NEW DEHLI, India — A recently passed new law in India could bring a five-year jail sentence and a fine as much as 1 million rupees ($1.4 million) for browsing or downloading pornographic pictures or films.
The Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, which passed last December without debate in India's Parliament, is a new version of the act, first initiated in 2000.
The law, notes UK adult site Hush-Hush, gives sweeping powers to authorities, including raids and arrests without a warrant. A second offence could lead to a longer jail sentence of seven years. Just visiting a home page of a site would open up user to investigation.
The legislation also addresses identity theft and misuse of a person’s electronic signature, password and such, punishable with three years in jail and a fine of as much as 100,000 rupees ($140,000)
The bill also includes provisions for measures against child pornography and cyber terrorism, and allows any government agency to interrupt, monitor or decrypt information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer.
OpEdNews notes, however, the amended bill cannot come into force until the central government meets notification requirements as per other Indian government laws.
