A University student in Chandigarh who allegedly recorded nude videos of girl students of her hostel while taking a bath and sending them to her male friend tells any society to be worse than an animal, the ground slips from their feet. After hearing the incidents, who is to blame for these misdeeds? In modern times, while smartphones have made our lives easier in many respects, in many cases it has become the cause of greatest sorrow for us.
Every day we come and hear about the incident of the MMS scandal somewhere. Be it at the school level, college level, or university. We are seeing everyday incidents of blackmailing based on the MMS scandal making headlines in the newspapers. Why is this happening after all? Where is our society going? Where are such rituals coming from? We have to think that privacy is not violated by using smartphones easily anywhere. We have to break it one way or the other only then people’s life can be safe.
Privacy refers to the right of a person to decide the extent to which he will share himself with others. Someone has the right to isolate himself from everyone and no one has the right to peep into his personal life. So is it a violation of one’s privacy or the public interest aspect of it is more important? Fake photos, videos, and objectionable posts have become common on social sites today. What will happen with a warning to beware of unconfirmed and misleading information and communal posts and nude videos, misleading, controversial messages, videos, and photos going viral every day? After all, how and when will their arrival be stopped?
Such cases are not new. Even before this, objectionable videos of politicians, hero-heroines, and high-profile people have been leaked in the form of MMS i.e. multimedia messages. Now the serious question is why private videos, strange pictures, or MMS of women are being leaked. Before finding the answer, let’s try to understand some basic things. So is the leaking of private videos also included in the National Crime Records category? Today there is no separate law for sextortion in India, America, UK, etc. Sextortion means – stealing intimate pictures, videos, etc. by breaking into someone’s computer, mobile, etc., or making videos from a webcam, etc., and then blackmailing the victim. Social media is used for this. In the year 2017, the Supreme Court expanded the right to privacy by linking it with the right to life and liberty in Article 21 of the Constitution, that is, privacy has also become a part of the fundamental right and in this situation, any citizen can violate his privacy. In this situation, a petition can be filed seeking justice.
Cyber crimes against women are at an all-time high. From harassing a person online to sextortion. Many such cases are coming to the fore across the country, in which women are blackmailed by their partners using extremely personal photos, videos, messages or emails, etc. There is a lot of reason behind this happening with women as compared to men, it happens rarely with men. The question arises why male bodies and their sexual endeavors are not such that people should be interested in leaking. Men are not even used to feel ashamed for it. Private videos are not searched in the name of men. The girls are forced to send nude pictures of them then the same man breaks her trust. As a society, we need to question why some people violate a woman’s privacy, and why they like to do so.
So girls need to be careful. It is their freedom to have a relationship with someone, whether to relationship or not. But he also needs to be a little skeptical about the personal moments spent. Because in such cases only the very close proves to be deceitful. What is the need to save objectionable situations in the form of photos, videos, etc? Mobile is a personal thing and it is important to keep it very personal if it contains your confidential information, private pictures or videos, etc.
Password security in smartphones and laptops that people do not talk about the dangers of the smartphone nor do they think about the data leaking from it. 40 percent of smartphone users are knowingly or unknowingly sharing their personal information with the whole world. In such a situation, it is necessary to use the password security feature in mobiles and laptops. If you do not want to keep the device locked, then you can protect the folders containing personal data with a password. There are many applications on the mobile called App Lock, which can be kept locked with a password, pattern, or fingerprint.
Section 66 of IPC – Penalty for breach of privacy, Section 67 – Provisions relating to the publication of objectionable information, Section 67A – Penalty for publishing or transmitting sexual or obscene information by electronic means, Section 67B – Publication or transmission of objectionable material by electronic means in which children are depicted in an obscene state, Section 71 – Misrepresentation of data or data, Section 72A – relating to breach of mutual trust and privacy In addition to punishment, there is also a provision of a fine ranging from 5 to 10 lakh rupees. Strict action should be taken against such accused, and strict action should be taken against those who make any objectionable message viral on social sites. Social cells should also be made at all schools, colleges and universities, and police stations. Who will keep an eye on all this? Use social sites with care.
Author is a Research Scholar in Political Science. She can be mailed at priyankasaurabh9416@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.
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