Ethical Hackers

Publishing and transmitting obscene material and offensive, threatening messages via the electronic medium a crime

Thanks to the recently amended IT Act, things you had taken for granted like sending adult text messages and forwarding explicit e-mails could land you in a legal mess.

The Lok Sabha recently passed a host of new amendments to the Information Technology Act – last modified in 2000 when the Internet was still a novelty. Nine years on, the Act has undergone a much-needed makeover as the Internet has changed a lot since then. Let’s take a brief look at what has changed and how it might affect you.

Just to remind you, it’s not just the Internet that the IT Act covers, it also covers activities performed using your computer, PDA, mobile phone, and other devices of communication. So, things like forwarding an SMS and sending an MMS too now fall under the jurisdiction of the IT Act. So what has been touted as an offense? Publishing and transmitting obscene material or any sexually explicit act/content can put you behind bars for a long duration – 5 years, not to mention the hefty 10 lakh fine it attracts. Also included is sending offensive, threatening messages and spreading hate messages using any electronic medium; these too will attract penalties similar to those mentioned earlier. The once popular trend of forwarding MMS clips (usually fake) of celebrities, captured using hidden cameras, too comes under the wrap of the Act now.

In an attempt to keep identity thieves at bay, the new amendments include a clause by which the usage of someone else’s password will be akin to identity theft and will lead to a punishment of up to three years of imprisonment. So, the next time you try to spy on your ex-girlfriend by hacking into her e-mail account, remember that a complaint from her could land you in trouble!

The Information Technology Act was first introduced back in 2000, and at that time many of the gadgets or facilities that we know of today did not even exist. These include camera phones and MMS, which made spying on others and taking video clips and sending them over the Internet an easy affair. Our laws had no provisions for punishing crimes such as these. Naturally, the MMS and the porn industry thrived, which lead to the sprouting of thousands of websites that promised to offer you a visual treat with these clips. Many thought the punishments prescribed by the previous Act was insufficient with most activities attracting only a 2-year sentence, and not to mention, their non-cognizable nature. The amendments have ensured stricter punishments and a clearer definition of what actually constitutes a crime.

Here are the new provisions included in the Information Technology Act:

66 A: Punishment for sending offensive messages through a communication service, etc.

66 C: Punishment for identity theft.

66 E: Punishment for violation of privacy.

67: Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form.

67 A: Punishment for publishing or transmitting material containing sexually explicit acts, etc. in electronic form.

77 B: Offences with three years imprisonment to be cognizable.

There is also, however, a general feeling that these acts were passed in a hurry without actually deliberating on them -  due to the recent Mumbai attacks.

via TechTree