It’s time to learn Internet etiquette
Experts discuss need to protect privacy in digital space, ways to ward off cyber crime and harassment
LUCKNOW: It’s time to learn netiquette, as you spend more time in the virtual world (Internet) than the real, feel experts.
Discussing harassment in digital space during a conference, Astitv (The existence), on safety of women and children here on Saturday, the panellist unanimously agreed on including netiquette in school curriculums in an interactive manner to make children learn it as they are exposed to net through parents and family members’ mobile phones and laptops at an early age.
The panellists also suggested inclusion of information regarding prospective harassment in course structure from primary level of schooling.
Assistant secretary, Central Women and Child Development Department, Bhavya Laxmi pointed out that sexual harassment in digital space was not defined properly in the Indian law that made women and children more vulnerable to it.
She said there was no standard operating procedure to remove the objectionable content online immediately. It was the need of the hour to make a policy that objectionable could be removed immediately as the delay would fulfill the intention of the offenders to make it viral online, she said. “In the absence of proper guidelines, children often fall victims to paedophiles through different social media sites and instant chatting applications. It is urgent that children be informed about safety tips for not sharing personal information while using net,” Laxmi emphasised.
Sharing his 10-year-long experience in cyber crime investigation, additional SP Dinesh Yadav pointed out the necessity for cyber safety awareness among children as well as adult women. He said this was required as smart phones had penetrated our lifestyle and made people more vulnerable to online harassment.
He said people should be very selective about sharing information on social media platforms, as details available there were in public domain and accessible even to criminals. He said it was necessary for the user to learn security options present in gadgets like laptop, tablet and smart phones. The ASP said there was a need to make the police force adapt to new age crime investigation, in which the crime was committed by a person sitting several miles from the spot.
Yadav said the Indian law allowed cops only of inspector rank or above, who had spent over 20 years in service, to probe cyber crimes but such officers were not aware of online functioning. He said the young police personnel joining the force were more adaptable to such investigation but they were not eligible for it. He also sought support from service providers in cyber crime investigation.
A panellist Bishakha Bhattacharya pointed out harassment through matrimonial sites, in which an unknown person posing as somebody else interacted with a woman and harass her. She said such sites offered information and mode of communication to women and multiple cases of duping on pretext of marriage were being reported.
Promising full support, deputy director general, Telecom, PK Singh said there was an urgent need for investigation agencies to take hold of digital footprints and nail the offenders.
VICTIM SHARES STORY
A law student Vaishali Patel shared how a lost mobile phone with her personal details enabled an unknown youth to harass her through facebook. She said initially she was reluctant in taking action but deputy SP Babita Singh of 1090 helped her fight to put the youth behind bars .