Need tighter regulations to deal with cybercrimes: IT Min Vaishnaw

There is a need for tighter regulations to deal with cybercrimes, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

Replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, Vaishnaw underlined the need to have “a lot of discussions and a broader consensus” on bringing “stricter norms” for over-the-top (OTT) platforms to check the telecast of movies and serials that create disharmony among various communities and religions.

“This subject of cybercrimes, the way it is affecting our children, actually there is a need to have a consensus for making much tighter regulation. There is no doubt about it,” the minister said during the Question Hour.

“(Whenever) we make cyber laws tighter by even a little bit and try to implement it, all of our members start shouting that democracy is being throttled and people’s right to freedom is being taken away,” he added. Raising the issue of cybercrimes and children becoming victims of cyber bullying, Congress member Hibi Eden noted that existing cyber laws were “quite weak” to deal with the problem.

He asked if there was a specific instruction from Vaishnaw’s ministry to increase the awareness level of officials in various government departments on cybercrimes and also making it part of the curriculum for students. The minister, in a written (starred) reply, said the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes statistical data on crimes in its publication ‘Crime in India’. MillenniumPost