% sexual abuse linked to ICTs, 13% digital harassment and 12% delegitimization. The organization presented those figures as part of a diagnosis of the most common forms of digital violence faced by women in Bolivia.

The same group said Bolivia has Law 1636, which focuses on the sexual integrity of children and adolescents online, and that there is no rule that explicitly recognizes gender-based digital violence outside that scope. On its page about that law, Fundación Internet Bolivia identifies specific criminal offenses tied to sexual contact through ICTs, sexual abuse in digital environments, exposure to sexual content, and the production, possession or sale of child sexual abuse material, including through digital simulations.

What steps follow in the Chamber of Deputies?

The bill’s backers said the proposal will continue through the relevant committee before going to the full Chamber of Deputies. According to La Patria Bolivia, they expected it could be taken up during the same month, after being worked on in committee the following week.

For now, the legislative process remains at that intermediate stage. The official information available confirms the filing of the text, its general scope, and its approval in committee, while the details on penalties and the legislative timeline were reported by La Patria Bolivia as projections of parliamentary treatment.