With the popularity of the internet, instances of scamming and hacking has increased. Scamming is the act of misrepresentation to get sensitive information out of an individual (eg. bank details, private photos, etc.) and hacking refers to gaining unauthorised access to a system or computer. If anyone accesses or assists someone else in accessing your device, or obtains data from it without your authorisation or the authorisation of the person in charge of it, then they may be punished under section 43 and/or section 66 of the IT Act (Information Technology Act). The act of scamming may be punishable under section 66D of the IT Act, sections 308, 318, 319 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), where one may be punished with imprisonment for up to seven years or fine or both. You may also seek compensation from an organisation or company which possesses or handles your sensitive personal information, under section 43A of the IT Act, where you have suffered from misuse of such sensitive data due to the lack of security measures taken by them to protect this.
Oftentimes we find people, especially those in the limelight, being abused on social media. This could be through comments or posts on various sites. Persons posting derogatory remarks on public platforms like Instagram and Facebook may be penalised with imprisonment of up to two years and/or fine, under section 356 BNS. The perpetrator may be made to compensate the victim in addition to the fine, if a civil defamation suit is filed. If one causes annoyance by posting obscene content on social media, by singing, reciting or uttering obscene songs, ballads or words, then under section 296 of the BNS, such person shall be punished with imprisonment up to three months or with fine of up to Rupees thousand or both. Additionally, per section 79 of the BNS, if one posts material or comments on online platforms, with the intention of insulting the modesty of any woman, with the intention that it be heard or seen by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, then such person shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.
Online stalking of adults is gender specific offence punishable under Section 78 of the BNS. Any man monitoring the activities of a woman on the internet may be punished under this section with imprisonment for a term which may extend to five years. In case the person stalked is a child, irrespective of the gender of the child and the offender, the same would constitute an offence under S.11 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) and may be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and fine.
As users of social media, some of you may have received indecent messages, videos and texts. Transmitting such indecent images could attract imprisonment for up to 7 years and fine of up to 10 lakh rupees under section 67, 67A and 67B of the IT Act. The offence of showing pornography to a child, sending sexually explicit content of child, etc. are offences as per the POCSO Act and may be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years and fine.
The same law applies to instances in which the explicit and indecent digital images being circulated are images of you, irrespective of whether they were obtained without your consent. Publishing and transmitting indecent images in the name of revenge, retribution or vengeance, which is commonly referred to as revenge porn, falls in this category.
Where indecent images or videos of you are recorded or obtained, without your consent, then sections 43, 66 and/or 66E of the IT Act may apply, in addition to the above-mentioned sections. Moreover, any man who watches or captures images of a woman engaging in a private act, where she would usually not have expected anyone to observe her, will be imprisoned for a term which could extend to 7 years and be fined, under section 77 of the BNS.
Publishing morphed or manipulated digital images or videos of you, by a person to whom you had entrusted it, in violation of your trust, may be punished under sections 316 and 351 of the BNS, attracting a penalty of imprisonment which may extend to 3 years or fine or both. If the photos prior to manipulation were obtained without your consent, then punishment may be as per section 351 of the BNS.
If someone is blackmailing you or threatening to publish or circulate your explicit content, irrespective of whether it was obtained with your consent, they may be punished under sections 308 and/or 351 of the BNS, where the act of blackmailing alone may result in imprisonment for a term of up to three years or fine or both.
As far as offences involving inappropriate or obscene content of minors are considered, the act of browsing, seeking, advertising or promoting electronic material depicting children in obscene or indecent or sexually explicit manner, is punishable as per S. 67B of IT Act and may attract imprisonment for up to seven years and fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees. Using a child for pornographic purposes, enticing a child for pornographic purposes, failure to delete pornographic content involving children (even computer-generated artificial content), circulation and storage of pornographic material involving child (including generated images/videos) and possession of the same in some cases are also punishable by the POCSO Act.