Anonymity in Cyberspace With Reference to India

In cyberspace our every action leaves traces and tells our way of life. We put our so much personal data on cyberspace so all these information compose our digital identity. Some of our personal information may be available even after the deletion of the data and it may accessible through mechanisms storage such as cached. Many people want to hide their identity while posting on cyberspace because they do not want to connect with the things which they posted on the cyberspace. They worried about political or economic revenge so because of this sometimes they want to hide their identity while posting on cyberspace.
So to communicate to these people they choose to communicate anonymously or pseudonymously. This type of communication is used for our political and social discourse.
There are some special and political groups who use the tool which provide and maintain the anonymity. While sending the mail to take advice about their disease and other thing, many people asked to remain anonymous because they don’t want to highlight their name. It is important for this kind of user who seeks to access sensitive information to remain anonymous, and it should be his or her right to do so.
Internet privacy protesters have developed a program known as anonymous re-mailer program by the help of which person can speech freely in the cyber world. By the help of anonymous re-mailer person can sends the e-mail and files to other person over internet. And this re-mailer also strips off the header part of the mail which tell where they come from. Re-mailer also uses the asymmetric cryptography which provides the better anonymity to those who want to speak in full privacy and also to whistle blowers who want to remain anonymous because of the fear of harassment. The anonymous re-mailer also doesn’t maintain the database of the addressee.
Now a day tracking the activity of user is main issue for government and private companies, business and political motivations are pushing on the development of monitoring and surveillance systems. If politicians oppose the anonymity in cyberspace due to disclosure of their activity so by this the monitoring is implemented by the government and its consequences for protester that have been tracked and persecuted thanks to the censorship.

Anonymity and Freedom of Expression:

Freedom of speech and expression are frequently conceived as right and interest of the person. Those who were in oppose of anonymous re-mailers or internet anonymity may fail to recognize the cost of such action to the online community in terms of fundamental rights. If the anonymity in cyberspace is restricted then it would negative impact on right to freedom of speech and expression over internet. Though freedom of speech and expression is not an absolute right under the Constitution of India and it may be restricted under clause 2. Anonymity is legal under Copyright Act it protects the anonymous writing. So people have right to speak anonymous over the internet or cyberspace in India, if it do not affect the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

Article 19 of Constitution of India says that –
“Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc- 

 (1) All citizens shall have the right—
(a) To freedom of speech and expression;
(b) To assemble peaceably and without arms;
(c) To form associations or unions;
(d) To move freely throughout the territory of India;
(e) To reside and settle in any part of the territory of India”

And clause 2 of Article 19 of Indian Constitution says that –

“Nothing in sub-clause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said sub-clause in the interests of 4[the sovereignty and integrity of India,] the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.”

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