Cyber-Bullying And The Related Laws In India

It is now in the hands of the executive and legislature to put

in place a legislation that regulates cyber-bullying...

We live in a fast-developing technological

age where everything is available at

the click of a button. The cyber world

has opened up myriad opportunities

and an endless ocean of information

which has widened our knowledge base. However, there

are always pros and cons for every development. Thus,

with the increase in knowledge and connectivity comes

the evil of cyber-bullying. With more and more children

in the age group of 8 to 18 years going online to cope up

with their studies, play games, or watch movies and with

an increase in the number of social media sites, cyberbullying

has become a dangerous activity affecting the

young and the vulnerable.

It is rightly said, “Words scar, rumors destroy, and bullies

kill”. Cyber-bullying is underhand bullying that is done

by hiding behind a pretty screen. Cyber-bullies can hide

behind a mask of anonymity online or they could also be

friends or known acquaintances who do not need direct

physical access to their victims to do unimaginable harm.

To examine the meaning of the word “bullying” - it is a

form of harassment where ‘superior strength or influence’

is used to intimidate or force someone to do something

which he/she would not want to do otherwise. So, cyberbullying

is done using this superior strength or influence

through electronic devices such as computers, tablets,

or cell phones where a victim is bullied through text

messages, emails, rumors sent by emails/messages,

derogatory comments, status updates on social media

sites, and chats, including using shameful pictures, videos,

creating fake profiles, etc., that constantly threaten and

harass a victim with such material online. These kinds

of constant humiliation, false allegations, insults, and

threats online through different forms of electronic media

entities and other social media platforms and electronic

devices create over a period of time a hostile environment

for a victim causing psychological and emotional drain/

damage, insecurity, depression, anxiety, stress, anger, and

constant mental trauma which may culminate in suicidal

behavior.

In a nutshell, the different types of cyber-bullying are as

follows:

i) Flaming: Using inappropriate or vulgar language to

attack someone

ii) Harassing: Repeatedly sending inappropriate, hateful,

and hurtful messages

iii) Outing: Sharing a victim’s secret or personal

information in a public forum

iv) Exclusion: Intentionally and publicly excluding a

victim from a group and tormenting him/her/them

after exclusion

v) Impersonation: Posing as someone for the purposes

of damaging someone’s reputation, inviting attack, or

sharing real or fabricated information about him/her/

them

vi) Stalking: Electronically following someone and

sending targeted messages with the intention of

scaring, harming, or intimidating him/her/them

Let us examine some of the existing laws governing cyberbullying

in India, which are as follows:

Unfortunately, in India, there is no specific law which

addresses ‘cyber-bullying’. Therefore, we have to rely on

the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with particular reference to

the following Sections:

i) Section 499: Defamation

ii) Section 292A: Printing, etc. of grossly indecent or

scurrilous matter or matter intended for blackmail

iii) Section 354A: Making sexually colored remarks, guilty

of the offence of sexual harassment

iv) Section 354D: Stalking

v) Section 507: Criminal intimidation by an anonymous

communication

vi) Section 509: Word, gesture, or act intended to insult

the modesty of a woman

The above enumeration of the provisions of the Indian

Penal Code is not exhaustive, but cyber-bullying can

be brought under these provisions of law. Even under

the Information Technology Act, 2000, there exists no

specific provision pertaining to cyber-bullying, but the

following Sections would be attracted in the event of

cyber-bullying:

i) Section 67: Publishing or transmitting obscene

material in electronic form

ii) Section 67A: Publishing or transmitting of material

containing sexually explicit act, etc. in electronic form

iii) Section 66E: Punishment for violation of privacy

We also have the latest legislation “The Protection of

Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act)

which protects children below the age of 18 years from

any form of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and

pornography which would include any form of sexual

cyber-bullying which would be punishable under the

provisions of this Act”.

Examining the laws prevalent to address this rampantly

increasing crime of cyber-bullying, there exists a dire need

to have a ‘specific legislation’ in place. In this regard, it is

relevant to mention that the Ministry of Human Resources,

having realized the gravity of cyber-bullying, has directed

all schools and colleges to form Anti-Ragging Committees.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also issued

special regulations called the ‘UGC Regulations on Curbing

the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions

2009’. Even the National Council of Education Research

and Training (NCERT) has brought about a detailed set of guidelines defining the role of teachers, parents, and

students in the ethical use of the Internet. The gist of the

guidelines states that students are required to “report

online bullying immediately” to teachers, parents, or

someone they trust. Further, the guidelines also stipulate

that educational institutions are to use built-in filters to

put a check and prevent harassment by cyber-bullies.

In fact, most recently, in a PIL filed based on a letter from

an NGO named Prajwala dated 18.02.2015, the Hon’ble

Supreme Court suo motu, in order to curb circulation of

child pornography, rape, gang rape videos on the Internet

through social media websites, had directed the central

government to create an online portal and hotline number

where anonymous complaints can be filed against those

responsible for uploading such offensive videos. When the

matter came up for hearing on 18.05.2018, a status report

was filed by the ASG that the Cyber Crime reporting portal is

in its final form and shall be launched on or before July 15,

2018. Further, the Hon’ble Supreme Court had also sought

from the parties before it, i.e., Yahoo, Facebook Ireland,

Facebook India, Google India, Google Inc, Microsoft, and

WhatsApp, to give a report on the recommendations of

the Ajith Kumar Committee on measures taken to stop the

uploading and sharing of such videos on the Internet, and

since the entities had not furnished any affidavit detailing

the same, they were fined '1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh)

each for their apathy in not complying with the directions

of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.

In conclusion, it is relevant to state that the Hon’ble

Supreme Court has taken this lacuna in the law seriously,

and now, it is for the executive and the legislature to put

in place a legislation that regulates cyber-bullying as the

same is the need of the hour.

Disclaimer – The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author and are purely informative in nature.