Need stringent law to curb unlawful Internet behaviour, cyber crime: NHRC

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson Justice (Retd) Arun Kumar Mishra on Thursday called for a stringent law to deal with "unlawful Internet behaviour and cyber crimes."

He was speaking after the inauguration of the 25th All India Forensic Science Conference at the National Forensic Sciences University in Gandhinagar. "It is necessary to promote cyber ethics. And there should be stringent legislation by the government to penalise and punish unlawful Internet behaviour and cyber crimes," the former Supreme Court judge said. Many countries have amended their laws "specifically to deal with cyber crimes along with the advent of newer kinds of crimes," he said. Freedom of expression applicable for "social media and cyber space" is not "larger" than what is granted to individuals or the media, Mishra said. "Freedom of expression under Article 19 of the Constitution given to the media or individuals is the same as that given to the social media or the cyberspace, it is not larger than that...So there should be stringent legislation to deal with cyber crime. We need to deal with misuse very sternly," he said. Cyberspace was being used for infringing civil and human rights and violating individual privacy, the former judge added. "Cyber space is causing breach of privacy of online personalities and infringing the right to live with dignity. Cyber security is the key to fight cyber crime and preservation of human rights. Global studies indicate India is third in cyber threats and second in targeted attacks," he said.