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| What is a troll? |
- An Internet troll is an individual (or a team of people) who construct an online identity and use it on message boards and discussion groups for specific abuse purposes.
- On the Internet you cannot know who is sending a message unless youactually see who is typing on the keyboard. In particular trolls like to use multiple online identities and do not hesitate to “talk” to themselves to support their points.
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| What motivates trolling? |
- There are many motives but the most common on support communities is either attention seeking or site/product promotion.
- In some cases trolls are motivated by a direct financial gain (by requestingfunds or suggesting gifts). In most cases the trolls will try to collect personal information directly or indirectly, such as email addresses, postal addresses, passwords, phone numbers.
- The trolls may enjoin you to sign-up on another site or email list that they control with similar motives.
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| Some notable cases of trolling in India? |
- Last year actress Shruti Seth was hounded by online haters as her tweet contained references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘selfie with daughter” call which some social media visitors found objectionable. So they shot back with hate mail causing Seth to withdraw her comments.
- Recently actress Anushka Sharma was trolled on Twitter for having deserted former beau, cricketer Virat Kohli.
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| What happened in shreya singhal case and what is its impact on trolling? |
- In the Shreya Singhal versus the Union judgment in March 2015, the SC scrapped Section 66 A of the Information Technology Act 2000 calling it”unconstitutional” as it interfered with the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution.
- It mandated jail up to three years and a fine for those using a computer ora communication device to send grossly offensive or menacing information or electronic messages to people with the purpose of annoying or inconveniencing them.
- Since March 2015, trolling has begun to assume alarming proportions.Reason: there is no law currently to deal with it.
- The repealed provision was, after all, the only legal remedy victims ofsocial media trolling could turn to until then.
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| What is not covered by IT Act, 2000? |
- TROLLING: Not an offence in India’s cyber law.
- CYBER STALKING: Not covered explicitly under India’s IT Act. Is somewhat covered under Section 354 D IPC which came after Nirbhaya gang rape. But experts say this section perceives stalking more in the physical than the virtual sense.
- CYBER DEFAMATION: Not explicitly covered by IT Act. Can be dealt with under Section 500 IPC but that has its limitations
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| What is covered by IT Act, 2000? |
- Publishing pornography, transmitting or publishing obscene electronic information (punishable with 3 years imprisonment and fine)
- Publishing explicitly sexual
- Browsing, publishing, forwarding child
- Sharing obscene pictures
- Identity theft
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