Cyber stalking, Cyber Harassment and Cyber Bullying

Internet harassment – Cyberstalking, Cyber harassment and Cyber Bullying

Three types of Internet harassment are Cyberstalking, Cyber harassment and Cyber Bullying. Cyberstalking: Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet, email or other electronic communications to stalk, and generally refers to a pattern of threatening or malicious behaviours. Cyberstalking may be considered the most dangerous of the three types of Internet harassment, based on a credible threat of harm.
Many stalkers are motivated by a desire to exert control over their victims and engage in similar types of behaviour to accomplish this end. Given the enormous amount of personal information available through the Internet, a cyberstalker can easily locate private information about a potential victim.

The fact that cyberstalking does not involve physical contact may create the misperception that it is more benign than physical stalking. This is not necessarily true. As the Internet becomes an ever more integral part of our personal and professional lives, stalkers can take advantage of the ease of communication as well as increased access to personal information. Whereas a potential stalker may be unwilling or unable to confront a victim in person or on the telephone, he or she may have little hesitation in sending harassing or threatening electronic communications to a victim. As with physical stalking, online harassment and threats may be a prelude to more serious behaviour, including physical violence.

The Delhi Police registered India’s First Case of Cyberstalking in 2001 when a lady named Ritu Kohli complained that a person who was using her identity to chat over the Internet at the website www.mirc.com was also deliberately giving her telephone number to other chatters encouraging them to call Ritu Kohli at odd hours. As a result of which, Mrs. Kohli received an estimated 40 calls, national as well as international, during odd hours within 3 days. A case was registered under section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman).

Cyber harassment: There is no universal legal definition of cyber harassment, but it typically is defined as repeated, unsolicited, threatening behaviour by a person or group using mobile or Internet technology with the intent to bother, terrify, intimidate, humiliate, threaten, harass or stalk someone else. The harassment can take place in any electronic environment where communication with others is possible, such as on social networking sites, on message boards, in chat rooms or through email.

Cyberbullying: “Cyberbullying” is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. It has to have a minor on both sides or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber harassment or cyberstalking.

Cyberbullying is the use of the Internet and related technologies to harm other people, in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner. Cyberbullying has been defined by The National Crime Prevention Council: When the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.”
Cyberbullying can be as simple as continuing to send e-mails or texts harassing someone who has said they want no further contact with the sender. It may also include:
1. Public actions such as repeated threats,

2. Sexual remarks,

3. Pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech) or defamatory false accusations),
4. Ganging up on a victim by making the person the subject of ridicule in online forums,

5. Hacking into or vandalizing sites about a person, and posting false statements as fact aimed at discrediting or humiliating a targeted person

6. Posting rumours about a person on the internet to bring about hatred in others’ minds or convince others to dislike or participate in online denigration of a target

7. Personally identifying victims of crime and publishing materials severely defaming or humiliating them

Across 24 countries, India has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of child cyber-bullying cases in the world at 32% among children who have access to the Internet or mobile phones. This data is quite in contrast to countries like the US (15%) and Great Britain (11%).

Ever since the IT Act was passed in the year 2000 and was amended in 2008, with cyberbullying included in it, we haven’t seen a single conviction of cyberbullying in India.