Cyber Crime Against Children: Is Pocso Sufficient?

Devanshi Singh, B. COM. LL.B., Jamnalal Bajaj School of Legal Studies, Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur, Rajasthan

ABSTRACT

Technology elevation is taking place every day which is escalating the rate of crime in the computer generated world in the modern way. Due to consecutive blooming of internet, anyone can have effortless access of data and information from all over the world. The internet utilised by students has increased fiercely in neoteric years and also browsing internet has embellish an important part of our daily life. The expression ‘cyber’ represent a connection with Information Technology (I.T.) i.e., computer, whereas, the word ‘crime’ denotes that a crime is a deed deleterious not only to a few entity or individuals but as well as to an association/ sections of society. Each society has its own perspective of defining crime. With the evolution of man has evolved his mind and thinking with changing time. The internet is currently a necessary segment of our day to day groove. The utmost frequent term presenting cyber is ‘cyber crime’, specifically against children.

‘Children’ in accord with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence Act, 20121 (herein after, POCSO Act) under Section 2 (1) (d)2 are the persons under 18 years of age. The computer and internet are the actuality practiced to relegate crime against children to mould them to their victim. Cyber crime against children such as revenge porn3, doxing4, digital footprint5, child pornography, production, distribution and possession of child pornography, exposure to harmful content, sexual grooming6, harassment and sexual abuse and cyber bullying. In order to effectively address the horrific incidents of child sexual abuse and harassment on cyber space, we have POCSO Act, the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (herein after, IPC), The Information Technology Act, 2000, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 and The Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2000.

The research paper is about the discussion of the relationship between the children and cyber crime as well as if the present POCSO law is enough to block and tackle the problem and how cyber malefactors take advantage of children in the cyber world.

Keywords: Protection, children, sexual, offence, juvenile, cyber, crime, cyber space, pornography, grooming, bullying,