Cyber stalking_harassment

Cyber stalking/harassment

In this form the offender is technocrat and he can take control of the computer of the victim as soon as the computer starts operating. In this the stalker gets control of the victims computer address and gets control over it. This form of cyber stalking requires high degree of computer knowledge to get access to the target’s computer and the option available to the victim is to disconnect the computer and abandon the current internet address. 

Cyberstalking can be classified into three different types, that are as follows:

1. Email stalking;
2. Internet stalking;
3. Computer stalking.

Email stalking

Email stalking is one of the most common types of stalking in the physical world, which includes telephoning, sending mail, and actual surveillance. Cyberstalking, on the other hand, can take many different forms. Unsolicited e-mail, such as hate, obscene, or threatening messages, is one of the most common forms of harassment. Sending the victim viruses or a significant amount of electronic junk mail are examples of other sorts of harassment. It’s vital to note that simply distributing viruses or sending sales calls isn’t considered stalking.

However, if these communications are sent repeatedly in an attempt to frighten (e.g., in the same way that stalkers in the physical world mail subscriptions to pornographic magazines), they may be considered stalking.

Internet stalking

In this instance, stalkers might make extensive use of the internet to slander and put their victims at risk. Cyberstalking takes on a public rather than a private component in such circumstances. This type of cyberstalking is particularly concerning because it looks to be the most likely to break into physical space. Traditional stalker practices such as threatening phone calls, property destruction, threatening mail, and physical attacks are commonly associated with internet stalking. There are significant distinctions between the situation of someone who is stalked from a distance of two thousand miles and someone who is regularly within the shooting range of their stalker.

While most criminal penalties recognise emotional distress, it is not deemed as dangerous as a genuine physical threat. Despite the fact that the connection between stalking, domestic violence, and feticide have been experimentally shown in real life, much internet stalking still focuses on causing emotional anguish, dread, and apprehension. This is not to imply that instilling fear and generating concern should not be criminalised.

Computer stalking

The third type of cyberstalking is computer stalking, which takes advantage of the Internet and the Windows operating system to get control of the targeted victim’s computer. It’s unlikely that many people realise that a single Windows-based machine linked to the Internet can be detected and connected to another computer over the Internet. This connection is a computer-to-computer connection that allows the interloper to take control of the target’s computer without the use of a third party.

As soon as the target computer connects to the Internet in any form, a cyberstalker usually talks directly with them. The stalker can take control of the victim’s computer, and the victim’s sole defence is to unplug from the Internet and relinquish their current IP address.

Types of cyberstalkers

A stalker could be obsessed, furious, psychotic, or deranged, depending on the motivations for stalking described above. Stalkers are divided into three categories:

Obsessional stalkers

This type involves a prior relationship between the victim and the perpetrator. The perpetrator’s primary goal is to compel or re-enter into the relationship. This category includes the majority of stalkers. This category includes 47 per cent of stalkers.

Obsessive love stalkers

In this case, the perpetrator has a strong attachment or love for the victim, and they are usually one-sided lovers. The offender could never accept his lover’s rejection. The perpetrator is usually suffering from a mental illness like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. This group accounts for 43% of all perpetrators.

Erotomanic stalkers

In this case, the stalker has the misconception that the victim’s actions are motivated by love for him. Then he began to fall in love with her, and when it became known to him, he became a stalker.

Section 354D of IPC

Following the gang-rape case in Delhi, the Criminal Amendment Act of 2013 introduced Section 354D of IPC. This section considers both physical stalking and cyberstalking. The section’s scope is defined in terms of the activities that constitute “stalking.” The Section expressly states that anyone who attempts to monitor a woman’s online activities is guilty of stalking. As a result, if the stalker engages in any of the offences listed in the section, he violates the Indian Penal Code Section 354D.

Loopholes

Firstly, the section exclusively treats “women” as victims, ignoring the fact that men can also be victims. According to the section, anyone who attempts to monitor a woman’s use of the internet, e-mail, or any other form of electronic communication is guilty of cyberstalking. We can see that it is solely focused on women. As a result, the legislation is discriminatory against women. Second, the “method of monitoring” has not been mentioned by the legislators. The guy may have no purpose for stalking, but his behaviour does.

Section 292 of IPC

Obscenity is defined in Section 292 of the IPC. The act of sending obscene materials to the victim on a social networking site, or through emails or texts, falls within the definition of cyberstalking. The stalker is guilty of an offence under Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code if he tries to deprave the other person by sending obscene material over the internet with the intent that the other person read, see, or hear the content of such material.

Section 507 of IPC 

This Section deals with “criminal intimidation through anonymous communication.” This clause specifies that it is an offence if the stalker attempts to conceal his identity so that the victim is uninformed of the source of the threat. As a result, it ensures anonymity, which is a key feature of cyberstalking. If the stalker tries to hide his or her identity, he or she will be charged under this section.

Section 509 of IPC

A stalker can be charged under this Section if the stalker’s actions infringe on the privacy of a lady by making any gestures or sending words via e-mails, messaging, or social media. If they engage in any of these activities, he would be charged under Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code. 

Loopholes:

It is a gender-biased provision since it focuses solely on a woman’s modesty and thus overlooks the reality that cyberstalking is a gender-neutral offence in which males can also be victims.

The words, voice, or gesture must be said, heard, and observed, respectively, in this section. Because words cannot be spoken, gestures cannot be seen, and sound cannot be heard via the internet, cyber-stalkers can easily avoid the penalty imposed by this clause. Finally,  the intention of insulting the modesty of the woman cannot be assumed through communication on the internet. 

Information Technology Act, 2000

Section 67 of the IT Act

This Section is a copy of Section 292A of the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with the “electronic form” of obscene material. As a result, this section deals with online stalking. If the stalker tries to publish obscene material about the victim on social media, i.e, in electronic form, to bully the victim, he will be charged under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act.

Section 67A of the IT Act

This Section is related to cyberstalking. This section was added after the 2008 amendment. It stipulates that if a stalker tries to publish any “sexually explicit” material in electronic forms, such as through emails, messages, or social media, he will be charged with an offence under Section 67A of the IT Act and will be punished as a result.

Section 67B of the IT Act

This Section was added by Amendment Act 2008 for the first time. The section focuses on stalkers who target children under the age of 18 and disseminate content depicting youngsters engaging in sexual behaviour to terrify them.

Section 66E of IT Act, 2000 and Section 354C of IPC

Section 66E of Information Technology Act, 2000 and Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code deal with “voyeurism.”

To generate despair and a sense of insecurity in the victim’s mind, the stalker may hack the victim’s account and post private images of the victim on social networking sites. Both of the above-mentioned sections attempt to make it illegal to publish or take images of a person’s private act without their consent. 

Section 66E is more generic in that it refers to the victim as “any person,” whereas Section 345C is gender-specific. The victim must be a “woman,” according to section 354C.

“What is remarkable here is that, while all offline regulations apply to digital media, the penalties under the IT Act are significantly more severe.”

“It is worth noting that the IT Act places a strong emphasis on women’s bodies and sexualities: Section 66A of the Act deals with a broad category of ‘offensive messages.’”

The act of voyeurism is covered by Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code. It has a limited reach because the victim must be a “woman” to be eligible for this clause. On the other hand, voyeurism is covered by Section 66E of the Information Technology Act, which has a broader scope than Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code. The victim is referred to as “any individual” in Section 66E. As a result, the victim does not have to be a “woman” to receive justice under this clause. If the victim is a guy, he can use Section 66E of the Information Technology Act of 2000 to sue.

Following are the methods used by the cyber stalker to target the victim:-

1. The stalker if he is a associates of the victim then he can gather all the information about the victim easily and if he is stranger then he collect all the information through internet from various social network sites and collect all and every information about the victim from Date of birth, place of residence, place of work, phone numbers, email ID’s to places of visits everything.

2. The stalker may post all the information on any website related to sex-services or dating services, and uses filthy and obscene language to invite a person as if the victim himself posted this information so the interested person may call the victim on his numbers to have sexual services.

3. All the people from the world would call the victims on his phone numbers at home or on mobile asking for sexual services.

4. Some will send e-mail to the victim attaching pornographic material with it and sometimes posted these emails on the pornographic sites.

5. Some will post morphed pictures of the victim on these pornographic and sex-service websites or keep asking for favour and threaten them if they do not fulfil their demands then they will put these pictures all over the internet.

6. Sometimes the stalkers send them repetitive emails and call them day and night at his phone numbers and keep track of them. The stalkers sometimes get the help of a third party to harass the victim.

The Social Networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, Google plus, Instagram and many more are becoming a medium to cyber stalking in the modern world.