Closed petition Make malicious, false reports or allegations to authorities a criminal offence.

Closed on 12 September 2018

At the moment a report or allegation which has been made maliciously with intent to harm is treated as a civil matter. The Data Protection Act allows people to make false reports wasting time and resources whilst protecting their identity. This should be treated as a criminal offence and punishable.

There is nothing civil about making a report to authorities about someone that is based on lies, malice and with intent to harm the accused.

Currently malicious reports are treated as a civil matter and police do not get involved. These reports can cause distress and for the person accused. The Data Protection Act protects the rights of the reporter even when a report has been investigated and proven to be malicious and false. These people get away with wasting public funds, resources.