Peruvian lawmakers propose prison for troll farm operations

The Ahora Nación parliamentary group has introduced a bill proposing prison sentences of up to eight years for individuals who create, manage, finance, or hire “troll farms” or bots to illegitimately manipulate electoral processes. Authored by lawmaker César Muedas, the initiative seeks to amend the Computer Crimes Law, the Civil Service Law, and the Law of Political Organizations.

The proposal aims to incorporate a new offense into the Computer Crimes Law. Under the draft, using information technologies to manage automated or inauthentic digital networks—such as fake profiles or bots—to systematically spread false accusations or simulate identities for electoral purposes would carry a prison sentence of four to six years.

Penalties would increase to between five and eight years in cases involving aggravating circumstances. These include the use of prohibited electoral funding, involvement of public officials, the use of public resources, or the employment of artificial intelligence and deepfakes to attribute false statements to candidates or electoral authorities.