Albert Einstein said, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Cyber-bullying is a poison infiltrating the life of youths worldwide and pushing them towards the danger of self-harm. People have a misconception about cyber-bullying, but when we come forward and ascend our voice, it will definitely save someone’s life another can give one reason to live life happily. We need the help of NGO’s, campaigning and the leaders who can increase the awareness of cyber harassment or can highlight the way to overcome the annoyance.
Given the nature of social sites, all contents are going viral quickly, and creating a large impact in the blink of an eye. The all-pervasive nature of cyber-bullying, as well as the amount of time it takes to trace cyber bullies, makes the growth of cyber-bullying an alarming trend across the globe. Now our Government is taking initiatives to fight against cyber bullying. Following are some measures taken to prevent and cure the ailment that is cyber-bullying.
Distinguishing the Ways to Combat Cyber-bullying:
Avoiding to Respond or Retaliate
An aggressor wants your reaction because it gives him the power over you, thus, you should refuse to empower the bully and avoid engaging in a conversation with them. If you really want to protest then the best option is to consult with the police about the matter. On the other hand, if you feel unsafe you can also contact law enforcement agencies.
Keeping your Data Secret
In the case of cyber-bullying, the criminal usually uses photographs and personal information for blackmail. You can contact with the service provider to inform them about the incident of bullying. For example, if you are being bullied in any chat or messenger section then you can contact the authorities. On the other hand, if you are getting threatening call and messages, you can contact your cell phone company or your network provider.
Reach Out for Help
First thing is to save all messages, calls, and photos sent by the aggressor, you can use them to protect yourself. You can show this to a trustfule person and maybe he /she can help you solve the issue.
Use Technology and Tools to cut off the Bully
You can also report the problem to the service providers. This probably won’t end it, but you don’t need the harassment in your face, and you’ll be less tempted to respond. If you’re getting threats of physical harm, you should call your local police and report it. Moreover, now many women safety applications are available to take help from in such conditions.
Legal Rights against Cyber Bullying
People have confusion about the legal rights, regarding bullying; stalking and blackmailing etc, and don’t understand that all these are very serious crimes and the Indian constitution have strict punishments for them.
The Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) was enacted to deal with e-commerce and electronic records, and also to punish e-commerce offenses. Offences such as intimidation, insult, annoying, harassment, defamation, etc. in cyber-space continued to be punishable only under the IPC till the 2008 amendment to the IT Act.
Even though people are aware of the issues, they engage in this risky behavior online. The solution is to make cyber laws stringent as the current law under the IT Act, 2000 is a bail-able offense with three years’ imprisonment and a fine.
The IT Act, 2000 should be re-amended to specific provisions pertaining to cyber-bullying. Further, cyber-bullying needs to be made a serious offense with minimum five years imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10 lakh. Unless you have deterrence in law, it will continue to be a prevalent offence.
Government and civil society were more aggressive in raising awareness and triggering changes in behavior. The ‘section 66A’ in the amended IT Act, 2008 deals with these crimes. Sending any message (through a computer or a communication device) which is totally offensive or has a menacing character; any communication which he/she knows to be false, but for the purpose of causing insult, annoyance and criminal intimidation come under this section. This crime, under the current IT/Cyber/Criminal laws in India is punishable up to three years with a fine.
The 2008 amendment also introduce section 69 which gives officers the power to intercept, monitor or decrypt any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource, authorized by the Central Government or State Government.
Fortunately, until today, we have many options to handle bullying or any cyber harassment. In digitalization, we have many helping apps which can provide awareness and give motivations. The first thing we have to understand is that bullying is a crime but the victim can overcome it with those easy steps mentioned above. Most importantly, social sites and government are very active so we need not be afraid of such situations; we only need to be more attentive while using social sites.
Raise your Voice against Cyber Bullying
