Thiruvananthapuram: Governor Arif Mohammad Khan has approved the amendment to the police law introduced by the Kerala government to prevent cyber attacks. The amendment is an addition to Section 118-A of the Police Act. The Department prohibits the production, publication, or dissemination of content through any means of exchange intended to intimidate, insult or defame any person.
It stipulates either imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both to those who produce, publish or disseminate content through any means of communication to intimidate, insult or defame any person through social media.
Expressing concern over the rising crime graph, fake propaganda, and hate speech on social media since the outbreak of COVID-19, the LDF government had said since cyber attacks are a major threat to private life, it has been decided to amend the Police Act as the existing legal provisions were inadequate to fight such crimes.
It said while the Supreme Court had repealed section 66-A of the IT Act and Section 118 (d) of the Kerala Police Act because these were against freedom of expression, the Centre has not introduced any other legal framework.
