India needs to reinforce its IT Act to prevent online abuse
Consider this: an EU Kids Online survey shows that more than “one third of 9-12 year olds and three quarters of 13-16 year olds who use the internet in Europe have their own profile on a social networking site.” According to a 2009 survey by the Pew Research, “38 per cent of 12-year-olds in the United States participate on social networks.” Various researches have shown that frequent usage of internet leads to ‘unwanted cyber behaviour’. Cyber-bullying, sexting and clique-forming are common among juvenile social networking users.
Such crimes are not just confined to the West, but are prevalent in our country too. An India-centric survey by McAfee found that ‘12 per cent of all surveyed kids had been victims of some or other form of cyber threat.’ Another report by Norton titled ‘Norton Online Family Report’ found that 79 per cent of kids have faced negative online situations while 28 per cent have faced a similar situation on mobile phones.
However, unlike the West, our policymakers have not paid much heed to such online behaviour. Our IT Act, 2000, has no provisions to curtail, punish or criminalise cyber bullying of children. So much so, there are no strong laws against online child pornography and child abuse. In this regard, the Supreme Court's concerns about teenagers using social networking sites should not be swept under the carpet. On the one hand, we should organise awareness campaigns on safe usage of social networking sites, and on the other hand we should immediately criminalise dangerous activities. We need to have constitutional guidelines on the usage of social networking sites and should also introduce an age-limit for the same as is the case with driving and alcohol consumption.
Thankfully, the groundswell for reform is beginning to build up. One example is the recent voicing of concern by the Delhi High Court and its reprimand to the central government for its apathy in acting on this societal problem. A division bench of the court comprising Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Pakhru has collared Facebook and Google for allowing children below 18 years to have unrestricted access to offensive sites. The Majority Act, IT Act and Contract Act forbid such sites from letting children gain access to them, and makes such trespasses illegal in India. The disconcerting part is that these Acts, on most fronts, are toothless and don’t deter those flouting the rules. Now that the judiciary has woken up to the hazard that social media poses to children, it will surely come as a relief to many anxious parents.
Consider this: an EU Kids Online survey shows that more than “one third of 9-12 year olds and three quarters of 13-16 year olds who use the internet in Europe have their own profile on a social networking site.” According to a 2009 survey by the Pew Research, “38 per cent of 12-year-olds in the United States participate on social networks.” Various researches have shown that frequent usage of internet leads to ‘unwanted cyber behaviour’. Cyber-bullying, sexting and clique-forming are common among juvenile social networking users.
Such crimes are not just confined to the West, but are prevalent in our country too. An India-centric survey by McAfee found that ‘12 per cent of all surveyed kids had been victims of some or other form of cyber threat.’ Another report by Norton titled ‘Norton Online Family Report’ found that 79 per cent of kids have faced negative online situations while 28 per cent have faced a similar situation on mobile phones.
However, unlike the West, our policymakers have not paid much heed to such online behaviour. Our IT Act, 2000, has no provisions to curtail, punish or criminalise cyber bullying of children. So much so, there are no strong laws against online child pornography and child abuse. In this regard, the Supreme Court's concerns about teenagers using social networking sites should not be swept under the carpet. On the one hand, we should organise awareness campaigns on safe usage of social networking sites, and on the other hand we should immediately criminalise dangerous activities. We need to have constitutional guidelines on the usage of social networking sites and should also introduce an age-limit for the same as is the case with driving and alcohol consumption.
Thankfully, the groundswell for reform is beginning to build up. One example is the recent voicing of concern by the Delhi High Court and its reprimand to the central government for its apathy in acting on this societal problem. A division bench of the court comprising Justice B.D. Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Pakhru has collared Facebook and Google for allowing children below 18 years to have unrestricted access to offensive sites. The Majority Act, IT Act and Contract Act forbid such sites from letting children gain access to them, and makes such trespasses illegal in India. The disconcerting part is that these Acts, on most fronts, are toothless and don’t deter those flouting the rules. Now that the judiciary has woken up to the hazard that social media poses to children, it will surely come as a relief to many anxious parents.
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