We have been
witnessing a trend where online media and websites in India have been
accused of promoting soft pornography at their platforms. The cyber
law of India clearly prohibits such display of soft porn in India yet
till now we have not witnessed any compliant or court case against
such platforms.
We recently received an e-mail from Supreeth
Sudhakaran informing us about the possible cyber law violation by the
English website of the Bhaskar Group. We have forwarded the
same to Perry4Law’s
Techno Legal Base (PTLB), the leading techno legal segment
of law firm Perry4Law.
According to Supreeth he recently visited the
English website of the Bhaskar Group and found that they have been
promoting a nude calendar under the claims that it is artistic and
that they are launching it in India.
The website has neither blurred the image nor creatively cropped it, says Supreeth. When he contacted their editors, he did not receive any response. Now Supreeth wonders whether the website in question violates any law of India.
The cyber
law due diligence for press and media in India is well
known and a failure to observe the same could result in criminal
liabilities. According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of
Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, a single such
episode can attract Civil and Criminal Liabilities on the part of
those involved in the making, uploading, publication and circulation
of the same in paper and electronic form. The Cyber Law of India
prescribes stringent Due
Diligence Requirements that paper
based and electronic publishers must follow. If they do
not follow Cyber Due Diligence, they can be Criminally Prosecuted by
the Government, opines Praveen Dalal.
The legal position in this regard is very clear and
websites and media platforms must keep the cyber law due diligence
requirements in mind.
