Cyberbullying



Definition: 

Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. It is repeated behavior, aimed at scaring, angering, or shaming those who are on messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. 
                                                                                       

Legal Provisions: 

1. Section 153A of IPC – “Promotion of enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony”, is a punishable offense and attracts three years of imprisonment. 
2. Section 153B of IPC – Safeguards the interests of the “class of persons” and the “national integration” by providing punishment against imputations and assertions prejudicial to national integration. 
3. Section 295A of IPC – Allows punishing of any deliberate and malicious actions that are intended to insult the region or religious beliefs of a certain class of people. 
4. Section 354D of IPC – Provides that any man who monitors the use of the internet, email, or any other form of electronic communication with malintent, by a woman, commits the offense of stalking. The punishment may extend up to five years of imprisonment. 
5. Section 500 of IPC – Provides punishment for defamation. Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine, or with both. 
6. Section 509 of IPC – Addresses the offense of word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman. 
7. Section 67 of the IT Act – Provides punishment against publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form. The first conviction attracts imprisonment of up to three years and the subsequent convictions may lead to imprisonment of up to five years. 
8. Section 66E of the IT Act – Punishes acts that violate privacy, i.e. acts of intentionally or knowingly capturing, publishing, or transmitting the images of any person without his or her consent. 
9. Section 354A, 354B, 354C, and 354D of IPC – Criminalize sexual harassment, use of criminal force, voyeurism, and stalking against women respectively.


National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal:

  1. Launched in 2019, it is a citizen-centric initiative enabling citizens to report cybercrimes online. The portal specifically focuses on crimes against women, and children, particularly child pornography, child sex abuse material, online content about rapes/gang rapes, etc. 
  2. It also focuses on crimes like financial crime and social media-related crimes like stalking, cyberbullying, etc. It will improve the capacity of law enforcement agencies to investigate the cases after successful completion by improving coordination amongst the law enforcement agencies of different States, districts, and police stations.

Budapest Convention:

  1. The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Cybercrime Convention, also known as the Budapest Convention is the sole legally binding international multilateral treaty on cybercrime. It coordinates cybercrime investigations between nation-states and criminalizes certain cybercrime conduct. It was open for signature in 2001 and came into force in 2004. 
  2. The Budapest Convention is supplemented by a Protocol on Xenophobia and Racism committed through computer systems. India is not a party to it. India has voted in favor of a Russian-led UN resolution to set up a separate convention. The resolution seeks to set up new cyber norms considered as a counter alternative to the US-backed Budapest Accord.



Initiatives to Tackle Cybercrime:

  1. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): The I4C will assist in centralizing cyber security investigations, prioritize the development of response tools and bring together private companies to contain the menace.
  2. Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 (based on the recommendation of Justice BN Srikrishna Committee) to secure citizens' data. 
  3. Cyber Swachhta Kendra: The "Cyber Swachhta Kendra" (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) is a part of the Government of India's Digital India initiative under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
  4. Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN): It is an organization of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, to secure Indian cyberspace. It is the nodal agency that deals with cybersecurity threats like hacking and phishing.


My opinion:

Prompt reporting and registration of the cases need to be done. Increasing awareness about cyber safety and security such that girls and women can take necessary precautions. Schools, colleges, universities, and communities must take an active role in spreading awareness. The Social media intermediaries are to be involved and should be encouraged to inform their users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any illegal information. International cooperation has to be pursued to tackle the cybercrime taking place from outside the country. Better infrastructure, special cyber cells, regular training, and collaboration with cyber experts need to be facilitated to help the police. Parents should be aware of their child’s online activities, Teenagers and adolescents are more vulnerable to cyberbullying as they have limited understanding of the good and the bad. There should be a legal framework in the country, as of now there is no special Anti-Cyber Bullying Law in India yet. A private institution Incognito Forensic Foundation (IFF Lab) is a private forensic laboratory in Bangalore and Chennai that offers consultation and digital forensic services for cyberbullying, It can set an example for the nation. We need to remember that the ultimate goal is to protect and restore the victim’s self-respect. We need to Act thoroughly, fast decisions can only make things worse, and finally, the victim needs to talk to someone about the problem before responding.