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[Trigger Warning: This explainer contains information on physical violence, sexual violence, abuse and slurs which some readers may find disturbing.]
If a person persistently monitors or follows a person’s activity on the internet through email, social networks and instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp etc. it is a crime of cyberstalking.
Some of the common forms of cyber stalking are(( Kalandi Charan Lenka v. State of Orissa BLAPL No.7596 of 2016.)):
- Persistent contact by someone on different modes of social media, for example, WhatsApp and Facebook.
- Using social media to get all personal information and pictures of someone to use it against them.
- Sending emails containing obscene images and videos, displaying nude or morphed pictures along with threats and abuses.
- Posting obscene/nude pictures of someone on the internet or on a pornographic website.
- Monitoring a person’s activity by accessing a computer’s webcam or a computer device.
The punishment for online stalking is jail time up to three years along with a fine. For repeat offenders, the punishment is higher, i.e. up to five years jail time along with a fine.(( Section 354D, Indian Penal Code, 1860.))
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