In the virtual space sometimes even innocuous activities can result in great damage and disaster for an individual. The person feels he/she has done something harmless but due to ignorance of the legal provisions, often serious consequences can result. Thus the utmost care based on knowledge must be taken at all times.
One such situation can be the provisions related to cyber terrorism in the Information Technology Act, 2000. This section clearly states that if any person in the cyber world does any act to strike terror in the society or any section of the society then he is indulging in acts of Cyber Terrorism and this offence is punishable with a jail term that extends to life imprisonment.
This is indeed a very stringent provision and a small mistake of an individual can land him/her in great trouble if the provisions of this section are attracted. Back in 2012 an sms did the rounds in the IT city of Bengaluru that students from North East India will be attacked and brutalized. This spread panic and terror in the students of that region and they started fleeing in large numbers, out of Bengaluru and back to their respective home states. It created a real stampede as railway stations were overwhelmed with thousands of students wanting to catch a train back home. Nearly 15,000 students converged only on the railway station scrambling to board a train. Total chaos reigned for a long time till the Home Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka R. Ashok himself went to the railway station and announced over the megaphone that all was safe and the students could return to their places of residence in Bengaluru without any sort of fear.
This was a classic case of spreading fear and terror using the cyber space and one which would necessitate the invocation of section 66F of the IT Act. In a similar sort on incident, communal riots in a particular region were fanned using fake videos and posting them online. In Assam there were severe communal conflagrations in the year 2014. During this riot a fake video of killings during a riot was uploaded on the social media. It spread like wildfire as it was projected to be a video from the ongoing communal riots in Assam. The riots flared up even more and there was a greater loss of human life and destruction of property then would have happened otherwise. Later it was revealed that the fake video that was uploaded was of some incident in Bangladesh and had nothing to do with Assam or with the ongoing violence. The very same thing had happened before in the Muzzafarnagar riots in UP in the year 2013.
All the above cases clearly bring out the some disturbing facts. One is that social media reach and impact is very great. Within seconds information posted on it can find its way to lakhs of people and their response is then immediate and sometimes vicious. Second can be the fact that if the individuals citizens do not take utmost care and self regulation while posting, forwarding, liking and sharing content then even by mistake or slight thoughtlessness, huge damage can be done.
Thus we can conclude that if any person intentionally does an act in the cyber space to incite terror and consequent violence, then he/she deserves to face the full force of the law and that full force is defined in Section 66F of the IT ACT. Such a person can be sent to jail for life. But sometimes without proper knowledge people (especially youngsters) do such reckless acts that they end up spreading terror and panic in society. They may have done it for fun or enjoyment – just to tease a few or trouble some – but if their act spreads terror they too will have to face severe consequences and may even land up getting the severest punishment of all that is imprisonment for life! Digital footprints of an individual device will ensure that the person concerned cannot hope to escape detection and arrest. As previously described that digital footprints of a user of the digital space are unique and cannot be changed, hidden or destroyed. This is rather a harsh punishment for an act in jest or fun. But so be it – terror activity should be dealt with severely.
Thus the best remedy for not becoming an offender by mistake and that too in such a heinous crime as cyber terrorism – is to know the law; show restraint in our activities on the net especially what we post and like and not to do reckless and rash acts of liking, sharing and forwarding content without giving it due thought and deliberation.
