'Face rape' phenomenon pops up in Sweden

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 28 (UPI) -- A Swedish teenager was reported to police for allegedly hacking another teen's Facebook page, a common phenomenon called "face raping," officials say.

The suspect, whose name was not released, may face criminal charges for computer hacking, a crime which is punishable by fines or up to two years in prison, the Swedish news agency TT reported Monday.

Police say so-called "face rape," or hacking someone's Facebook account to write disparaging remarks in the victim's name, is a growing phenomenon among Swedish teens, but few victims actually report it.

"A huge number of our young people have been victims of this, but many probably don't realize that they can report it," Anders Ahlqvist, an IT-expert with the National Police Board. "Many have a hard time understanding that the same rules apply on the Internet that apply in real life. Language is used differently online than what you would hear in the schoolyard, for example."

Last year, the Swedish Data Protection Board found that nearly half of young Swedish Facebook users have had their accounts hacked

"There are probably a huge number of unreported cases. Some may be ashamed, as some of the things people write aren't so pleasant so they may just want to keep quiet about it," Goran Eriksson, an investigator with police in Norrkoping, told TT.