The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday informed the Lok Sabha that a “cyber volunteer” program for “cyber hygiene promotion” has been initiated and the services of the volunteers will be used by the state police as per the requirement.
The MHA, through its cyber crime complaints portal- cybercrime.gov.in, aims to raise a group of “cyber crime volunteers” to mark “illegal content” on the Internet. Various groups, including the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), have expressed concerns that the program enables a culture of surveillance and may create potential social distrust by encouraging citizens to report other citizens’ online activities.
Biju Janata Dal MP Pinaki Mishra asked if “there are concerns about privacy violations due to irrational and illegal intrusion into a person’s online activities in this program and its operating protocol”.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. Kishan Reddy said in a written reply, “The challenges of cyberspace are many that flow from its vastness and borderless character. … a part of the Cybercrime Volunteer Framework to bring together the citizens to contribute to the fight against cyber crime in the country and to assist the State / Union Territories (law enforcement agencies) in their efforts. Has been started as. Prohibition on cyber crimes. Volunteers will be nominated by the respective State / UT police officers as per their requirement. “
Cybercrime reporting portal
The minister said in another reply that MHA on August 30, 2019 to provide a centralized mechanism to citizens for online reporting of all types of cyber crime, with special focus on cybercrime against women. Crime Reporting Portal. And children. “The incidents reported on this portal, their conversion to FIR and subsequent action are handled by the State / UT law enforcement agency as per the provisions of the law,” he said.
The reply states that since its inception, 3,17,439 cyber crime incidents and 5,771 FIRs have been reported in the country since February 28, according to the data. Conversion of complaints received in FIR was 1.81%.
“21,562 cybercrime incidents and 87 FIRs were reported in Karnataka, and 50,806 cybercrime incidents and 534 FIRs were reported in Maharashtra. The MHA interacts regularly with the States / UTs and advises them to expedite the disposal of reported cyber crime incidents with special emphasis on disposal of incidents related to women and children.
The minister said in a third reply that the government had approved the setting up of 1,023 Fast Track Special Courts (FCSs), including 389 exclusive POCSO Courts for speedy trial and disposal of rape-related cases and protection of children from sexual offenses. POCSO) Act. “According to published information, the conviction rate for POCSO cases in 2019 was 34.9%,” the reply stated.
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