Protect yourself from Online Abuse

Someone took my private photos and is posting them on social media without my permission. What can I do?

Steps you can take:

Approach the social networking service

The first and most practical step would be to try and approach the social networking service to get the pictures taken down. Most social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram allow you to report pictures. Such platforms will then decide to take down the picture based on their policies.

File a complaint or FIR

If the social media platform is not being responsive or you are unhappy with the results, then you can also file a criminal complaint at the local police station or cyber investigation cell.

There are different provisions in the general law on crimes (the Indian Penal Code, 1860) and the law on Information Technology (the Information Technology Act, 2000) which make posting private pictures without your permission a crime.

• Voyeurism is a crime where the victim is a woman under the Indian Penal Code 1860 Section 354C. It is a crime to circulate pictures of a woman going about her private acts. The acts which have been criminalized include:
  • Capturing a woman using a toilet, or
  • Capturing a woman who is undressed or in her undergarments, or
  • Capturing a woman engaged in a sexual act.

  It is possible that you knew or had agreed to have such pictures taken. However if you expected that these pictures are not circulated or shared, then sharing them is a crime. The law is clear that the woman must expressly consent to both, watching/taking pictures as well as sharing them, for it to not be a crime. The punishment for this can be jail between three to seven years and a fine.

• Voyeurism is a crime under IT Act 2000 Section 66E, where the victim could be a man or woman.
• There is another law which makes it a crime to take pictures of a person’s private areas, share them or publish them without their consent. This law makes it a crime to take pictures or videos of your private body parts if you were in a place where you would expect to undress without being captured or if you expect that your private body parts will not be exposed even if you were in a public place. The important difference between this provision and the earlier one is that this applies to all people while the former provision is intended to protect women. The punishment can be jail time for up to three years and up to two lakh rupees in fine.

Someone’s found all my online accounts and keeps sending me messages on my different accounts! I’ve made it clear I don’t want to communicate with him, what else can I do?

Steps you can take:

Block the user on Social Media

The first thing to do here would be to try and block the person from your social media network and on email.

For Gmail, the process to block people from sending you mails is simple and can be accessed here. Similar options are available on other social networking sites. Adjust your settings on social media to block the person. If this option is not available, you may need to send a formal complaint/report to the social networking service.

If the communication is happening over the phone, then there are options which allow you to block calls and texts from certain numbers.

Tip - Some sites allow users to set limits on who can search for them, who can send friend requests, etc. Learn about the privacy settings on your social media accounts to control who can contact you.

File a complaint or FIR

If the social media platform is not being responsive or you are unhappy with the results, then you can also file a criminal complaint at the local police station or cyber cell.

Stalking a person online is a crime under the Indian Penal Code 1860 Section 354D. The act of stalking includes Continuously following a woman or contacting her, where she has clearly shown, she doesn’t want the attention. The punishment is three years for a first offence, and five years for repeat offences along with a fine. There are certain exceptions when this is legally allowed. For example, a police officer tracking down a shipment of drugs by monitoring emails received by a woman.

Someone is sending me obscene material on certain messaging applications. What can I do?

Steps you can take:

Block the user on Social Media

The first thing to do here would be to try and block the person from your social media network and on email. Adjust your settings on social media to block the person. If this option is not available, you may need to send a formal complaint/report to the social networking service.

File a complaint or FIR

If the social media platform is not being responsive or you are unhappy with the results, then you can also file a criminal complaint at the local police station or cyber crime investigation cell.

There are different provisions in the general law on crimes (the Indian Penal Code, 1860) and the law on information technology (the Information Technology Act, 2000) which make posting private pictures without your permission a crime.

• Sexual harassment is a crime under the Indian Penal Code 1860 Section 354A.
• Showing pornographic material to a woman when she does not want to watch or view it is considered as sexual harassment and is a crime under the Indian Penal Code. The punishment is jail time of up to three years and/or a fine.
• Sending obscene or sexually explicit content is a crime under the Information Technology Act.
• Publishing and sharing obscene material or anything which contains sexually explicit acts or conduct are crimes under the information technology law.
• For publishing and sharing obscene material, the punishment is jail time of up to three years and a fine of Rupees five lakh. If the person has been convicted more than once, the jail time can increase to five years and the fine to Rupees ten lakh. For publishing and sharing pornographic material, the punishment is jail time of up to five years and a fine of Rupees ten lakh. If the person has been convicted more than once, the jail time can increase to seven years and the fine of up to Rupees ten lakh can be imposed.
• The victims of such crimes under the information technology law can be male or female.

Source: Nyaaya

Related Resources

1. Information Security Awareness
2. Cyber security Guidelines