The café with better responsibility

http://www.cybervictims.org

Not very long ago, a pub in western India witnessed violent harassment of women. The media showed the glimpses how women were literally thrown off from the premises by some religious extremist groups. Their only ‘crime’ was they entered the premises to have hard liquors. The fundamentalist group contended that drinking culture among women would spoil the Indian cultural heritage, maximum of which is carried out through the behavioral aspects of women in the society. These groups were angry with the pubs ; but they were more angry with the women who ‘dared’ to drink hard liquor in public. This incidence evoked a huge debate in urban Indian societies regarding the pub –culture and also the café culture to a certain extent. I am including café culture here intentionally to denote the growing culture of ‘addiction’ among men and women and legal powers or licenses of the cafes and pubs to provide people some thing to rest their nerves.

It is ironical now as how addiction to cyber space has started getting recognition from behavioral scientists. Not long ago in India cyber cafes were the only places where people could access the internet. Within 4-5 years cheaper rates of broadband had made almost every moderate Indian household to have internet connection. But, cyber cafes still remain as a chosen place to rest the nerves for some. Many visit the local cafes as an alternative when their home net connections are disrupted, some visit the cafes as halt inns when they are on move and are reluctant to carry mobile nets, some visit the cafes to see and connect with the world under camouflage. The last category of people can be dangerous. The recent news about terror threats through the emails showed that many of such incidences have taken place from cyber cafés. People who intend to create trouble with the help of their cyber identities may take to cafes in order to misguide the procedural investigations of the police, for cafes have their own IP addresses which may not match with the actual residing places of the users. No doubt, the government has become strict and vigilant enough in ordering every cyber café to have user’s data written separately in log books through the proposed Information technology guidelines for cyber café rules ) 2011 (section 2bb of this proposed rule defines log register as “a register maintained by the Cyber Café for access and use of computer resource”); the rule has also proposed that the cafes responsibility must also include prohibiting any user from accessing the computer or computer networks established in the café unless

1. the intended user produces a valid identity proof as has been specified under section 4(1) of this Rule;
2. the intended user actually allows the café to store his data through photocopy of the same , as has been specified under section 4(2) of this Rule;
3. if the intended user is a minor , he/she is accompanied by an adult as has been specified under section 4(4) of this Rule;
4.  The accompanying person (if any) of the intended user produces identity data   as has been specified under section 4(5) of this Rule.

This proposed rule has also specified that cyber cafes may also use web cams to have more authentic information about the intended user. In other words, cyber cafes may get full legal recognition under Indian information technology act ,2000( as amended in 2008). Now it is important to note what is the typical legal definition of  ‘cyber café’ under the Indian laws. Section 2 (na) of the Information technology Act . 2000 ( as amended in 2008) defines cyber café as “any facility from where access to the internet is offered by any person in the ordinary course of business to the members of the public.”  Cyber café therefore has been analyzed as a ‘facility’ by the Indian laws, or rather a service provider.

Coming back to my point on real life pub and café culture in India and the protests by the self declared guardians of civil society, it could be seen that whereas real life cafes need only the valid license to serve good and healthy  food , drinks and hot beverages to rest the nerves of common people, the proposed Rule has made these cafes even more responsible towards protection of civil societies. The users of the facilities offered by the café wont be thrown out by the so called guardians of the civil society for their ‘dare devil’ intentions, but these Rules emphasize that this very responsibility should be shifted to the provider of the facility, i.e the cyber café when the users intend to cross the limits to create real harm to the society.  But the message of the law is clear… unless we the common people are not becoming aware of the ‘happening’ hi-tech thefts; no one can save the world from extremism…remember ‘prevention is better than cure’.

Wishing all my readers a belated very happy friendship day.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder D. (2011), “The café with better responsibility

”, 8^th August,2011, published in http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/

Section 43 Of The Information Technology Act, 2000(amended in 2008) And Pollution Of Computers And Data

http://www.cybervictims.org

Internet is a window to me. Well, it is a window to millions of users like me. This window brings in good inflow of knowledge, some sweet breeze of friendships, economic inflow for some, and also dusty wind which carries viruses.  Even those, who do not access internet from their own computers, may bring to their own “safe computers” or to other’s computers all these unwanted pollutions by secondary methods like CDs, Pen drives, Floppies etc. I bet that every common man, woman or a school going child who uses computer, is afraid of pollution of computer.  There are hundreds of modes to pollute a computer ……nonetheless, hundreds of reasons too for doing this mischievous act. The Indian Information Technology Act recognizes two  most prominent modes of polluting the computer under section 43© , i.e introducing or causing to introduce computer contaminant and computer virus. Note that the mode is a two folded mode, i.e either directly introducing or causing to introduce.  This direct or indirect operation includes introduction of any computer contaminant and/or computer virus to the computer as a machine, computer system and the computer network as a whole.

Look at the draftsmen’s  particular observance on the distinguishing feature of ‘computer contaminant’ and ‘computer virus’….explanation to section 43 says under clause (i) that “computer contaminant” is a term which has been used to indicate “any set of instruction” which is designed to (a) modify, (b) destroy, (c) record, (d) transmit  any data or programme residing within a computer . The term also includes any set of instructions which is designed by any means, to  usurp the normal computer operations. This means that this provision penalizes any or the whole activity done in this course.

             Now, coming to the term “computer virus”, the first thing which came in my mind was the usage of the term “virus” in the very thought provoking movie “3 idiots”. The protagonist and others in the movie named the strict disciplinarian head of the institution “Virus”. It was a short form of his name “Veeru Shasrabudhhi”. But I felt that probably the movie wanted to establish the fact that “Virus” was polluting the minds of young aspirant researchers……………..exactly the way computer viruses pollute the data within the computers which may have been produced after real hard work. The legislation aforementioned in its explanation under clause (iii) clarifies what is meant by the term “computer virus”. It is explained as computer instruction, data or information or programmes that can either destroy, damage, degrade, adversely affect the computer functioning; or can attach itself to another computer resource and operate simultaneously when any data , instruction or programme is executed in that computer resource. The language of the legislation therefore indicates that ‘computer virus’ can include ‘computer contaminant’ too. Nonetheless, computer virus and computer contaminant could be the two prominent modes for hacking, besides monitoring and modifying the contents. Section 43 regulates such pollution of the computer (inclusive of computer contamination and polluting the computer through virus attack) by awarding pecuniary sanction of Rupees 1 Crore which the guilty person has to pay as compensation to the person affected as such.

Taking this provision as the base, hacking and modification of the content by such “pollutions” have also been regulated by Information Technology Act, 2008 under Section 65 (especially when the offense includes destruction , alteration of the computer source code which is required to be maintained by law for the time being in force) and section 66 (which includes all the offences as has been mentioned under Section 43, including ‘polluting’ the computer). Section 65 awards sentence which could be either imprisonment term up to 3 years or  pecuniary sanction which may extend to two lakh Rupees , or both; whereas section 66 awards sentence which could be imprisonment which may extend to three years , or pecuniary fine of  five lakh Rupees, or  both.

Hence do not take computer contamination or virus attacks lightly. If you are a programmer and you are asked to create any such programme, think again how it may affect you if you were the victim. If you are the victim, do not encourage any “techy” to beat the wrongdoer. The law is there to help…..however, how far it can be used and executed, remains still a matter of debates.

Please Note: Do not violate copyright of this blog. If you would like to use informations provided in this blog for your own assignment/writeup/project/blog/article, please cite it as “Halder Debarati. (2011), “Section 43 of the Information technology Act, 2000(amended in 2008) and pollution of computers and data”,9^th June,2011 , published in  http://cybervictims.blogspot.com/