Open Access Research Article
Adult Content Visibility On Internet Its Impact On Children And Legal Framework Governing It
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Article Details
ADULT
CONTENT VISIBILITY ON INTERNET: ITS IMPACT ON CHILDREN AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK
GOVERNING IT
Authored By - Aditi Chaudhary &
Dr. Vivek Kumar (Assistant Professor)
ICFAI Law School,
ICFAI University, Dehradun
Abstract-
The online world has experienced
widespread development since the turn of the century. Smartphones have
surpassed all other modes of communication and social networking. This has
given minors unprecedented access to the internet, posing the risk of both
unintentional and intentional exposure to harmful internet content such as
pornography, violence, unmoderated chat sites, and so on, which can have
profound effects both in the personal and professional lives of the minors, and
has proven to be catastrophic in the past. This article focuses on the type of
adult content that children can get exposure to, impact of such content on
children and legislative framework in order to resolve this issue regarding the
regulation of adult content on Internet.
Key words- children, adult content, pornography, digital
platforms
I. Introduction-
Governments all across the world are
rapidly encouraging internet infrastructure, variation, and its use in the
business, schools, communities, and households. There is a growing
concern that, in order to serve the greater good of public, including
- children and young people, policymakers must establish how to best
support online opportunities while simultaneously decreasing or controlling the
related hazards of the same. Although it remains difficult to identify exactly
what opportunities and risks the internet could offer, many initiatives are
underway on a national and international scale to establish a regulatory
framework for the online environment that partially, but not entirely,
parallels the regulation of the offline environment. With all of the
connections, it has the potential to be tremendously strong and beneficial.
However, it can be harmful, particularly for youngsters. Some internet content
may not be appropriate for all age groups. Such content, referred to as flagged
content from here on, is hotly discussed and varies from person to person. It
can range from anything as innocuous as explicit content, gambling sites, and
unmoderated chatrooms to more serious online pages that promote terrorism,
racism, and so on. It is difficult for minors to discriminate between good and
harmful, and their unfettered access puts them at risk of developing an
addiction to them. According to a recent survey of teenagers, more than 42% of
kids had been exposed to such content online, 43% do so on a daily basis, with
66% having inadvertent access. Another study discovered that 15% of music
videos include interpersonal violence.
II. Children’s Vulnerability of getting exposed to
adult content-
Adults and children are commonly
defined biologically, with 18 years being the turning point, as people reach
adulthood on the day they turn 18. Different societies have
different requirements for persons of different ages. In the United
Kingdom, individuals can marry at the age of 16 and consume alcohol at the age
of 18, whereas in the United States, citizens must be 18 to marry and 21 to
consume alcohol. Instead of focusing on the age of 18, we should concentrate on
the transition from childhood to adulthood, and the particular juncture at
which they are most vulnerable to getting exposed to the adult content.
Various researches emphasise the 11-12 age group's vulnerability. This
is the point at which young people begin to spend less time with their family
and require the assistance of adults outside the home. If this isn't available
at school, kids may go online to obtain what they require. This is also the age
at which students, as a result of switching from a relatively small primary
school to a large secondary school, begin to experience emotions of anonymity
and begin socialising with others of the opposite sex, as they enter puberty.
As a result, they are prone to be drawn to online anonymity. They are growing
more independent and advancing into adulthood at this age, and many are ready
to participate in adult activities. To mature, they must be given increasing
levels of autonomy. As a result, parents and instructors gradually remove constraints
to allow this. Pre-adolescents are regarded more prone to abuse than older or
younger children, and this vulnerability may be due to low self-esteem. Thus,
the 11-12 age group is a critical period at which attempts to enter the adult
world must be blocked in order to shield them from what they are not yet
prepared to deal with.
III. Risks encountered by children-
At the policy level, the
opportunities and risks presented by the internet to children and young people
have caught the interest of policymakers, particularly because young people are
often at the forefront of new media adoption, benefiting from early adoption of
new opportunities provided by the internet, mobile and broadband content, games
played online, peer-to-peer technologies, and and so forth. Children are almost
universally seen as fragile and are offered special protection by society.
Initially, research and policy concern emphasised on content-related dangers,
primarily pornography, while aggressive, violent, gruesome, racist, and bigoted
content also drew attention. As the internet expanded from a one-to-many mass
medium to a networked medium, a broader spectrum of threats, whether from
adults or children, became apparent- like harassment grooming, stalking and
cyberbullying. The EU Kids Online network, funded by the European Commission's
Safer Internet Programme, has categorised the dangers experienced by children
and young people first in terms of areas of the lifeworld (aggressive, sexual,
values, commercial) and, second, in terms of the child's role. As a result,
risks may be classified as follows: content risks, in which the child is
usually the target of possibly damaging or inappropriate content; contact
risks, in which the child takes part, though unwillingly, and is exposed to potentially
adverse interaction with others; and conduct risks, in which the child is a
performer or perpetrator of activity that could be considered risky or potentially
damaging to others.
IV. Access of children and teens to adult content on
the Internet-
Minors can now gain access to any
information available to the general public over the Internet, whether on
purpose or by accident. One sort of harmful content that minors (those under
the age of 18) can encounter on the Internet is the stuff intended solely
for adult consumption. Most sexually explicit content is distributed in the
form of photos, videos, sound bytes, or chat rooms. For the purposes of this
article, adult content is defined as any material intended for people over the
age of 18 years, that contains violence, improper language, or sexual
themes. There has been little research till date on the volume and type of
access minors have to adult-targeted content. For example, according to one
study, 335 of their child participants (no ages given) admitted chatting with
someone online who afterwards admitted of being 5 years or more older than
they initially stated, 40% of children acknowledged to having engaged in a
sexual chat room discussion, and 25% said they had been requested for an in-person
encounter. However, one question concerns the minor's intention. That is, do
minors seek out adult-oriented content on the Internet on purpose, or is the
exposure mostly unintentional, rendering minors who discover adult content on
the Web victims of such exposure.
V. Internet as a Medium for Access to Pornography-
Pornographic material is widely
accepted to be pervasive on the internet, and one does not need to seek it to
be swamped with it. Adults and young kids with internet access may be exposed
to or acquire access to pornography through a variety of means, including
pop-up adverts, websites, online searches, and email. Some of these paths (for
example, websites) are passive. However, much of the pornographic content given
is uninvited by the recipient in an attempt to stimulate active involvement.
The underlying intention could be to direct the recipient to a pornographic
website or chatroom. Personal information gathering as a precursor to identity
theft or access into the recipient's computer are more likely aims. Pornography has shown to be a very
effective rely for regular internet users. Although there is little research on
the effects of pornography viewing on young people, the few studies that have
been undertaken in this area show that care should be made to shield youngsters
from exposure.
VI. Impact of such content on minors-
The use of this highlighted
content is associated with a variety of undesirable side effects, including,
but not limited to, enthusiastic, psychological, and physical well-being. This
exposure may cause children to act more aggressively, increasing their
likelihood of performing acts of violence in real life. Minors' attitudes are
changing as a result of their exposure to inappropriate content. They are less
empathetic to victims and more tolerant in their assessments of alleged
criminals. Another study found that kids' exposure to such content can affect
their life experiences, academic achievement, and general happiness.
Furthermore, a recent study found that youth who are subjected to harassment,
sadness, and other negative influences have greater rates of undesired
exposure. A simple internet search might bring the user to many NSFW (Not safe
for work) content providers' websites, which are frequently misleading.
There have been instances in the past where an online search yielded
unfavourable results. For example, due to the pervasiveness of such
information, a simple keyword search on "sex" can yield millions of
pages, the vast majority of which are pornographic in nature. According to one
recent research report, 25% of total internet queries were sexual in nature.
According to the work, the average age of exposure to online pornography is
eleven.
The pornographic market is about $97
billion and is continually expanding. Some people engage in criminal activities
in order to attract more spectators. For example, there have been reports of
links appearing as innocent links that send readers to dubious websites. Minors
must be prevented from accessing such adult content due to their fragile nature
and the numerous accompanied psychological difficulties. Pornography exposure
at a young age, particularly during the vital phase of sexual development,
might lead to sexual callousness. Another study claims that pornographic images
foster unfavourable attitudes towards women.
VII. Digital Platform Governance-
Digital platforms, often known as
"internet intermediaries" or "online service providers,"
are non-state, business organisations or companies that facilitate internet
transactions, information sharing, or interactions between third parties. Digital platforms can be described as
"sites and services which host public expression, store it on and serve it
up from the cloud, manage accessibility to it through search and suggestion, or
install it onto mobile devices". While digital platforms appear to be
neutral conduits or proxies for the flow of online content between third
parties, platforms are never neutral and have been referred to as the "new
governors" or "superpowers" of the digital age. Some
commentators argue that technology companies are engaging in illegal forms of
digital surveillance, stealing users' behavioural data and selling it to
business customers (including political advertisers) for a profit, as well as
developing the norms and means for individual users to engage in
"performative surveillance" in the form of monitoring, tracking, and
observing other users online. There is a substantial lack of clarity around how
different categories of content are filtered in reality. For example, it is
frequently unclear what material is signalled for removal, what amount of
content is ultimately removed, and by what methods. Without access to a
platform's internal operations, it is also impossible to tell who removes
content (e.g., a platform content moderator or a user). For instance, the
operation of contract law, which controls the platform-user relationship, and
significant legal protections under US law (where many platforms are largely
located), boost the secrecy surrounding the internal operations of content
moderation. Section 230 of Communications Decency Act, in particular,
shields platforms from liability for content submitted by third parties.
As a result, platforms that
host or republish content usually are not legally accountable for what its
users say or do, unless the content is illegal or violates intellectual
property regulations. Indeed, technology corporations have "unprecedented power"
over "what [users] can see or share," as well as "wide power in
establishing and enforcing their rules in almost any way they see fit."
This means that content selection can be influenced by a variety of variables,
such as public-facing standards such as terms of service, community guidelines,
prescribed principles that moderators follow behind closed doors, legal duties,
market forces, and cultural norms of use. However, digital platforms are not
fully "lawless". Platforms are subject to a variety of legislation in
jurisdictions around the world, some of which have a possibility of jeopardise
section 230 of Communications Decency Act's safe harbour provisions'
long-term viability. Europe has been designated the "world's leading tech
watchdog," owing to European regulators' "increasingly activist
stance towards... digital platform companies." The General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union and Germany's NetzDG legislation, for
example, can result in hefty administrative penalties for data protection or
security violations (among other severe consequences for noncompliance). There
are also several cases of European courts directing service providers to limit
the types of content that users see, as well as how and when they see it. These
state-based "regulatory pushbacks" are part of a global
"techlash" in recent years against the regulating capabilities of
digital platforms. The United Kingdom had also suggested a number of steps
in its White Paper on Online Harms, including a statutory duty of care
requiring platforms to stop and prevent harmful information from appearing on
their networks. Canada published the Digital Charter in Action in 2019, which
covers ten main principles aimed at ensuring the ethical collection, usage, and
sharing of data. These local and international trends recognise that the
decision-making processes of purportedly "private" digital platforms
can have far-reaching ramifications for politics, culture, and
society more widely. They also show that, at least in certain jurisdictions, platform immunity
from legal accountability for both privacy infringement and hosting of
dangerous content is eroding.
VIII. Laws relating to the visibility of adult content
on Internet-
1. The Indian Penal Code (IPC):
Section 292 of IPC prohibits the sale, dissemination, or public display of
obscene material.
The sale, distribution, and
possession of pornographic material is prohibited and punishable under Indian
law. Specific sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) prohibit the sale,
distribution, and possession of obscene material.
·
According to Section 292A of the IPC, "whoever
sells or distributes, or has in his possession for sale or distribution, any
obscene object shall be punished with imprisonment, fine, or both." It is
worth noting that the Indian Penal Code contains various provisions dealing
with obscenity, including those dealing with child pornography,
cyber-pornography, and other forms of obscene material.
·
According to Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code,
anyone who produces, publishes, or sells obscene material, or openly exhibits
obscene material, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to three
months, a fine, or both.
·
Section 293 of the IPC stipulates that "whoever
prints or causes to be printed any obscene book, pamphlet, paper, drawing,
painting, representation or figure, or any other obscene object
whatsoever" will face a three-month prison sentence, a fine, or both.
·
Section 298A of the Indian Penal Code provides that
"whoever deliberately distributes any content which contains grossly
offensive or menacing character with a view to outrage the religious beliefs of
any class of citizens of India shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be
liable to fine."
2. The Information Technology Act,
2000: Section 67 of the IT Act forbids the publication or transmission of
lascivious or prurient electronic material.
Section 67 of the Information
Technology Act of 2000 makes it illegal to post or transmit obscene material.
Obscene content is defined under the law as anything lascivious, appealing to
the prurient, or intended to deprave and corrupt people. For the first
conviction, the sentence is usually three years in prison and a fine of up to five
lakh rupees. The fine for a further conviction can reach ten lakh rupees and
five years in jail.
Section 67A makes it a crime to
publish or transmit anything portraying sexually explicit activities or
conduct. This offence may result in a fine of up to ten lakh rupees or five
years in jail. Furthermore, Section 67 B makes it illegal to distribute or
create pornographic content about kids that depicts minors in an indecent or
sexually explicit manner.
3. The Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012: This statute makes the production,
dissemination, and possession of child pornography illegal.
The POCSO Act of 2012 is a
significant piece of legislation aimed at protecting children and preventing
child sexual abuse and exploitation. A kid is defined in Section 2 (d) of the
Act as anyone under the age of 18 who commits a sexual offence against a child.
In Chapter III, the POCSO covers the use of juveniles for pornographic purposes
and establishes Special Courts for such instances. Section 42 of the POCSO is
critical because it specifies that if an offence is illegal under both the
POCSO and the IPC, the offender who is found guilty suffers the most severe
sentence.
Child or minor pornography is
punished by up to five years in prison and a fine under Section 14 (1).
Furthermore, keeping pornographic material involving a child for the aim of
spreading it is punished by up to three years in prison, a fine, or both under
Section 15 of the aforementioned act.
4. The Customs Act, 1962: The
Customs Act makes it illegal to import or export pornographic content.
The Act forbids the import and export
of products that are illegal under Indian law. It also forbids the import or
export of commodities forbidden by international law or convention. Pornography
is illegal under the Indian Penal Code, hence its import or export is equally
illegal.
5. The Indecent Representation of
Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986: This act makes it illegal to depict women
indecently in ads, publications, writings, paintings, figures, or in any other
way.
The Indecent Representation of Women
(Prohibition) Act (IRWA) was passed in 1986, making it illegal to show women in
an indecent manner in ads. Furthermore, it forbids the publication of any book,
pamphlet, picture, or other medium depicting women in an unflattering light.
This act was also amended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Indecent portrayals of women, according to their guidelines, should be
restricted on chat systems such as Skype, Whatsapp, and Telegram. However, the
government rejected these ideas in July 2021, citing the Information Technology
Rules 2021, the Cinematograph Act 1952, and various other laws aready included
these amendments.
6. The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act of
1995: The act governs cable network programming and advertising, including
sexual content.
The Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act, 1995 is an Indian Parliament act that governs the functioning
of cable television networks in the country. It tries to regulate the operation
of such networks and to prohibit their misuse for the purposes of illegal
activity such as pornography or obscene shows. The Act also establishes a
regulatory authority, which will be responsible for enforcing the Act and
regulating cable television networks.
To operate their networks in India,
all cable television operators are required under the Act to seek a licence
from the regulatory authority. It also monitors and filters all improper
television programming and enforces a code of conduct for cable networks. It
forbids the broadcast of any show that is likely to incite or encourage
violence, or that contains anything vulgar, defamatory, purposely false, or
objectionable in nature.
7. The Young Persons (Harmful
Publications) Act, 1956: This statute makes it illegal to distribute or sell
harmful publications to children, especially pornographic material.
The Young Persons (Harmful
Publications) Act 1956 was inspired by a United Kingdom Act of Parliament that
was created to safeguard young people from potentially harmful publications. It
attempts to ensure that any publication that may be regarded damaging to young
people is not easily accessible to them. It also gives local governments the
authority to take action against anyone who is proven to have published,
distributed, or sold such material. The Act establishes the conditions that
must be followed for a publication to be designated as "harmful," as
well as the ability of local governments to take action against people who
violate the law. It calls for the formation of an Advisory Council for the
Welfare of Children and Young People. This council is charged with advising the
Secretary of State for Education on how to protect young people from harmful
publications.
IX. Conclusion-
Given that many children are exposed to
content, contact, and conduct dangers on the internet, and that many children
and parents may lack the means and abilities to prevent or manage such
exposure, continued and expanded regulation is essential. While self-regulation,
such as that of the mobile communications sector or social network providers,
has been favoured, such industry standards require greater transparency and
continual monitoring and review in order to be effective. Platforms can take a
number of actions to address the problem of image-based sexual abuse on their
networks, the most important of which is to adopt a comprehensive,
community-oriented, and social justice-based regulatory strategy. This approach
should include clear and robust policies that specifically prohibit image-based
sexual abuse content, with clear punitive and educational functions attached;
architectural changes, such as better systems to reliably verify both the age
and consent of those featured in content hosted on platforms.
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Article Information
Adult Content Visibility On Internet Its Impact On Children And Legal Framework Governing It
Authors: Aditi Chaudhary, Dr. Vivek Kumar
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2023/11/17
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Access Open Access
- License CC 4.0
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