HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST CYBER BULLYING ON TWITTER

HOW TO FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST CYBER BULLYING ON TWITTER

Introduction
Twitter is an American micro blogging and social networking site where users post messages known as ” tweets “and communicate with them. Registered users can upload, share, and retweet tweets, but they can only be read by unregistered users. Users access Twitter via its website interface, Short Message Service (SMS) or the application software for mobile devices (‘app’). Twitter, Inc. has a headquarters in San Francisco, California and more than 25 offices worldwide. Tweets were originally confined to 140 characters but were doubled to 280 in November 2017 for non-Asian languages.
Twitter was founded in March 2006, released in July of that year by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone and Evan Williams. The service rapidly gained prominence across the globe. More than 100 million users posted 340 million tweets a day in 2012 and the service dealt with an average of 1.6 billion search queries a day. In 2013, it was one of the ten websites most visited and was identified as the “Internet SMS.” By 2018 Twitter had over 321 million active monthly users.
Cyber Crime
Words and phrases that existed scarcely a decade ago are now part of our everyday language, as criminals use new technologies to commit cyber-attacks against governments, businesses and people. Such crimes know no limits, whether physical or virtual, cause significant harm and pose very real threats to the worldwide victims.
‘Pure cybercrime‘ applies to computer crime and information systems in which the intent is to obtain unauthorized access to a device or refuse access to a legitimate user.
Traditional types of crime have also changed as more and more criminal organizations turn to the Internet to promote their operations and increase their income in the shortest possible time. These ‘cyber-enabled’ crimes are not necessarily new — such as theft, fraud, illegal gambling, selling fake medicines — but they have taken on a new dimension online.
Cybercrime is evolving at an incredibly rapid pace, with continually emerging new trends. Therefore, the police must keep up with emerging technology, consider the incentives they generate for offenders and How to use them as weapons to combat cybercrime.
Cybercrime is a criminal activity that is committed using computers and the Internet. Hacking, cyber stalking, denial of service attack (DoS), virus spread, software theft, credit card fraud & phishing are some of the prevalent cybercrimes.
CIDs (Criminal Enforcement Departments) from various cities have opened Cyber Crime Cells in different cities to address the problem of cybercrime. India’s Information Technology Act specifically states that it has a regional jurisdiction when a cybercrime is committed. And so, it is possible to lodge a complaint with any cyber cell.

Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying is the harassment or bullying performed by digital devices such as computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets. The platforms on which cyber bullying can take place include social media, chat rooms and gaming platforms where people can view and participate in content sharing. The different types of cyber bullying include embarrassment caused by hateful comments on online platforms / apps, or by SMS or message. It includes posting, sending or sharing negative, nasty or false information about another person for causing humiliation and assassination of character.

Different Types of Cyber Bullying
A knowledge of the various types of cyber bullying is required. This allows parents and young adults to report cyber bullying and take cyber bullying prevention measures. Below are some of the common cyber-bullying types:
• Post hurtful, nasty or humiliating rumors or comments about an online individual
• Posting a bad or humiliating picture or video
• Creating a fake or nasty webpage about someone else
• Issues of threats online that cause an individual to kill themselves or hurt another
• Publishing hate comments or content online to trigger religious, racial, ethnic or political invective.
• Facturing an online identity to ask for or post personal or fake information about someone
Some Horrific Cyber Bullying Cases in India
An MBBS student in Kerala jumped from the highest floor of their college building to her death in November 2017. An examination of her profile on Facebook showed her disappointment over the nasty comments made by one of her peers. Police suspect cyber bullying has triggered her to take this extreme step.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) assaulted students at a literary event held at Ramjas College in Delhi in February 2017.
At that time, little did a 20-year-old Lady Shri Ram College student, Delhi, imagine her online campaign against violence would forever change her life? Since then the student Gurmehar Kaur has been extensively trolled and harassed on social media platforms. Worse yet, she had even received threats of death and rape! This just yet another example of India’s ugly state of cyber bullying. Unfortunately, India is subject to online harassment and cyber bullying every day yet another innocent life.

Prevent online bullying
1. Be careful of the online activities of your child
Children are growing up in this digital era with technology at their fingertips. Thus, various types of cyber-bullying have become a household event. Adolescents and teenagers are more vulnerable to cyber bullying because they have limited understanding of the good and the bad. As a parent, being mindful of your child’s online behavior is your duty to avoid cyber bullying. Be mindful of your child’s devices and digital media. It’s imperative that you make sure your child engages more in offline activities than computer, online gaming, and smartphone addiction.
2. Beware of These Signs
• Increase or decrease considerably the use of a mobile, laptop or tablet for your child
• Showing emotional responses such as sadness, wrath or happiness to the activities on your device
• The propensity to stop discussion about their online activities
• Device screen hide when others are close by
• Indifference to social events and meetings and outdoor activities
• Sudden turning off their social media accounts or opening new ones
• Depression and isolation
3. Steps to The Afterward
In the unfortunate event of cyber bullying experienced by your child, it is essential that you take prompt steps to show your support and report cyber bullying. In case your child or kin is a victim of cyber bullying, the following are some of the things you should do.
• Watch
Notice if behavior or mood changes somewhat abnormally. Try to investigate the causes by yourself and note if these changes usually occur during digital device use.
• Interview
Try not to sound too priestly or demanding but engage your ward gently in a conversation. Take him / her to trust and try to understand what’s going on when it all began and who’s involved.
• Recording
Try to keep a record of the activities online. Take screenshots of any offensive or harmful content or posting where possible. In any case when reporting cyber bullying, evidence of online activities is mandatory.
• Reference
Most social media sites have specific guidelines for combating cyber bullying. Social media platforms can help you delete the offensive post. You can also submit your complaint to complaint-mwcd@gov.in to report cyber bullying in India. Register a report with the police immediately in case your child is getting sexual or physical threats, or you suspect an illegal behavior or crime underway.
• Promote
Recovering from the cyberbullying trauma can be time-consuming and difficult. The victim needs support and guidance in such situations. It could have come from parents, peers, family or teachers. Request help from a professional counselor if necessary.

India Cyber Bullying Report
An act of cyber bullying can be recorded in every city’s cybercrime jail, regardless of the location where the act was committed. Cyber bullying or cyber-defamation of any kind is considered a cybercrime and the laws covering it fall within the scope of the Information Technology Act.

Laws on Cyber Bullying in India
In India, cyber bullying has reared its ugly head in more ways than one and it only gets worse with every day that passes. It is shocking though that there are no special anti-cyber bullying laws yet in India. There are cyber laws that follow though covering some of the acts classified as cyber bullying in India.
• Sec.66A – Sending offensive messages via communications, etc.
• Sec.66C-Theft of Identity
• Sec.66D-Personalization by use of the device tool
• Sec.66E-Privacy violation
• Sec.67B – Punishment for the publishing or transmission in electronic form of material depicting children in any sexually explicit act etc.
• Sec.72 – Confidentiality breach and privacy breach
• Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sec.503 – Sending threatening messages via email
• Sec.509 IPC-Phrase, gesture or behavior aimed at offending a woman’s modesty
• Sec.499 IPC-Sending by email defamatory messages
• Sec.500 IPC-Misuse of emails

How to Report someone on twitter?
Twitter is striving to provide an environment where people can feel free to speak out. If abusive activity happens we want people to report it to us easily. It is possible to include multiple tweets or lists in the same report, helping us to gain a better context, while investigating the issues to get them resolved more quickly.

A Tweet to report:
1. Navigate to the Tweet that you would like to report for the iOS or Android app on twitter.com or from Twitter.
2. Tap on the button
3. Please pick Report.
4. Select It is harmful or abusive.
5. Twitter will then ask you to provide more detail about the topic you are covering. They can also ask you to pick additional Tweets from your reporting account so that we have a better background for analyzing your article.
6. Twitter will include the text of the tweets you posted in our emails and reminders for you to follow up. Please uncheck the box next to Notifications about this report that can show these Tweets to opt-out of receiving that information.
7. Twitter will provide recommendations for additional actions you can take to improve your Twitter experience once you’ve submitted your report.

Reporting an account to Twitter:
1. Go to the account profile and tap or click the Overflow icon
2. Please pick Report.
3. Select They are harmful or abusive.
4. Next, twitter will ask you to provide more information about the problem that you are discussing. twitter may also ask you to select Tweets from that account to evaluate your report in a better context.
5. In our follow-up emails and notifications twitter will include the text of the Tweets that you reported. Please uncheck the box next to Notifications about this report that can show these Tweets to opt-out of receiving that information.
6. Once you have submitted your report, we will give recommendations for further action you can take to improve your Twitter experience.

Even after taking above precautions, if someone has gone extreme then one can go anytime can take help of cybercrime cells in the following way.
Step by Step Procedures for Complaining Cybercrime
• Step 1– The main step is to lodge a complaint with the cyber police or the cyber cell India about cybercrime and the person who committed it. The cyber-crime cells have established various departments for investigating crimes in different cities.
Not only do these units investigate the crime but they also take responsibility for getting the crime reported in time. The victim can make a complaint with the cyber police at any time, or with the cyber cell department investigating the crime using both online and offline methods. Cybercrime helpline number may also be issued a call.
• Step 2 — When filing a complaint, you may need to provide name, mailing address & telephone number along with a letter of application addressing the head of a cybercrime investigation cell.
• Step 3-In order to register a complaint, you must provide certain documents. Document lists vary by type of cybercrime. One requirement when the complaint is registered is to attach or annex the documents which fully support the facts of the case.
The type of documentation needed to be added when the cybercrime case is reported depends on the nature of the cybercrime that has been committed.

How to lodge a Cyber Bullying case

• Record a written complaint to an immediate city cyber-cell.
• Where cyber cells are not available in the city, then the local police station can file a First Information Report.
• In case the complaint was not accepted by the police station, please refer the complaint to the city’s commissioner or judicial magistrate.
• If a woman is entitled to have legal counsel to assist her in filing a case in which she approaches the police station with a cyber-stalking allegation. This is her sort of Legal Assistance.
• The victim’s statement to be taken down in private, that is to say, to maintain his / her privacy.

Draft of a Complaint
To
The DCP/SP
Cyber Crime Investigation Cell Central Bureau of Investigation, 5th Floor, Block No.3, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

8 June 2020

Sub: Complaint for cyberbullying via twitter
Respected Sir,
I am a resident of the address mentioned below and I am constrained to report you the criminal act of abusive comment on social media by the accused person named below who has posted offensive comment on social media against me through computer resource/ (Mobile Phone) which is grossly offensive and has menacing character. The said person knows very well that such information is false and has posted the same to cause annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hate and ill will.
He does such acts persistently by using computer resource and communication device (Mobile) to send such message. The said person has on the internet circulated the said offensive and false material which is visible on my Twitter page. Not only is the offensive content misleading but it’s frivolous, defamatory, violent and insinuative, and it’s been done with the intention of undermining and libeling me and creating a storm by slandering my name. This amounts to making defamatory statements on social media and I have already been asked by many people about the same opinion to be real. This was done with the intention of defaming and harming my character and reputation, and injuring my character. The person is liable for prosecution for posting offensively on social media and other crimes.
I ask you to take legal action, as soon as possible, against that accused. For your perusal and action, a snapshot along with the printout of the said offensive message and material is included herewith.
The Accused’s name and address were as follows:
Name: ABC
Fathers name: XXX
Address: XXX
Contact No.: 99999XXXXX
Thanking you,
Yours truly,
Name: XXX
Father’s name: XXX
Address: XXX
Contact number.: XXX

Conclusion
Stop cyberbullying before it begins, one of the easiest ways to curb cyberbullying is to resolve the issue before it begins.
• Teach your children to stay healthy with the technology:
• Refuse to pass messages about cyberbullying.
• Tell your friends to stop their cyberbullying.
• Cyberbullies block communication; delete messages without reading them.
• Never post or share your personal information-or personal information from your friends-online.
• Never share their passwords on the Internet with someone except you.
• Talk to you online about their lives.
• Do not put anything online that their classmates wouldn’t want to see, even in emails.
• Not sending out messages when angry or upset.
• Be always as polite online as you are personally.

By : Sunaina Jain