Cyberbullying: Legal View

INTRODUCTION:

As soon as we hear the term bullying, we always get back to the stage of our lives where we
were bullied. few of us have been bullied when we were kids, few of us have been bullied
when we were young adults, few of us are still being bullied. So, what exactly is bullying?
bullying is hurting, frightening, harassing, embarrassing or insulting someone and also in few
instances making them do what they don’t want to do. Bullying can be psychological,
physical, verbal or cyber.
Bullying just a simple word, many people just overlook it by saying “we all have been
through it, just get over it” but in reality, bullying is very critical and sometimes it costs
people’s lives too. cyber bullying is a kind of bullying where the person who commits it has a
privilege to hide behind the screen, maintain anonymity.
In the modern day even, a toddler knows how to browse, everybody has access to infinite
amounts of information and technology and it’s not exaggerated to say that we can’t live
without the internet, which gave bullies a new cloak to hide themselves. all of us have at least
encountered with cyber bullying at least once. Fake profiles, statues, messages, SMS, emails,
derogatory comments, posting of sensitive content, shameful videos, photos etc. there is no
limit to this, this creates a hostile and very unsafe environment which creates terrors, anxiety,
depression and various psychological disorders and also suicidal tendencies.

THE COMPONENTS OF CYBER BULLYING ARE:
 Malafide intention.
 Using of harsh words, derogatory statements or videos or photos.
 Using the internet to post them.
KINDS OF CYBER BULLYING:
IMPERSONATION: creating fake accounts and pretending to do someone else
STALKING: digitally following someone or intimidating them anyway.
TROLLING: insulting a person in any way digitally possible.
HARASSMENT: digitally threatening or intimidating a person.
FRAPING: posting inappropriate content with malafide intention.
EXCLUSION: removing a person from a digital group or targeting them with any hateful
comments or messages.
FLAMING: using vulgar language and abusing a person digitally.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF CYBERBULLYING:
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS IN VICTIMS:
victims of cyberbullying often experience psychological disorders and trauma which include
self-harm, suicidal tendencies, random and unreasonable outbursts or anger or grief,
reluctance to go out or meet people, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, insomnia.

HOSTILE, ABUSE OF POWER AND DIGITALLY UNSAFE ENVIRONMENT:
due to the privilege of anonymity to the bullies , the internet has become a very unsafe
environment , where everybody has a right to abuse of power which makes it toxic and
hostile especially for young teenagers .according to a survey 81% of the youth are getting
away with cyber bullying. (shailini, 2019)

SUICIDES:
43% of the adolescents have been subjected to cyber bullying (shailini, 2019) as young
adults or teenagers every random issue has a huge impact on them and if something as grave as
cyberbullying is faced at such a young age, it is probable that they can’t handle it well, they just
can’t handle the trauma and end up killing themselves or trying to kill themselves. Every 2 of
9 victims have either committed suicide or attempted it (shailini, 2019) .
VERY DANGEROUS “NATURALIZATION OF BULLY CULTURE”:
India ranks 3 in the cyberbullying (shailini, 2019) and 90% of the victims ignored the
bullying and didn’t report it (shailini, 2019) , which indicates the extent of cyberbullying we
are facing as country and how poorly we are addressing it . which is just leading towards
naturalization of bully culture, in a few years every person will be entitled to be a bully and it
would just widely accepted truth that using the internet also comes with being bullied.

HOW TO DEAL WITH CYBER BULLYING:
 Block the bully
 Report the bully’s account on the platform
 Keep the evidence of what has happened
 If necessary, register a complaint in the nearest police station.

ADDITIONAL MEASURES:
 Do not respond to threats or hate comments or vulgar messages, just block them.
 Do not share your passwords, keep your social media profiles safe.
 Do not browse or download anything from shady or unreliable websites.
 Do not open anonymous or clickbait attachments.
 Keep your privacy settings in check, don’t let strangers get access to your photos,
videos or posts, unless it’s your career or job.
 Do not post sensitive content.

LEGAL PROVISIONS:
In spite of India being ranked 3 in the world for cyber bullying, there are no specific laws
regarding cyber bullying yet, there are various provisions in THE INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY ACT AND INDIAN PENAL CODE covering the aspects of cyber
bullying:
SEC.66A OF IT ACT: SENDING OFFENSIVE MESSAGES {3 YEARS OF
IMPRISONMENT WITH FINE}
SEC.66C OF IT ACT: IDENTITY THEFT {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 3 YEARS AND
FINE EXTENDING UPTO 1 LAKH}
SEC.66D OF IT ACT: CHEATING BY PERSONATION {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 3
YEARS AND FINE EXTENDING UPTO 1 LAKH}
SEC.66E OF IT ACT: VIOLATION OF PRIVACY THEFT {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 3
YEARS AND FINE NOT EXCEEDING 2 LAKHS}
SEC.67B OF IT ACT: CHILD PORNOGRAPHY {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 3 YEARS
AND FINE NOT EXCEEDING 5 LAKHS, IN CASE OF SECOND CONVICTION
IMPRISONMENT UPTO 5 YEARS AND FINE NOT EXCEEDING 10LAKHS}
SEC.72 OF IT ACT: BREACH OF PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
{IMPRISONMENT UPTO 2 YEARS WITH FINE EXTENDING UPTO 1 LAKH}
SEC 499 OF IPC: SENDING DEFAMATORY STATEMENTS THROUGH EMAIL.
{IMPRISONMENT UPTO 2 YEARS OR FINE OR BOTH}
SEC 500 OF IPC: EMAIL ABUSE. {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 2 YEARS OR FINE OR
BOTH}
SEC 503 OF IPC: THREATENING THROUGH EMAIL. {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 2
YEARS OR FINE OR BOTH}
SEC 509 OF IPC: INSULTING MODESTY OF A WOMAN. {IMPRISONMENT UPTO 1
YEAR OR FINE OR BOTH}

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Though cyberbullying doesn’t spare anyone, the majority of the victims are teenagers and young
adults. though there are laws regarding it they aren’t child friendly so many of the cases go
unreported, to control the cyberbullying it needs to be reported, in order to be reported, the
laws must be child friendly. The following methods can be adopted:
 Counseling cells in schools, colleges, and universities.
 Cyberbullying awareness campaigns
 Providing insights on how lethal it is.
 Child-friendly laws and procedures.
 Boycotting of bullies on platforms.
 Psychiatric help or therapists available in schools, colleges and universities to help
victims.

CONCLUSION:
Bullying is hurting, frightening, harassing, embarrassing, or insulting someone and also in
few instances making them do what they don’t want to do. Bullying can be psychological,
physical, verbal or cyber. cyberbullying is a kind of bullying where the person who commits
it has a privilege to hide behind the screen, maintain anonymity. Fake profiles, statues,
messages, SMS, emails, derogatory comments, posting of sensitive content, shameful videos,
photos etc. there is no limit to this, this creates a hostile and very unsafe environment which
creates terrors, anxiety, depression and various psychological disorders and also suicidal
tendencies.
43% of adolescents have been subjected to cyberbullying.
81% of the youth are getting away with cyberbullying.
Every 2 of 9 victims have either committed suicide or attempted it.
90% of the victims ignored the bullying and didn’t report it.
majority of the victims are teenagers and young adults. though there are laws regarding it
they aren’t child-friendly so many of the cases go unreported, to control the cyberbullying it
needs to be reported, in order to be reported, the laws must be child friendly.

AUTHOR: KRISHNA PRIYA VEMULA LAHARI. PENDEKANTI LAW COLLEGE, BA.LLB. Email : krishnapriyalahari99@gmail.com