Synopsis: PIL filed in the Apex Court requesting punitive measures against social media users engaged in obscene and online harassment videos.
A petition was been filed in the Supreme Court seeking age-based control of access to social media and the development of a profile verification mechanism to eliminate illicit content on social media.
The petition was filed by the law students of New Law College, Bharathi Vidyapeeth Deemed University, Pune, by Skand Bajpai, and Abhyudaya Mishra. They appealed that their petition became imperative when they did not receive satisfactory action on their complaint to cybercrime.gov.in made on 9th June, regarding the illicit content being traded on social media.
The petitioners have requested that proper investigation and legal proceedings be instituted against users of social media profiles who are indulged in the advertising, sale and procurement of illicit content and private graphic information, and that such content be deleted, along with the formulation of an effective mechanism for dealing with such content in the future.
As multiplicity of accounts and unverified identities facilitate anonymity and impersonation, the petitioners sought guidance to formulate a method for checking such social media profiles. It serves to make mapping a cyber offender gruelling for law enforcement agencies. Verified profiles on social media would encourage accountability and discourage individuals from engaging in virtual world offences.
In addition, they are also seeking instructions from the authorities to work with the Ministry of Women and Child Development to upgrade the National Education Policy to include sex education as part of the curriculum alongside topics relating to online safety. This will help bring about a change in people’s mindset and to remove the social taboo around sex and sexuality.
To curtail morphing pictures and videos incidents online and indulge in revenge porn, the petitioners have also advised the court to enact gender-neutral laws and criminalize impersonation to protect individual identity.
The petitioners pray for the establishment in the future of an effective system for dealing with such material, as well as for the establishment of suitable legislation for better transparency of intermediate channels.
Highlighting the threat posed by the toxic activity of the provision of illicit and graphical video content, its advertising and sales through the use of intermediary platforms, the petitioners urged the Court to order the government to notify and enforce the Information Technology [Intermediary Guidelines (Amendment) Rules], 2018.
Furthermore, it has been prayed to formulate an appropriate law regulating the access of any minor to social media and to set an appropriate age limit for such access in line with the present Indian legal framework.