Empowering the Youth with #MyKanoon

The year 2020 changed the landscape of our work and interpersonal interactions. More and more
people are spending a larger share of their day on the Internet, which comes with its own share of
boons and banes. Some of the challenges it brings are threats to data privacy, cyber bullying, online
harassment, doxxing and fraud. These are only some of the cybercrimes that most ‘netizens’ have to
grapple with. By virtue of spending a lot of time online, the youth are particularly susceptible to such
offences. This is particularly relevant to India which, according to a 2018 survey, has the highest cases of
children being cyberbullied. There’s no doubt that making the internet safer for our youth is the need of
the hour. It is with this vision that Nyaaya launched #MyKanoon campaign.

The lack of legal awareness stands in the way of accessing justice for many Internet users, especially
children and adolescents. The current educational curriculum does not equip the youth with the specific
skill sets needed to understand and process legal information. Further, legal information is not shared in
a format that young people can consume and understand easily. So, confronted with the dual challenge
of addressing the emerging threats in cyberspace and the gaps in accessing simple and actionable legal
information, Nyaaya partnered with Instagram India and We the Young (a youth media organisation) to
highlight stories of young Indians, to launch the ‘#MyKanoon’ campaign.

Over the course of 3 months the #MyKanoon campaign raised awareness about issues such as online
violence, bullying and harassment of women while also addressing children’s safety in online spaces. It
did so in formats that are not only engaging but also accessible by our target audience- the youth.

MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA A SAFER SPACE

Over 4 lakh cybercrime complaints were registered in merely the first 6 months of 2021 and if we are to
effectively counter this rising menace, a holistic knowledge about the law is the essential first step. The
Information Technology Act of 2000 and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code lay down the
punishments to online offences. But, countless cases fall through the cracks due to the lack of
awareness. We designed the #MyKanoon campaign to help young Internet users understand their rights
and protections under the law through a range of innovative, and accessible formats ranging from reels,
short videos, memes etc. This Instagram driven campaign has reached over 1.6 million users all over
India, has recorded over 12 lakh views and close to 3 million impressions.

Nyaaya’s mission is to make laws accessible and realisable for all, especially the young. Thus, through #MyKanoon, a campaign by the young, for the young, we shared simple, actionable, reliable and accessible legal (SARAL) information on a large array of issues about online safety and protection from harassment into catchy and relatable content.

The campaign was not merely limited to sharing legal information but also resolving any follow up questions from the audience that stemmed from the campaign content. Among the heartening feedbacks we received, one particular story stood out where a young user was able to successfully lodge a complaint regarding cyberbullying referring to the information from #MyKanoon

SIMPLIFYING LEGAL INFORMATION FOR THE YOUTH

Imagine learning how to report a fake profile to the tune of Trinidad Cardona’s ‘Dinero’ or understanding
the law against cyberstalking with a popular Spiderman meme. We used popular media and cultural
references to convey authoritative legal information to our audience.

Spread across three months, this campaign consisted of 50 long and short content pieces on topics like
bullying and harassment, child sexual abuse and more, shared by young content creators on Instagram.

We also had specific engagements like poster campaigns on facts related to online safety as well as an
Ask Me Anything (AMA) on Instagram where our team directly responded to questions asked by the
audience that ranged from That unauthorised use of your photos even on a public profile is illegal or
threatening to release your private photos may land the person in jail for 2 years are some examples of
the questions we answered on the AMA.

The campaign’s relevant and contemporary content has been highlighted by various media outlets like
The Economic Times, Bar and Bench and Indian Express to name a few. Even popular social media
handles like Miss Malini Trending shared our content and highlighted that “With the help of this
campaign, the young users will be informed about Instagram’s safety controls as well as help them to take
informed legal steps and interact with the justice systems accordingly.”

Since its launch, #MyKanoon also struck a chord with other youth centric initiatives. One of them is the
Counter Speech Fellowship by the Young Leader For Active Citizenship (YLAC). The Counter Speech
Fellows, who are school students from across the country, volunteered to highlight the legal information
shared by #MyKanoon through innovative mediums like short films, digital zines, and an online factoid
competition sharing information and statistics on cybersecurity.
Nyaaya remains committed to making digital spaces safe for all users, especially girls, women and young
people. We will continue our efforts to create legal awareness on online safety and legal protections
from online harassment.

Follow @nyaayaorg on Instagram to know more about #MyKanoon and stay posted for more exciting
updates.