Cyberbullying And Online Freedom Of Speech And Expression In India
Author: LawSphereX
Category: Technology, Cyber & Privacy
Published:
Updated:
CYBERBULLYING AND ONLINE FREEDOM OF SPEECH
AND EXPRESSION IN INDIA
A. Benisha, LL.M., School of Excellence in Law, The Tamilnadu Dr. Ambedkar Law
University, Chennai
ABSTRACT
Digitalization has both boon and bane. But due to the increased use of social media platforms in India, there is a high risk of exposure to cyberbullying in online. Indian laws like Information Technology Act, 2000 and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, both these act addresses issues in the digital medium. But there is always an issue between cyberbullying regulations and individuals freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution. Cyberbullying is different from the traditional bullying. Cyberbullying always operates in the digital space, which make it very difficult for the law enforcement agencies to track the perpetrators who have committed the offence of cyberbullying and jurisdiction issues also plays a major challenge.
The main aim of this paper is to analyse the concept of cyberbullying in India, the impact of cyberbullying on individuals and society, the concept of free speech and its importance in a democratic society, scope of free speech under our Indian Constitution. This paper also analyses the Indian legal frameworks related to cyberbullying and the key issues in addressing cyberbullying while ensuring free speech in India. This paper also examines the preventive measures with few notable case laws.
INTRODUCTION:
Due to the rapid growth of the internet, every individual relies on digital technologies in order to complete their day to day works. After the covid-19 pandemic we can see that even a 5 year old kid uses their smartphone in order to attend classes online and every individual who had work from home jobs had to rely on digital technologies like their laptop’s and smartphone in order to complete their works assigned by the company. Due to the increase in digital technologies, the population in social media also increased. So this in turn has increased the high risk of exposure to cyber bullying in online. High population in social media platforms means that many people will post their views, comments etc. Different people will have their own views, difference of opinions, own beliefs and ideologies.
Some people might criticize the government but the post can be removed by the social media stating it as harmful content. So the main challenge that lies here is regulating cyberbullying without curbing people’s freedom to express their views in the online platforms.
DEFINITION OF CYBERBULLYING
1. THE UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL
ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
It defines cyberbullying as “Bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers and tablets. It can occur through SMS, Text and Apps or Online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content1.
2. NATIONAL CRIME PREVENTION COUNCIL (NCPC), USA
According to the NCPC, cyberbullying is defined as “The process of using the internet, cell phones or other electronic devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person2.
1 https://mgiep.unesco.org/article/cyberbullying-pulling-off-the-mask. (Last accessed on 23.03.2025)
2 https://www.ncpc.org/resources/cyberbullying/what-is-cyberbullying/. (Last accessed on 24.05.2025)
THE IMPACT OF CYBERBULLYING ON INDIVIDUALS AND SOCIETY
Cyberbullying can severely impact the individuals and the society.
EFFECTS ON INDIVIDUALS:
The victims of cyberbullying can go through a huge amount of stress, depression, it can also results in suicidal thoughts and cyberbullying impacts them psychologically. • The victims of cyberbulllying often distance themselves from any social interactions. • The victims face reputational damage because the false accusations against them can affect their personal and work life. • The victims who face cyberbullying either in their schools or in their workplaces can severely impact their performance and confidence.
EFFECTS ON SOCIETY:
Cyberbullying involves spreading misinformation or false accusations which can destroy the public trust regarding the digital misinformation. • Due to the increasing cyberbullying people are hesitant to express their views online. • The victims and their families might not attend any social events. So they might lose their contact or connections with the society.
THE CONCEPT OF FREE SPEECH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN A DEMOCRATIC
SOCIETY
Freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed to every individuals under our Indian Constitution. But the concept of free speech is being misused thus leading to things like hate speech and cyberbullying etc. In a democratic society all the individuals must have the freedom to freely express their opinions on any issues. So that people can freely express their critics of any government policies and they can suggest any reforms without any fear of legal consequences.
Only with the help of free press and independent voices we can identify any illegal things like corruption or any injustice. In a society we can see that, when free expression is encouraged it will lead to greater creativity, more technology developments and cultural diversity. Many individuals are willing to challenge the existing ideas and they want to introduce new solutions only if they are provided with the freedom to express their thoughts. India has witnessed several social and political movements for cases like gender equality and protests against injustice. All these movements that happened in India has relied only on free speech in order to bring up a change. In a democratic society if there is no free speech then these kind of progressive movements would have failed.
SCOPE OF FREE SPEECH UNDER ARTICLE 19(1)(a) Under our Indian constitution every individual is guaranteed the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a). This provision enables every individual to freely express their views and opinions. According to Article 19(1) in Constitution of India (1) All citizens shall have the right - (a) to freedom of speech and expression; (b) to assemble peaceably and without arms; (c) to form associations or unions or co-operative societies; (d) to move freely throughout the territory of India; (f) sub-clause (f) shall be omitted; (e) to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India; and (g) to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business3.
3 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1142233/.
But the Indian constitution also provides reasonable restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(2). Article 19(2) in Constitution of India (2)Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with Foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence4.
KEY ISSUES IN ADDRESSING CYBERBULLYING WHILE ENSURING FREE
SPEECH IN INDIA:
1. In India we don’t have specific laws for cyberbullying. Indian laws like IT act and BNS deals
with certain types of online abuse but it does not address specifically about cyberbullying.
2. Cyberbullying regulations should not harm online free speech. For example- sec 66A of the
IT Act was struck down which was earlier misused to silence free speech. It is very hard to differentiate between bullying, opinions and abuse from any kind of criticism.
3. The main reason for the increasing growth of cyberbullying is due to its anonymity. Many
individual either uses fake accounts or they might use technologies like VPN. So this poses a big challenge to the police officer to trace the individual.
4. Many law enforcement agencies and police officials don’t have proper training to handle the
rapidly evolving cybercrimes. Since many cybercrimes takes a longer period of time to be solved due the anonymity issues in the digital world.
5. Many people especially people in the rural areas don’t know how to report cases of
cyberbullying. The procedure for filing complaint is not mentioned properly in the provisions. Even the police officials and judges need more training to handle cyberbullying cases
4 https://indiankanoon.org/doc/493243/
effectively. Since the age of a normal high court judges will be more than 50, so they might not be aware of the rapidly evolving digital technologies. So proper training is required.
6. Many social media platforms don’t remove the harmful content quickly. This delay might
affect the victims of cyberbullying and the victims often face lengthier court proceedings, which might lead to delayed justice. The Social media policies are not stringent enough to stop the cases of cyberbullying.
7. Sometimes the perpetrator might be in some other country and might post any cyberbullying
content which might affect people living in India. So the Indian police faces a major challenge to trace the perpetrator who is living in a foreign country. The major challenge is jurisdictional issues.
8. Many victims of cyberbullying often face psychological impacts like anxiety, depression and
sometimes even suicidal thoughts. The most affected persons are the young teenagers and young adults below the age of 21, who are continuously incorporating to use digital technologies like smartphones, Laptop etc. Many victims of cyberbullying don’t report cases due to fear and lack of trust in social media platforms.
INDIAN LEGAL FRAMEWORKS RELATED TO CYBERBULLYING:
1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 20005
1. Section 66C- It provides punishments for identity theft, including impersonation.
2. Section 66D- This section deals with cheating by impersonation using computer means.
3. Section 67- It provides punishment for any publication or transmission of any
pornographic content in digital form.
4. 67A- This section provides Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material
containing sexually explicit act in electronic form.
5. 67B- This section provides Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material
5 https://www.indiacode.nic.in/123456789/13116/1/it_act_2000_updated.pdf
depicting children in sexually explicit act in electronic form.
6. Section 72- This section provides penalties for privacy and confidentiality violations.
7. Sec 79- This section states that Intermediaries are not liable under certain exceptions6.
2. INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860
Many sections in IPC covers offenses related to cyberbullying. They are:
1. Sec 354(D) - This section provides punishments for stalking.
2. Sec 499 & 500- This section talks about defamation and also provides punishment for
defamation.
3. Sec 503 & 506- This section talks about criminal intimidation and also provides
punishment for cases of criminal intimidation.
4. Sec 509- This section talks about any Word, gesture or it includes any act intended to
insult the modesty of a woman.
3. THE BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 20237
IPC was replaced by The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. This act addresses offences like cyberbullying. It includes:
1. Sec 75- This section mainly deals with sexual harassment. It also provides the
punishment for the sexual harassment. It also penalizes sexual harassment which is done through digital world.
2. Section 78- This section mainly deals about stalking. It includes both physical stalking
as well as cyberstalking. Cyberstalking happens with the help of digital technologies.
3. Section 356- This section mainly deals about defamation. It also includes defamation
which is done through online.
6 https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13116/1/it_act_2000_updated.pdf
7 https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/250883_english_01042024.pdf
4. PROTECTION OF CHILDREN FROM SEXUAL OFFENCES (POCSO) ACT, 20128.
Under the ministry of women and child development, the protection of children from sexual offences Act, 2012 was enacted. The main aim of this act is to protect children from any kind of sexual offences like sexual assault, sexual harassment and pornography etc.
1. Sec 14 & 15 – This section prescribes the punishment for using child for any kind of
pornographic purposes and stores any kind of pornographic material which involves any child.
2. Sec 28- This section mandates the establishment of special courts so that we can provide
speedy trial of the offences.
3. Sec 43- This section states that the central government and other state government must
compulsorily take proper measures in order to give wide publicity to the provisions of the Act. The ministry of women and child development has taken various measures in order to create awareness of these provisions of the POCSO Act. The awareness has been made through digital and by through print media, also through the help of workshops and training programs9.
5. INDECENT REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN (PROHIBITION) ACT, 198610.
The main aim of this Act is to prohibit any kind of publications, transmission or exhibition of any obscene images or indecent representation of women in any form like in cases of morphed images and revenge porn.
1. Sec 2- This section provides definition. It defines the term “indecent representation of
women” as the depiction of women in a way that is indecent, obscene or derogatory.
2. Sec 3- This section penalizes any distribution, publication, advertisement or exhibition
of any material that contains any indecent representation of women in any form.
8 https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2079/1/AA2012-32.pdf
9 https://pib.gov.in/PressRelease/ (Last Accessed on 28.03.2025)
10https://www.indiacode.nic.in/123456789/15350/1/indecent_representation_of_women_prohibition_act_1986.p df.
3. Sec 4 – This section prohibits any kinds of publication or sending books, pamphlets
through post which contains any kind of material relating to indecent representation of women.
CASE LAWS
Our Indian judiciary has played a major role in interpreting the balance between cyberbullying laws and the freedom of speech provided under Article 19(1)(a). Indian courts have repeatedly stated the need to protect the individuals from online harassment without curbing individuals free speech in online. Indian courts have provided several landmark judgments on how the concept of cyberbullying and free speech are understood under our Indian framework.
1. Shreya Singhal V. Union of India (2015)11
This is one of the landmark cases in our Indian Judiciary. In this case 2 female girls posted a message relating to the shutdown that happened in their area after the death of a political leader. Both these girls were booked under Sec 66A of IT Act, 2000. Sec 66A of IT Act, 2000 mainly focused on criminalizing the sending of any offensive messages online. But the court in this case held that Sec 66A is vague and overly broad and it can lead to arbitrary arrest and it can be misused. So the court struck down Sec 66A of IT Act, 2000.
2. Swami Ramdev V. Facebook, Google, Youtube & Twitter (2019)12
In this case the Delhi High Court held that social media platforms must compulsorily remove any defamatory content globally even if ordered by Indian courts. In this case, the court highlighted the responsibility of the social media platforms in overcoming cases like cyberbullying, defamation and harassment.
3. Indibily Creative Pvt Ltd v. State of West Bengal (2020)13
In this case Supreme Court highlighted the importance of free speech in digital spaces. The court also said that any post or any content which can provoke violence or any kind of
11 AIR 2015 SC 1523.
12 CS (OS) 27/2019 (Delhi High Court, October 23, 2019).
13 Writ Petition (Civil) No. 306 of 2019 (Supreme Court of India, 2019).
harassment should be regulated.
4. Priyanka Chopra Deepfake Case (2020)
This case was relating the misuse of AI in order to create a cyberbullying. In this case a fake deepfake video of Priyanka chopra was created and it was released in the social media platforms. The court investigated this case under Section 67A of the IT Act. Sec 67A penalizes any form of distribution or publishing of any obscene or any sexually explicit material in the digital form. It also provides punishments for committing such offences. This case has created questions about the accountability and misuse of AI in deepfake based cyberbullying.
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS:
The main issue is regulating cyberbullying without curbing people’s freedom of online free speech. So here are few suggestions in order to overcome the issue. • Indian laws must provide a clear definition on the term cyberbullying. • Establish fast track courts in order to resolve cyberbullying cases quickly and within a particular time frame. So that victims will receive justice quickly. • Social media platforms must compulsorily publish a detailed report for why they removed the content. • AI based moderation can sometimes misidentify any criticism or legitimate speech. So we need proper human moderation before flagging any content. • We have to introduce Anti-Cyberbullying programs and policies in Schools. • The reporting mechanisms must be very easy to use and user friendly. So that it can be accessed by all the people.
Victims can anonymously report cyberbullying cases without any fear. The digital world clearly requires a balanced approach between fundamental online free speech and to protect people from any kind of cyberbullying. Article 19 (1)(a) of our Indian Constitution guarantees the freedom of speech and expression.
Article 19(2) defines reasonable restrictions. But due to the growth of digital technologies, the population in social media platforms increased. So this increased high risk of exposure to cyberbullying in online. Indian laws like Information Technology Act, 2000 and Indian Penal Code which was replaced by Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, these act addresses issues like defamation, online harassment etc. But India does not have specific laws for cyberbullying. So we must make laws exclusively for cyberbullying and we must award strict penalties. Due to anonymity present in the digital media platforms, enforcement remains a big challenge.
Our Indian Judiciary and Policymakers must make sure to employ strict enforcement of laws, create more awareness campaigns on anti-cyberbullying and responsible online behaviour are very important in order to make sure a safe and secure cyberspace for all the individuals.