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“Waise toh Shastro mein likha hai, par humne Whatsapp pe pda tha”, Our perfectly balanced world consists of three parts, the ‘Swarg Lok’ aka Pariyo ka desh aka TikTok, the ‘Paatal Lok’ aka Shaitan Ka Ghar aka YouTube and ‘Dharti Lok’, where we all live. In this pretty world, the residents of Dharti Lok entertain themselves by watching the chronicles of Swarg Lok and Paatal Lok. All was going hunky-dory before a ‘Shaitan’ mocked a ‘Pari’. The result was the removal of Carryminati’s video from YouTube and the play store rating of TikTok dropping drastically. The video was taken down as per the cyberbullying policies of YouTube because of “prolonged malicious insults”.
Cyberbullying is 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 content. Cyberbullying includes sending, posting, or sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. In the present times, when a major portion of our lives has shifted from real to virtual, from bullying to cyberbullying, we need to understand the ABC of the virtual laws that protect us. Like they say "Modern problems require modern solutions”.
Since it was Youtube which brought Carryminati’s video down, let’s start with its policies only. As per YouTube’s cyberbullying policy, content that threatens individuals is not allowed on YouTube. YouTube also does not allow content that targets an individual with prolonged or malicious insults based on intrinsic attributes. Policies of Facebook and other social media platforms are similarly vague. What is a threat? What is not. What is an insult? What is not. However, YouTube has provided a list of exceptions to the above-mentioned vague policy wherein it allows harassment content, if the primary purpose is educational, documentary, scientific, or artistic in nature. Some examples include:
Debates related to high-profile officials or leaders: A debate on the ignorance of our Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman for failing to recognize the middle class of India in an ill-arithmetic 20 lakh crore package.
Scripted performances: Insults made in the context of an artistic medium such as scripted satire, stand up comedy, or music (e.g. a diss track). A recognizable example can be Kunal Kamra’s stand up on Modi.
Harassment education or awareness: Content that features actual or simulated harassment for documentary purposes or with willing participants (e.g. actors) to combat cyberbullying or raise awareness.
The most important part of cyberbullying reporting is that the victim has to report the offense. In the Carryminati case, even if a reconsideration request is filed with youtube to restore the video, there is no way the video can be restored, in case Amir Siddiqui (The guy who was roasted by Carryminati) himself reported the video. However, if the video was taken down due to mass reporting, the video might be restored after clearance from YouTube. Let us understand if the matter can be dealt with by Indian laws if Amir Siddiqui files an FIR regarding this.
There is no specific legislation that caters to cyberbullying issues in India. None of the Indian legislations even defines cyberbullying. Only some provisions such as Section 67 of the Information Technology Act deal with cyberbullying. Section 67 of the act prescribes punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form for a term which may extend to five years and also with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.
Some other provisions that indirectly cater to cyberbullying include Section 507 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which states that if anyone receives criminal intimidation by way of anonymous communication then the person giving threats shall be punished with imprisonment for up to two years. By virtue of the word “anonymous” the offense of cyberbullying is included in this section. In Carryminati’s case, no intimidation can be proven per se.
Cyberbullying is a pandemic. 43% of kids around the world have been subject to some sort of cyberbullying. What is surprising is that even though India ranks at Number 3 in the list of online bullying cases, cyberbullying as a term fails to find a mention in any of the Indian Acts. Since India doesn’t even have a proper definition, hence a lot of cases do not even get filed. While we all laugh out at the eternal Phir Hera Pheri memes, there are a lot of victims out there who question the very reason they joined the platform. Today it is someone else, tomorrow it can be you, or someone from your friends or family. The Internet, as an open platform, was supposed to champion the right to free speech provided to us by our constitution. However, the line between cyberbullying and free speech seems to be very blurry.
There is a lot of comfort when commenting under the shroud of anonymity. Cyberbullying may seem pretty trouble-less and fun, just the way this article began, but gets really mind-wrenching when you dig deep into it. There have been meme trends on Neha Dhupia and others, which were nothing short of cyberbullying and might have caused a lot of mental harassment. All laws take years to evolve. As far as Indian cyber laws are concerned, they are far from the realities of the 21st century. The current government has taken a lot of pride in removing redundant laws, now it needs to work towards developing one.
