Earlier this month, a strange incident was reported from Uttar Pradesh’s Noida where a UPI user reportedly lost Rs 6.8 lakh from his State Bank of India (SBI) savings account. The victim lodged a police complaint, informing that the money was transacted 7 times from his bank account during the last two months and he… Continue reading UPI user in Noida loses Rs 6.8 lakh from SBI account: Why it happened and how to avoid such fraud (28 December 2018, Zee business)
YES India might soon become a police state with bureaucrats having access to personal information Tathagata Satpathy Last year, the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark judgment that privacy is a fundamental right. There were celebrations across the nation after this judgment. Sadly, however, the same court completely changed its character a year later in… Continue reading Are India’s laws on surveillance a threat to privacy?(TathagataSatpathy, Karnika Seth, Anita Gurumurthy) 27 December 2018, THE HINDU
Social media platforms and publishers with a presence in India may have to get a license to operate in the country, if the draft policy to check fake news is finalized in its current form, two people who are part of the ongoing consultations told TechCircle on the condition of anonymity. The sources were unaware… Continue reading As India seeks to curb fake news, Facebook and Twitter may need licences to operate (14 December 2018, Techcircle)
The ban on porn in India is interesting in many ways – for some, it is a way to break through any dependency and addiction, while for some others it has become a lesson on how to use VPNs. The idea behind the porn ban in India is clear – the government wants to prevent… Continue reading India’s Blanket Porn Ban Completely Misses The Mark, Say Cyber Law Experts (12 November 2018, Beebom)
The Telangana government wants more eyes on the streets to upgrade Hyderabad’s safety. It has asked enterprises, public sectors, residential associations and individuals to install closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs) in and around their premises. More than a lakh CCTVs are expected to be installed across the city in the next few years. The initiative is… Continue reading Sales of surveillance cameras are soaring, raising questions about privacy (30 October 2018, The Economic Times)
Use of the dark web brings in unique challenges for law enforcement agencies in India and raises questions on the loopholes in the laws in place to govern cybercrime in India. Recently, the term ‘dark web’ has been frequently used by the police, whether in the case of the activists recently arrested by the Pune… Continue reading The dark web and how police deal with it (17 September 2018, Indian Express)
With romance scams and matrimonial frauds becoming a growing concern for Mumbai Police, matrimonial websites have protested they can’t verify every account or be held responsible for every person who signs up for an account. However, security experts feel the websites need to do more, for particularly the victims of such frauds. Speaking in the… Continue reading We are intermediaries, can’t verify every account: Matrimonial websites (19 September 2018, Hindustan times)
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ruled that begging is not a criminal offence and struck down laws penalizing it. A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar struck down the provisions prosecuting begging under the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act. The bench decriminalised begging and said that prosecution under… Continue reading Begging No More a Criminal Offence: Delhi High Court (8 August 2018, News Gram Desk)
The Indian legal system does indeed have some teeth to tackle instances of fake news or rumours, be they in the real world or online. The problem is that such regulation is largely focused on hate speech and defamation. In reality, as we know, fake news goes much beyond hate speech. “It’s high time that… Continue reading Limited legal options on fake news lead to internet shutdowns ( 9 July 2018, Livemint)
Allowing only authorised people to access computer labs, banning use of USBs, blocking pop ups and keeping a check on appearance of new and unfamiliar icons on desktop are among the cyber security and safety guidelines issued to schools and parents by the NCERT. The National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT) has sent… Continue reading NCERT issues guidelines to schools, parents on cyber security, safety ( 1 May 2018, The Times of India)