Cyber Stalking: A Socio-Legal Study

Munira Bharmal*

Published on February 27, 2022 | Manuscript Number: 2022/LWLR/27065 | Page Numbers: 65-77

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Abstract: In their employment, education, and social lives, people utilize the internet to communicate locally or globally. As the number of people using the internet has grown, so has the number of incidences of online harassment and cyberstalking. To put it another way, the internet era has opened up a world of previously unknown criminal opportunities that defy and go beyond all physical boundaries, countries’ borders, and limits in the pursuit of detecting, punishing and alleviating what appears to be a global problem. As a result of the internet a new sort of criminal has emerged known as the cyber stalker – a criminal who employs advanced stalking methods to prey on, harass, threaten, and create enormous dread and terror in their victims using the internet as a tool or weapon. Cyberstalking is one of those crimes that has been increasingly popular in recent years as low-cost, high-speed internet access has become more generally available. Because no tangible evidence is necessary and no witnesses are required for conviction, cyberstalking is far more accessible than other offenses. It's a term that mainly refers to obtaining personal information from someone else to commit fraud or identity theft. It can involve impersonating another person, gaining financial or personal information from them, and then using that information without their permission. This has become a typical occurrence in recent years, with several cyber-threats occurring on a yearly basis. This article delves deeper into this topic with a socio-legal analysis of Indian and UK legislation, as well as legislation aimed solely at online conduct, and discusses the weaknesses in these laws.

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Keywords: Stalking, Cyber, IT, Penal.

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*United World School of Law, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar

Cite as: Munira Bharmal, Cyber Stalking: A Socio-Legal Study (2022) 1(3) LKO. L. REV. 65