How is Cyberbullying tackled under the Law in India?

Context: India does not have a dedicated law to tackle cyber crimes at present. Instead, the provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, and the Information Technology Act 2000 are used to deal with such cases. 

What are Cybercrimes?

• Cybercrimes referto a range of criminal activities carried out using computers and the internet. Common cybercrimes include-
  • Hacking
  • data theft and financial fraud
  • phishing and impersonation
  • malware attacks and ransomware
  • cyberbullying and digital arrest 
  • stalking and doxxing (unauthorised release of private information). 
• Cybercrimes in India have increased 60.9% from 2022 to 2023, resulting in the loss of over Rs. 10,000 crores over the past three years. Cybercrimes disproportionately affect women and minorities. 

What is Cyberbullying?

• Cyberbullying is the use of technology to intentionally and repeatedly harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person viz. offensive messages, hate speech, derogatory content, doctored images, doxxing and threats of physical or sexual violence. 

Existing laws to tackle Cyberbullying in India:

India lacks a dedicated law to address online hate speech and trolling. 

• Provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, and the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000 cover certain aspects of cyberbullying. 
• BNS includes provisions such as Section 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), Section 75 (sexual harassment), Section 351 (criminal intimidation), Section 356 (defamation), and Section 196 (promoting enmity between groups). 
• The IT Act includes provisions like Section 66C (identity theft), Section 66D (impersonation fraud), and Section 67 (publishing or transmitting obscene material electronically).

Limitations of Existing Frameworks

1. Absence of dedicated law on Cyberbullying: 

• The existing regulatory framework is functional but incomplete. Sustained online abuse that does not qualify as obscene, threatening, or fraudulent often falls outside the purview of criminal law. 
• Offences like criminal intimidation or defamation often require proof of threat or reputational harm, and are not-suited to counter the rapid, anonymous abuse unleashed by online mobs.

2. Legal ambiguity around Doxxing and Public data: 

• The Delhi High Court in a case involving doxxing (2024) ruled that while doxxing raised privacy concerns, the concerned incident did not constitute doxxing as the information was already publicly available. 
• The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, exempts from regulation personal data that is made publicly available, either by the individual concerned or by an entity under a legal obligation. However, it does not define what qualifies as publicly available data. 
• This lack of clarity on what qualifies as public information may inadvertently enable cybercrimes such as doxxing, given the ease with which fragmented data from multiple platforms can be easily aggregated and used for harassment or intimidation.

3. Concerns over Censorship: 

• Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the government to issue blocking orders on grounds aligned with constitutionally permissible speech restrictions, such as sovereignty, friendly relations with foreign States, and public order. 
• Platforms failing to comply risk losing safe harbour protection under Section 79, which shields intermediaries from liability for user-generated content. 
• However, these provisions are increasingly being used for censorship with content taken down without r notification, thus, violating the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in Shreya Singhal versus Union of India. E.g., After the Pahalgam attack, X disclosed that it had been directed to block 8,000 accounts in India.  

Government Initiatives to enhance Cybersecurity in India: 

• IT Act 2000: Provides a legal framework for dealing with cyber crimes.  
• CERT-In: Nodal agency to deal with cyber-security threats like hacking or phishing.
• National Cyber-Security Policy 2013 to provide an overarching framework to deal with cybersecurity.
• Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): enhances the coordinated response of law enforcement agencies to cybercrimes.  
• National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre - nodal agency to protect India’s Critical Information Infrastructure.
• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to report cyber crimes. 
• Defence Cyber Agency  to protect military systems and conduct offensive cyber-operations.
• Enactment of Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 for regulation and protection of personal data.

Also Read: National Cyber Security Strategy