HOW (NOT) TO REIN IN CYBERBULLIES
The Kerala government was recently in the news for introducing, and then withdrawing, Section 118A of the Kerala Police Act. In simple terms, the provision criminalised any ‘threatening, abusing, humiliating or defaming’ statements found to be ‘false’, and to have caused ‘injury to the mind, reputation or property’ of a person.
Sec. 118A was similar to the erstwhile Sec. 118(d) of the Kerala Police Act and Sec. 66A of the Information Technology. Terms such as ‘humiliate’, ‘abuse’ and ‘threaten’ are not defined in the law, and being vague, draw no clear line of transgression. Being freely interpretable, in any manner the police see fit or find expedient, the section could easily have been misused.
