On Tuesday, the Union Minister for Information Technology (IT) Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the internet was becoming toxic and that misinformation was being weaponised. The minister was speaking to NDTV in an interview.
Instances of cyberbullying are issues involving digital harm and it would be addressed by a new law (Digital India Act) that will supersede the IT Act, Mr. Chandrasekhar said.
Speaking on the ‘trolling’, the IT minister said that under the newly proposed Digital India Act law, one would not need to worry about being trolled or gaslighted and a young girl won’t be abused.
“These are all legitimate expectations for democracy, like the internet must be safe and trusted for young girls, young boys, students, elderly pensioners, women housewives, and young professionals. The Internet cannot be a place where toxicity (comes) from everything,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.
Mentioning that the internet is being made toxic he said that the toxicity in social media has made headlines lately but there is no specific law under the IT Act that addresses this issue.
Currently, offenders can be booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections for criminal intimidation, sexual harassment, defamation, voyeurism, online stalking and obscene text; but the anonymity on the internet has made it easy for the trolls to get away, the Minister added.
