Addiction to pornographic content affects the rational thinking of the young and old. The high proliferation of computers and broadband connections across the country has paved the way for easy access to websites dealing with such unhealthy practices. This is not an isolated incident occurring in the US. In fact, internet porn is spreading like wildfire across continents. Rehabilitation facilities have difficulty dealing with scenarios that facilitate the enjoyment of pornographic websites. A large portion of American teenagers have admitted to having watched such pornographic content with friends/fellow family members!
What are the specificities of pornography addiction? First of all, this condition is very difficult to diagnose. Other forms of problems like drug or alcohol addiction can be identified very easily. We can get timely help to the participants by committing them to a rehabilitation facility. However, in pornography addiction, only the person will be aware of his weaknesses! Yes, their friends or colleagues may know about this habit and also try to exploit it for their own satisfaction. There exist clear differences between sex addiction and pornography involvement.
The former requires the addict to seek multiple sexual partners to satisfy their desires. However, the only requirement to engage in this addiction is to have access to pornographic material (via the internet or from friends) and a lot of free time. Those who show interest in porn also engage in compulsive masturbation. How does this come across as a major embarrassment? Addicts may lose interest in their spouses. They neglect their education or daily duties to engage in pleasurable activities. Sometimes, porn addiction can disguise itself into sex addiction. Loss of interest in regular activities to participate in self-pleasure sessions — all these are typical symptoms of pornography addiction.
A deep sense of guilt begins to arise in the addict’s mind. No matter how hard they try to control their desires, they get over it within a day or two. Even if they make commitments, they fail to fulfill them. Specialist treatment for pornography addiction is available in some rehab centers. The primary factor is to ignore the thoughts like “what will other people think of me if they know that I am addicted to porn” that persist in the addict’s mind. I know this may be difficult for some of you.
Estimates suggest that 90% or more of youth between 12 and 18 years of age have access to the Internet. Concerns have been raised that this increased access may lead to increased pornography seeking among children and adolescents, which may have serious implications for children and adolescents’ sexual development. Using data from the Youth Internet Safety Survey, a nationally representative, cross-sectional telephone survey of 1501 children and adolescents (ages 10–17 years), characteristics associated with self-reported pornography seeking behavior, both on the Internet and using traditional methods (e.g., magazines), have been identified. Males make up the majority of those who view pornography both online and offline, and only 5% of those who self-report pornography viewing are female. The majority (87%) of youth who seek out sexual images online are 14 years of age or older, when it is developmentally appropriate to be sexually curious.
Children under the age of 14 who have intentionally viewed pornography are more likely to report exposure to it than those exposed to traditional exposures such as magazines or movies. The concern that a large group of young children view pornography on the Internet may be exaggerated. Those who report intentional exposure to pornography, regardless of the source, are significantly more likely to cross-sectionally report delinquent behavior and substance use in the past year. In addition, offline seekers are more likely than online seekers to report clinical characteristics associated with depression and a lower level of emotional attachment with their caregiver. The results of the present investigation raise important questions for further investigation. The findings obtained from these cross-sectional data provide justification for longitudinal studies aimed at understanding the temporal sequencing of psychosocial experiences.
The world in the new millennium is undergoing globalization, liberalization and communication convergence with technology. With the rapid development of science and information technology, the ugly face of the crime chart is unfortunately causing more and more human tragedies. People are becoming power-oriented and are conscious of their freedom rather than the duties of maintaining moral standards, decency, law and order in society. Law provides rights, prescribes duties and serves as a means of maintaining social security.
Morality has sociological and psychological aspects. Morality is the perception of the individual due to which man accepts certain things in the society as good and rejects certain things as bad. This dynamic is dynamic with the society. It varies from individual to individual and society to society. What is immoral for one may not be immoral for others or for another society. There is no yardstick to determine which things are moral and which are immoral.
Therefore, it is left to the judiciary as the proper and judicious repository of moral standard in the society. Law and morality are closely related to each other. When there is synthesis between them in the society, there will be no conflict and the society will progress smoothly and rapidly. But all morals cannot be enforced by law, rather we have to make a balance and accept the shared morality. In Life Insurance Corporation of India v. Pro Md. Shah said that in the year 1993 the court had held that this freedom is the basic and fundamental right of the individuals which they get by virtue of birth as human beings; And in a democratic country any attempt to abolish this right other than Article 19(2) is a violation of democracy and Article 19(1)(a). Therefore, we can say that rights are not absolute in this universe, be it the natural world or the cyber world. Rights are subject to reasonable restrictions because without restrictions if rights are allowed it will ruin the society.
The first World Congress was held in Stockholm in August 1996. The main issue of the Congress was commercial sexual exploitation of children. The World Congress discussed about visual or audio material sexually exploiting children. Due to easy access to the world wide web through new multimedia technology, cyber pornography and other cyber crimes are increasing every moment. These pose a complex challenge to the law and law enforcing agencies across the world. It became very easy to access, distribute or sell pornographic material. These acts affect the moral and psychological development of the society.
Child abuse, sexual violence against women and other sexual crimes are the direct effects of pornographic images which are also causing breaking of marriage bonds, juvenile delinquency and venereal diseases. In the contemporary phenomenon the World Wide Web has become a playground and game room. People are more inclined towards chat rooms than healthy information. International treaties, cooperation and initiatives are taken by the European Union to deal with possession and distribution of cyber pornography and computer related crimes.
The United States of America (USA), United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Russia, Australia, India and other countries across the world are raising their voices to fight against cyber pornography which corrupts the minds of the youth and other vulnerable people. It demonizes our socio-moral values, culture and taboos. It affects human psychology, causes social violence, disturbs law and order in the society. Maintaining social security, law and public order is the prime duty of the criminal law.
International Initiatives to Combat Cyber Pornography
The issue of computer-related crimes was discussed at the 12th Conference of the European Council of Directors by the Criminological Research Institute in 1976. Subsequently, their recommendations were followed in several conventions, conferences and treaties. In 1990, the United Nations Congress took special initiatives for the prevention of cyber crimes. Canada presented a draft convention in this regard. In 1994, a manual on “Prevention and Control of Computer Related Crime” was prepared and submitted to the United Nations for criminal policy review. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) took important initiatives to combat online sexual abuse, child pornography and child sexual exploitation and particularly to adopt uniform preventive and control measures by holding a convention on 18 and 19 January 1999 in Paris with 150 participants.
In October 2000, the European Union and the United States prepared a draft which is the first draft of an international treaty on cyber crimes. The treaty’s preamble calls for international cooperation to combat the rapid growth of cybercrime worldwide. The treaty specifically invites the initiative and cooperation of the United Nations, OECD, European Union and G-8 countries. On 22 June 2001, the European Council’s Committee on Crime Problems approved the final draft of the convention relating to cybercrime during its 50th plenary session. Article 9 provides that
(1). Each Party shall adopt such legislative and other measures as may be necessary to establish as criminal offences under its domestic law the following conduct when committed intentionally and without authority: producing child pornography for the purpose of distribution through a computer system, offering or making available child pornography through a computer system, distributing or transmitting child pornography through a computer system, receiving child pornography through a computer system for oneself or for others, possessing child pornography in a computer system or on a computer data storage medium.
(2). For the purpose of above Paragraph-I ‘child pornography’ shall include pornographic material that visually depicts, a. a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; b. a person appearing to be a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct; c. ‘realistic images’ representing a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
On 22 April 2002, police reported the arrest of 25 people from the US and 9 from European countries, namely Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, UK and four other European countries, for violating child pornography laws. The case is an example of sexual abuse of both boys and girls aged approximately 3 to 15 years. Police investigations began worldwide from November 2001. First, Swedish police traced online a picture of a man who was abusing an 11-year-old girl. Police found a Danish company logo on the man’s shirt. Subsequently, Danish police arrested the man along with his family and confiscated their computers, which contained pictures of those girls, names of the recipients and pictures of the accused. They were sentenced to up to 8 years of imprisonment. But, they were released from jail during the trial.
- Brian Todd Schellenberg: International investigation into child pornography A report was published that 41-year-old Brian Todd Schellenberg was accused of physically and sexually abusing a six-year-old girl and an infant boy to create an image of them so that it could be posted on internet websites. The US District Court charged him with four counts of sexual abuse of children and one count of possession of child pornography. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was very concerned about the protection of the victim’s identity. The investigation was launched by a special police unit in Toronto, Canada and 5 children were taken into custody. Search warrants were executed in 5 states along with London, England and 5 criminals were arrested. The most horrific accused was Schellenberg who attempted to hire a man to kill the victim child and her mother. The Toronto Police Superintendent visited the unit. They found images that were linked to North Carolina and posted on a ‘Shared Secrets Workspace’. It was used by 15 law enforcement agencies around the world. The images depicted physical as well as sexual abuse and mistreatment of children. They found more than a thousand such images on the home computer of the accused, who was working for a software company at the time. The police examined the computers and compact discs (CDs) of the accused.
During the same investigation, the police also came across another case in which the mother, K. Henry, was trying to convince her daughter to have sex with someone. The US court had charged her with possessing child pornography and transmitting obscene and pornographic material.
Cyber Pornography in United Kingdom
Although the United Kingdom has no written constitution, their freedom of expression and speech is recognized through many laws. As we know that absolute freedom would ruin the society; therefore, restrictions are imposed on the exercise and enjoyment of those rights. These restrictions are justified to maintain law and order in the society. Obscenity was declared a crime about 304 years ago. However in the year 1727 in R v Curle and Period, obscenity was considered a common law offence. In the case of Regina v Hicklin, Lord Cockburn remarked that ‘think the lesson of obscenity is this, whether the matter charged as obscene has a tendency to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences and into whose hands such publication may fall.’ This is popularly known as the Hicklin test.
Prevention and Control of Cyber Pornography in India
The Information Technology Act 2000 was enacted by adopting the United Nations model law to adapt the legal framework to the Indian situation, to govern internet or online transactions, electronic contracts, digital signatures and to prevent and control cyber crimes. Cyber crimes are crimes committed using new technology in the superhighway, such as hacking, phreaking, identity theft, cyber fraud, cyber pornography, cyber terrorism, virus flow, tampering with source code and the list is not exhaustive.
In India, the Information Technology Act 2000 has a full chapter dealing with crimes and certain control and preventive measures in the Information Technology Rules. Particularly Section 67 deals with cyber pornography as flow of obscene material/content and it is a punishable offence. In the year 2006, this proposed amendment of the Act 2000 suggested to amend Section 67 and insert a new section. 67A. Here we need to mention not only Section 67 of the Information Technology Act 2000, which criminalises obscenity, but also Sections 292, 293 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code, which was enacted before the passing of the Act in 1860, prohibiting obscene publications and Section 499 prohibiting defamation. The Constitution of India, Article 19(2) prohibits obscene, immoral and indecent speech, expression and publication.
1. Cyber Pornography and Constitution of India: The Constitution of India is the bedrock and supreme law of India. It guarantees freedom of speech and expression in Article 19(1). It provides that all citizens have the right to freedom of speech and expression. Article 19(2) provides that reasonable restrictions may be imposed by law on this freedom in the interest of decency or morality. In the Preamble of the Indian Constitution 1950, particularly the words ‘democratic’, ‘republic’, ‘justice-social, economic and political; freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship’ indicate that we need a balance between law and morality. For example, in the changing society we have a reasonable concern to change art, literature, sculpture, architecture etc. which are very essential for the development and progress of society. We can say in our democratic and republic of India that we have the liberty and freedom to enjoy our life, express our views in any manner of our choice but it is not absolute. Because as we know, nothing is absolute in this universe, it must have its limits or reasonable restrictions otherwise absolute freedom will ruin our society.
So, we the people of India, while making and adopting our constitution, imposed certain limitations, restrictions, duties and responsibilities on ourselves along with our rights. Rights are very basic and sacred. Freedoms are also necessary to enjoy our very basic rights, such as the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and there is no watertight division between many rights and duties, rather all those articles are interrelated with harmonious construction. In case of violation of these rights we have remedies available by way of writs and other appropriate reliefs under Article 32 by the Supreme Court of India and under Article 226 by the High Courts. However, Article 32 itself is a fundamental right in India. Because we know that rights without remedies are meaningless. We can duly enjoy those rights in the cyber world too, like freedom of speech and expression, along with the limitations for which we have special legislation, like the Information Technology Act 2000.
2. Legislative Approach in India to Prevent and Control Cyber Pornography: (1) Indian Penal Code 1860: Indian Penal Code 1860, Sections 292, 293 and 294 provide limitations and prohibition on certain things which are obscene in some exceptional cases. Section 292 prohibits the sale, distribution, publication, export, import etc. of obscene books, pamphlets, papers, writings, drawings, paintings, illustrations etc. except for the purposes justified under this section such as literature, art, education, memorials etc. and provides for imprisonment of up to two years and fine up to Rs.2,000 for first conviction and imprisonment of up to five years and fine up to Rs.5,000 for second conviction. (2) Information Technology Act 2000: Section 67 of the Information Technology Act 2000 provides for penal sanctions as per Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC) without mentioning exceptions. Section 292 provides that publication or possession of obscene material should be taken as a whole before awarding punishment. For the protection of child pornography, IPC provides special section under Section. 293. While Section 67 does not mention possession of objectionable material and if any part of the material is proved to be obscene then charge can be made under this section.
Judicial response before the Act 2000 in India
Shaw v Director of Public Prosecutions: In UK, a magazine called ‘The Ladies Directory’ was related to distribution in the market which contained names, addresses, obscene photographs of prostitutes and details of their practices. The accused was charged with public distribution of such obscene material as an offence as it corrupts the minds of people or persons and this act was considered by the court as a ‘conspiracy to corrupt public morals’.
The judiciary here referred to i. John Stuart Mills’ principle of ‘harm to others’ mentioned in his book ‘On Liberty’; ii. The conclusion of the HLA debate. Hart and Prof. Devlin concluded about the enforcement of morality by law that there is a need for a balance between law and morality and shared morality; and iii. The recommendations of the Wolfenden Committee in the UK in the year 1957 which were similar to J.S. Mills principle.
The recommendations of the Wolfenden Committee were that while prostitutes and homosexual parties are two consenting adults and are doing something within four walls without hampering or causing harm to others, the state will not enter into the personal liberty of the individual and similar activities will not be treated as a crime.
The Indian judiciary followed these principles as well as the Hicklin Test and the decision of the US court in the case of Roth wholeheartedly. In the case of Ranjit D. Udeshi vs State of Maharashtra the Supreme Court of India declared ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ written by D.H. Lawrence as an obscene book and publication. The Court held that there is a difference between ‘obscenity’ and ‘pornography’. Precise definitions are not possible. However, obscenity is any material that corrupts, causes annoyance, is horrifying, indecent, immoral or sexually suggestive. ‘Pornography’ means any material in written, pictorial or other form, which is intended to arouse sexual desire. Both are against public morality and decency. Laws which prohibit ‘obscenity’ and ‘pornography’ are laws with moral value and when there is synthesis between law and morality, the situation will be balanced with shared morality.
Judicial Response in India after Information Technology Act 2000
On 29th May 2001, the petitioners in Jayesh S. Thakkar vs State of Maharashtra case wrote a letter to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. The complaint in the letter was about pornographic websites on the internet. The letter was treated as a suo motu writ petition. On 26th September 2001, the Division Bench of Bombay High Court comprising B.P. Singh, Chief Justice and Dr. D.Y. Chandrachud, J. passed an order appointing a Committee to suggest and recommend ways and means to prevent and control children from accessing obscene and pornographic material on the internet.
The Committee considered several public opinions through the internet and other media and made recommendations in a report. The report of the Bombay High Court’s Special Committee on Protecting Minors from Cyber-porn, i.e., inappropriate Internet content, on 30 January 2002 was as follows:
Executive Summary:
(1) Site Blocking. The Committee broadly rejected the proposal for site blocking as technically and legally unjustified.
(2) Cyber Cafés. The Committee’s recommendations include: a) suggested definition of cyber café to be incorporated in the regulations under the Bombay Police Act. b) procedures for licensing of cyber cafés, as none are licensed or regulated as yet. c) regulations requiring cyber café operators to demand some form of photo identity from all users. d) mandating that minors be restricted to using machines in the common open space of the cyber café, i.e. not in cubicles. e) mandating that these machines be fitted with software filters. f) providing for maintenance of Internet Protocol address allocation time-stamped logs for all machines in the cyber café network.
(3) Service Providers. The recommendations include (a) requirements for maintenance of timestamped logs of various details; (b) requirements for synchronization of internal clocks and connectivity authentication logs.
(4) Educational Measures. These include: a) Electronic mail and website information to be made available by Internet service providers to inform the public about threats and possible solutions. b) Making filter software available as an option to customers. c) Establishing a hotline for the cyber crime investigation cell. d) Taking steps to raise awareness about cyber crime in general.
Conclusion and Suggestions
The new multimedia technology is being misused by criminals in cyberspace. Cyber pornography, online child pornography, cyber spamming etc. are increasing every moment. Cyber-pornography is not only national but also international legal challenge which requires in-depth study, research and worldwide awareness. We have the right to privacy that more confidential and private information should be kept secret and anonymous as we do not want to disclose these to outsiders. As soon as these are disclosed, they will lose confidentiality, privacy and privacy. The right to privacy comes directly from Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Although the word is not written there, yet we can seek judicial remedies in case of violation of our privacy. The same right is also protected under the Indian Penal Code. MMS clips or webcam clippings should come under the Information Technology Act 2000 and should also be considered as computers, computer systems or computer networks in the broad sense. Information Technology Act 2000 does not have any specific provision regarding child pornography, MMS clips, video clips, use of webcam, spy camera and publication of obscene and pornographic material through internet etc., as the Act was passed in a hurry and at that time these complex issues were raised and the law was amended, but still in reality these anomalies exist.
However, to solve the contemporary problems in a dynamic society, the law should be interpreted in a dynamic manner with liberal construction. Article 9 of the draft convention of European Union prohibits cyber pornography. Communications Convergence Bill 2001, Section 70 is also not adequate in the contemporary social scenario. This section provides for punishment for sending any material which is grossly offensive or of indecent, obscene or threatening character or which is intended to cause annoyance, inconvenience, disruption, criminal intimidation, hostility etc. through any communication service or network infrastructure facility, knowing that the material is false and continuously using the communication service or network infrastructure facility for this purpose.
The proposed Information Technology (Amendment) Bill 2006, Sections 67 and 67A are promising to the extent that viewing cyber pornography in a private place is not an offence but if it is done by someone in a public place, such as cyber cafe, public e-library etc., it is offensive. Section 67 prescribes imprisonment of two years and fine up to five lakh rupees for the first offence and imprisonment of up to five years or fine up to ten lakh rupees for the second or subsequent conviction for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form in the cyber world. Another section relating to cyber pornography is proposed to be inserted after the section. Section 67, i.e. Section 67A prescribes imprisonment of up to five years and fine up to ten lakh rupees for first conviction and imprisonment of up to seven years and fine up to ten lakh rupees for second or subsequent conviction for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form containing sexually explicit act or conduct. However, under the amendment act the legislature will further increase the punishment to deal with the situation, as the amendment was not made in a hurry, rather it was done after six years.
There are many means to view, produce, transmit cyber pornography, like Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is apparently a video game that gives users access to hidden contents. Users can choose girls of their choice and perform interactive sexual activities using keyboard and mouse clicks after opening a patch called “Hot Coffee”. Anyone can create pornographic content in the computer and then transmit it by downloading it in Multimedia Message Service (MMS). Before the MMS clip from one computer, the criminals can copy the images and send it to another computer with the new name of the file and then it can be transmitted to mobile phone users and computer users with the new name. They can make a CD on it and sell it. Such acts whether done at home or in private place, affect the society at large, therefore, these would be considered illegal and punishable under section 67 and proposed section 67A of the Information Technology Act, which is proposed to be amended in the year 2006.
Till now MMS clips of film actresses were made as they could be the effect of flop films which drugged them for reverse publicity so that their other films do not flop and MMS clips became the easiest way to bring oneself into controversy.
Suggestions
We need to make the law more strong to deal with the situation. We need to adopt specific and clear definitions of cyber crime, cyber pornography and child pornography in cyberspace. There is a need for education and training of law enforcing agencies, judiciary, intermediaries, internet service providers, cyber cafes, government sectors, private sectors, teachers, students, parents and general public to make them aware about the impact of this dangerous menace on the society. There is a great need to develop infrastructure in line with the new multimedia technology in every sector including the judiciary. Mobile phone providers should not provide mobile service with camera facilities without proper security and identification of the person. However they can mandatorily take an undertaking from the purchasers and service users that they will be liable for their illegal use, misuse, abuse of the devices and service. Banning mobile phones in the premises of educational institutions is a solid way to prevent cyber pornography within the institutions.
There is a great need to impose more responsibilities on internet service providers and cyber cafes. They have to use filter systems, firewall software, regular virus scanning systems and verify all the detailed identities of the users, such as photo, address, date and time of use of a particular computer by a particular user, etc. Also, Internet service providers should have filter processes and firewalls to prevent cyber pornography.
The basic need is awareness about the consequences and punishment of this dangerous crime. Even when a person uses a computer device, wireless or mobile phone for cyber pornography, after use he has to delete those contents if he wants to sell that mobile phone set to others. But those contents can be restored by using proper software. So, the proposed buyers and purchasers should keep in mind that all those deleted contents can be revived by using special gadgets like memory card reader i.e. 3.8 software and therefore, they should verify accordingly. These chances are more in case of camera phones which have recovery or reader facilities. When we receive a gift from someone, we should check it if it has any spy camera or webcam through which criminals can watch our every second activities and violate our right to privacy. For example, Any Time Monitoring (ATM) units with independent battery or GSM-enabled camera can transmit obscene pictures to a cell phone or computer.
Even when we are at our home we are not safe as was shown in the movie ‘Choti se Prem Kahani’ where the heroine was tapped by a boy from another building through a telescope. From the camera, pornographic material can be downloaded to the computer or mobile phone and then it can be published and circulated across the world through the internet, email from computer to computer, computer to cell phone, cell phone to cell phone or cell phone to computer. Hackers also take action on websites and post their pornographic material. Therefore, hackers’ activities should be curbed through law and awareness. Young net users should keep in mind that they should not disclose their personal identity in chat rooms or face-to-face meeting programs without the consent of their parents.
Young users are very interested in downloading objectionable material and accessing those materials. So in cyber cafes as well as at home parents should also keep a watch while children are using the computer. They should not use it privately. It is again the prime duty of the parents to be aware of those activities; so that they can develop their discretion to control the obsession towards those harmful contents. Cyber cafe owners should take initiative by monitoring whether any person, especially young person, is viewing pornographic websites, so that they can be stopped and controlled. Cyber cafes should help the police by providing every facility required to control this crime.
Mumbai Police in collaboration with All India Association of Industries (AIAI) had taken initiative for Cyber Security Week aimed at spreading awareness among people so that they know about such crimes and punishment. Other law enforcement agencies, NGOs and institutions also have to run such programs. Parents can prevent this crime by keeping an eye on their children, whether they are spending more time on the internet at night or alone? If yes, were they looking for pornographic content? Are they receiving e-mails, calls or gifts from any unknown person? Have they changed the scene frequently? Do they not pay attention to family matters? They may need counselling by psychologists. One can easily monitor through the ‘history’ folder and ‘temporary internet files’ whether a person has used or is using pornographic websites or stored content. So this is a way to control cyber pornography.
If anyone finds out that he has become a victim of cyber pornography or suspects this threat, he should immediately inform the police and lodge a complaint. Cyber forensics has to be very active to detect, prevent and control cyber pornography. There is a need to adopt uniform laws across the world as it is not only a national problem but also an international problem. Therefore, there is a need to adopt specific laws on jurisdiction and international cooperation in line with the European Convention 2001. Cyber cafes, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and guardians should use filter software, Internet Protocol timer clock etc. and firewalls to prevent minors from viewing and using objectionable websites and images. Cyber cafes and ISPs should demand photo identity cards to identify each user and help in investigation. They have to check and trace the machine, mobile phone etc. after each use by minors. E-mail is a mode of instant communication, but it is being misused by cyber criminals. This is because they know that detection and identification is not an easy task here. Therefore, new technology users should adopt high standards of security and firewall.
Mobile phone with camera is an evil in our contemporary society. Strict control is not possible here as it is widely used. But there is a need to impose restrictions on it, like identity cards, security measures, undertaking not to misuse it etc. Law enforcing machinery should be well equipped to investigate the matter and even they should be given the right to access the source of information and thus deface websites. They have to do so subject to the right to privacy and national security. In India we need to establish special cyber crime investigation cells to investigate with well equipped technology like firewall, filter software. There is a great need for a uniform information technology security standard across the globe. Netusers should have full knowledge about new technologies. Everyone should know that ignorance of law is no excuse.
To achieve the above objectives, we need to spread awareness among the public about the legal implications of misuse of new technology, cyber crimes and self-protection methods to prevent and control misuse of new technology. Any person who wants to protect his right to privacy in cyberspace should adopt encryption process. Encryption process is a tool for cyber crime and protection of privacy in cyberspace. It is a process of self-protection or self-defense. There are two main key systems in encryption process, these are (i) public key and (ii) private key. When a person writes a message using encryption technology, such encryption makes the message obfuscated so that only the specific person to whom a person wants to disclose or transfer his private information can access and read the said information using the proper key of the key pair. For example: X wants to send confidential information to Z through electronic mail with encryption. X is confident that only Z can read the message and there is no possibility of harming these information. Here, X has to know Z’s public key. Then X will encrypt his message with Z’s public key and a program called PGP. Then only Z can access the message using his private key and the hash function, using the decryption process sent by X to Z.
However, this method is likely to be misused by criminals. On the other hand, if net users, government, institutions and organizations use this process then it will prevent and control cyber crimes like unauthorized access, denial of service attack, attack on government’s information, attack on privacy, confidentiality and confidential information. This will reduce the misuse of information technology. The Information Technology Act is also inadequate to apply in SMS cases where the Indian Penal Code 1860 is not applicable in totality in the field of electronic messaging. MMS clips are also very difficult to control as these are difficult to store at the service end. Therefore, service providers became sensitive to their investigation and control. And cell phone users do not have adequate privacy protection system to prevent MMS clips. However, we can adopt the same process that South Korea implemented in July 2004, making it mandatory for cell phone manufacturers to install an audible beep within a radius of 10 feet before using a camera mobile phone.
MMS ‘video clips’ of two Delhi Public School, R.K. Puram girl students in Delhi were sold on a large scale in Palika Bazar, Nehru Place, Connaught Place for Rs 50 to Rs 250 per video. This was the situation all over India and the world through the World Wide Web. The boy and the girl were expelled from their school. Bazze.com CEO Avnish Bajaj was arrested despite assisting in the investigation and cooperating with the police; this shows that the Indian police is very conscious of its duty and the protection of society. But the prison jurisprudence has to be changed in this regard, for example, a person like Avnish Bajaj, who is a respected personality in the information technology industry, was arrested by the police and lodged in Tihar Jail with 70 other prisoners on charges ranging from pickpocketing to murder. For this, there should be proper classification in the prison. However, the jail or prison should not be like the state guest house. It is also not expected that such persons should be released. In this regard, Section 67 should clearly state when the Internet Service Providers will be liable and what will be the extent of their liability.
The Delhi Government has taken another exemplary step and banned the use of mobile phones in all government and non-government educational institutions. Recently Calcutta University, Vishwa Bharati University, Burdwan University etc. are also thinking about such a ban. The Communication Convergence Bill 2000 has come to an end after the incidents of MMS clip case, whether it is Delhi Public School, Delhi Bal Bharati School, where a student posted obscene pictures of his classmate girls and teachers to take revenge for his weakness. In April 2005, the incidents of MMS clip of girl students of Delhi Amity Management School again came to light. The MMS clip of the girl student of APJ School in North Delhi is shown dropping clothes for two minutes, because maybe her boyfriend will appreciate it. This MMS clip is in great demand among teenagers and mobile phone users. Second hand and even first hand mobile phones are being sold in the market with MMS clips as additional features. Regular tracking, search, seizure process by law enforcement agencies, especially the police, and frequent visits to suspicious locations can prevent the situation. Along with this, the people of India should contribute in the process of prevention and control of cyber pornography.
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