Indian Cyber Laws: A Guide

The technologically advanced society that uses cyberspace on a regular basis is bound to entrap people and acquire a dangerous side that customizes as space to various cybercrimes. Thus, laws are created in order to secure netizens and create vigilance against various crimes that involve cyberspace. These are known as Cyber Laws.

Cyber laws can be understood as the branch that looks at legal issues in reference to using inter-networked IT. Any crimes that occur in cyberspace are bound to be inspected, as prescribed in the Indian penal code. In such a tech-savvy and virtually connected society, these laws are considered of utmost importance as they provide assistance to any case of cybercrime, data protection and privacy, intellectual property, and transactions or digital affairs. These laws help in integrating challenges faced by humans on the internet to the laws that are accepted by the constitution of the country.

To protect netizens in cyberspace, the Indian government has established the Information Technology Act, 2000. This helps in recognizing the legal validity of all the transactions that occur via electronic media and even facilitates direct acceptance of the transactional forms by the Indian government.

Secondly, it allows safe electronic fund transfer within various institutions, which further eliminates the risk of carrying a huge amount of money physically. Ultimately, it allows trouble-free and simple ways to carry out the work done by bankers.

As the world tries to use the internet as a space that allows them to give their opinion on various social and political debates that exist in the current society or even challenge the traditional ways in which the society was structured, various threats do emerge against these members.

These can be in the form of cyberbullying, stalking, harassment, defamation, or even acts of cyber terrorism. In such instances of cybercrimes/ threats, cyber laws come in handy and help assist the victim get justice and make the perpetrator serve the right punishment.

For example, section 66E of the Indian Penal Code provides protection against blackmail and the circulation of private images of others without consent. If any person captures and circulates these images without approval, they are entitled to imprisonment for up to 3 years or a fine of up to INR 3 lakhs.

In a recent case in Rajasthan, two people were booked against blackmailing a teacher and demanding 3 Lakhs from him, after they intoxicated the teacher and shot videos of him being naked. Both the people are now to appear before the court and serve the prescribed punishment.

Another important section under the ITA is section 67 that prohibits the publishing of child pornography (under 18) or predating children online and accounts for 7 years of imprisonment or a fine of INR 10 lakhs. In the current political scenario that persists in the country, many people resort to such measures to blackmail or threaten those protesting against the current government. A recent incident that can be highlighted is that of Moose Jattana, an activist, whose private pictures were leaked to ruin her credibility in media and undermine her role as an activist.

Conclusion

In India, the rate of cybercrimes increases every day. In 2020 itself, it saw about 45,000+ cases with a data breach that cost about 2 million dollars. In order to protect the citizens from these vulnerabilities that exist in the internet village and accentuate these laws, it’s important to understand them clearly and spread awareness about them. Be it through pop culture or political rallies, the citizens of the second largest internet populous country need to be informed.

For more information on Indian Cyber laws, visit: Legal Services India