This Independence Day We Need Freedom From These 5 Things On The Internet

The honourable Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi talked about a “Digital India” in his hour long address to the nation. He highlighted the importance of internet and how broadband can help our villages. People who use internet on a day-to-day basis know how technology can educate, entertain and help us to connect with our loved ones. After being an Internet user for the past 7 years, I have some issues with this technology and I am sure that you too are facing the same problems. In this article we shall try to highlight some of these issues. There is a long list but we shall cover the most important ones, starting with -

Freedom from Snooping


If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past two years you must be aware of the NSA-Snowden saga. The files leaked by Edward Snowden showed how the US Government was accessing information stored by major US tech giants without individual warrants and mass-intercepting data from the internet backbone. While we completely support the idea of lawful monitoring of potential suspects for security purposes, NSA’s procedure seemed downright creepy. This made the whole world feel uneasy while posting something on the internet. Since we were concerned about this issue we raised a question to Mr. Rahul Jamgade in the #-Link-Snipped-# on how we can maintain our privacy in this scenario. He said that it was next to impossible to do that and if anything wants to remain confidential it must not be on the internet. Why can’t we have a private life on the internet? Why shall we remain in a world where “Big Brother” keeps an eye on us all the time? We need freedom from snooping.

Freedom From Online Trolls, Abusers and Stalkers


It does not matter if you are a celebrity or a simpleton, because chances are high you would have encountered one or all of the three above mentioned nuisances on the internet. Yesterday, Zelda Williams, the daughter of the recently deceased actor Robin Williams #-Link-Snipped-# and Instagram following a series of derogatory attacks by people who blamed her for her father’s death. These people would not do the same face-to-face but under the mask of misplaced anonymity they display a side of their personalities that is too heinous to be expressed in words. If you ever dived into the comment section of a trending Bollywood film trailer on YouTube, you will be astounded to see the amount of obscene language used. Thanks to shows like MTV Webbed you are well aware of how people, especially the youth of the country become both perpetrators and victims of cyber crimes that leave an indelible mark in their lives. We need a society where one can live online without fear and discrimination. We need freedom from online trolls, abusers and stalkers.

Freedom from Archaic IT Laws


In a webinar conducted for CrazyEngineers, Mr. Rahul Jamgade gave us an idea about the IT laws prevailing in the country in India, the Information Technology Act 2000. One of its sections 66A though poses a problem. The offense according to 66A has been listed below.

Sending offensive message through electronic means - Sending any information through an electronic message that is grossly offensive or has menacing character and might cause insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred, or ill will, etc. or sending such mail intended to deceive or to mislead the addressee or recipient about the origin of such messages

and the punishment for such a crime is imprisonment up to three years and a hefty fine. This section came to the limelight when two girls were arrested in November 2012, one for posting a comment on Facebook and the other for liking it. How was liking a Facebook status considered as grossly offensive and had a menacing character to cause insult, injury or whatever? So we would like our lawmakers to amend the laws to clearly define the parameters of the crime and keep up with the ever changing world of internet. We need freedom from archaic IT laws.

Freedom From Spam


In the internet era the delicious canned precooked meat became a phenomenon that is still causing a headache for everyone. Even when we have stringent spam filters in place, our mail accounts and web browsers have not been able to get rid of them all together. Just when we thought that the industry has gotten rid of them in one sector (mail), they went ahead and infiltrated another one (social networking). So is there a way to stop unsolicited junk from invading our life? We need freedom from spam.

Freedom From Fraudulent Customer Reviews on Online Shopping Websites


A couple of months back <a href="https://www.crazyengineers.com/threads/are-product-reviews-on-flipkart-honest.75102">Are product reviews on Flipkart honest?</a> the baron made me realize the dishonest nature of customer reviews on online shopping websites. If you go to any shopping site such as Amazon, Flipkart or Snapdeal you can find many reviews of a product. While some of them come with a “Verified Buyer” tag most of them are written by people who haven’t actually bought the product from the website. So when you go to know the customer’s review section on a product you are planning to buy you are bombarded with useless information. For example, if you read the customer review of any smartphone, you can find some people posting a spec sheet shootout. This is not necessary and after sometimes it becomes hugely irritating. Therefore, can we have honest reviews, please? We need freedom from fraudulent customer reviews on online shopping websites.

In the run up to 2020, we hope that the world including India would work on these issues and help us lead a better online life. So, do you agree with our list and do you want to add something more? Head over to the comment section below and make your voice heard.