Menu

“A CRITICAL STUDY ON CHILDREN’S EXPOSURE TO THE CYBER WORLD AND  LAWS IN NEED OF THE HOUR”

Publications, Research paper
  1. ABSTRACT

“Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens”1 said by the first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. The future of the country is in the hands of the future citizens. Every one among three people operating the internet is a child. This paper focuses on the exposure of children towards the cyber world and examines how the internet is a two-sided coin which has a bright set of advantages on one side but there is also the dark side of the same coin which opens the vulnerability of the children towards numerous risks and threats such as child abuse, cyber bullying, sexual abuse, pornography, phishing and unauthorized access to various platforms not suitable for children and much more. Considering the dark side, the life of each child is at stake with huge complicated repercussions which could lead to serious and fatal results if they are not monitored and contained in time. Safety and security of a child along with their rights, is both fundamental and essential but to what extent are the children safe and secure when it comes to their exposure towards the cyber world? Primarily, this paper focuses on identifying and containing the threats and risks of the children’s exposure towards the usage of internet and technology. Thus, by suggesting various effective measures, this paper emphasizes the need for the government’s attention towards the urgency and necessity of bringing forward regulations and stringent laws to identify and contain the cyber-crimes against and by the children and thereby protecting the rights of the children and ultimately the future of the nation.

Keywords: Children, Cyber World, Exposure, Risks, Threats, Accountability & Responsibility, Necessity for Stringent Laws

  1. INTRODUCTION

Technology has become a vital and important part of human lives and in today’s world almost every aspect has become technology dependent, in other words, Technology may not be mandatorily required to achieve tasks at hand but it sure does come in handy to get achieve the task in a quality and time effective manner yielding far better results.

Technology, as we know, is a two-sided coin with both merits and demerits and it has the capability to benefit or harm anyone and due to its easy accessibility and widespread use, it has attracted a lot of attention including exploiters and children are the easiest prey to them. Children use technology more than any adults by replacing their play time in playgrounds to video games and technology allows children to explore so many new and interesting areas which easily fascinate them. Perpetrators use the fascinating and lucrative factors as bait to trick naïve children into their devious traps. Children, being naïve and inexperienced, are the most easy and vulnerable target for cyber-perpetrators and this paper focuses on how to identify such traps and avoid falling prey to them.

  1. EVOLUTION OF TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

In early times, education was imparted to the children in Gurukuls which were not necessarily in a classroom with four walls, but under a thick shady tree or a hut with a handful of children and as time passed by, educational institutions were established and classes were conducted physically in classrooms and the children had to ensure their presence to observe the class and later, once technology was adopted in education, Edu-coms came into play and, Educational videos were played in the classroom for better understanding of the subject and to learn new things but now technology has evolved to such an extent where virtual classes are accessible from the comfort of one’s home, i.e., Blended learning.

Earlier, technology was a luxury affordable only by the rich but now post the Covid pandemic, it has become a part and parcel of everyday activities in almost everybody’s life. Computers and the Internet have transformed education. Computers store huge amounts of

data in a very small space, shrinking shelves of reference books down to a single flash drive. They enable better presentation of information, making the process of teaching easier and more effective. Online education has provided unprecedented learning opportunities to people all over the world. Lectures and lessons can be uploaded to websites in written or video form, making information more accessible.2

  1. CYBER-CRIME

Though technology helps in development it also attracts Criminal activities called Cyber- crimes which are carried out by the means of computer and/or the internet.

Due to the global pandemic, the schools have come to an unexpected and indefinite halt and the children today have become dependent on technology to attend the classes and gain

knowledge. On one hand where the children are being benefited by using the technology, it is pertinent to note that children are the most vulnerable group to be affected by the cons of it. The Cyber-world can be a very useful and beneficial place when used for good but when the internet is misused, it gives space to rise of cyber-crime, to which the children could succumb easily and fall prey to the perpetrators as they lack maturity.

  1. Types of Cyber-crimes against children

There are numerous ways in which children are deceived and victimized to the evil plans of cyber-perpetrators, a few of them are enlisted below.

  1. Hacking
  2. Phishing
  3. Smishing
  4. Pharming / Web jacking
  5. Identity Theft
  6. Cyber-stalking
  7. Cyber Bullying / Harassment
  8. Cyber-extortion / Blackmailing
  9. Spams / Scams
  10. Morphing
  1. Hacking

A perpetrator gains remote access to someone else’s system by breaching the defenses

and exploiting the weakness of the computer system or network and gain access to the data available on the hacked machine and on the cloud, connected to the machine.3 Children, without proper knowledge and awareness, usually tend to ignore security steps to secure their system/account which makes it easy for the perpetrators to access and infiltrate their system/account without the children even realizing that their system/account has been hacked.

  1. Phishing

It is a technique used by fraudsters where they send a fraudulent email designed to trick the user (victim) into revealing sensitive / personal information such as login credentials or credit card details. In this method, the attacker masquerades himself as a trusted company/entity and dupes the victim into opening a malicious link either by giving alert/warnings or lucrative offers, which when clicked, can lead to installation of malware into the victim’s system. 4

Perpetrators, in the disguise of a genuine/trusted entity, usually design emails in a lucrative and irresistible way such as “Quick and easy money from the comfort of home and less work hours” & “Huge discount on expensive products”. Such emails easily catch.

the eye and piques the interest of the child, making them provide sensitive information to avail such offer/opportunity without them realizing that they are walking into a cyber-trap.

  1. Smishing

Smishing is the same as Phishing, except the only difference here is that instead of email, the attacker sends an SMS to a victim with malicious intentions.5

  1. Pharming

Also known as Web jacking, is a cyberattack intended to redirect a website’s traffic to another, fake site by installing a malicious program on the computer. It can be conducted either by changing the hosts file on a victim’s computer or by exploitation of a vulnerability in DNS (Domain Name System) server software. Pharming requires unprotected access to target a computer, such as altering a customer’s home computer, rather than a corporate business server.6

Perpetrators, by redirecting a user from a genuine website to a fake one, easily trick

and manipulate children since they could not easily tell the minor differences between the original and fake ones. The naiveness of a child makes them a primary target of the perpetrators to trick them into providing sensitive information which is then misused by the perpetrator.

  1. Identity Theft

When someone uses another person’s personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, with malicious intentions and without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes, it is called Identity Theft.

7

Identity theft is one of the most commonly committed offence against children, since perpetrators easily access all personal information such as Pictures, Name, Date of birth, location etc. of the victim online via their social media accounts. The perpetrators then use the stolen identity of the victim to carry out illegal actions which directly affects the victim of the stolen identity.

  1. Cyber-Stalking

Cyberstalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual and it is often accompanied by real-time or offline stalking. It may also include monitoring, identity theft, threats, vandalism, solicitation for sex, doxing, or blackmail. 8 Children usually live their lives out loud on social media by sharing “Check-in” posts that reveal their current location which makes it easier for the stalker. Cyber-stalkers keep constant tabs on their prey, observing the daily pattern for a long period. Such preparators often tend to commit offences like Kidnapping, defamation, blackmail, vandalism, harassment, bullying etc.

  1. Cyber-Bullying

Also called Cyber-harassment or online bullying is an act of attempt to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone via the internet. Cyberbullying is when someone, typically a teenager, bullies or harasses others on the internet and other digital spaces, particularly on social media sites. Harmful bullying behavior can include posting rumors, threats, sexual remarks, a victims’ personal information, or pejorative labels.9 Cyber-bullying, if not dealt with properly and in time, often leaves a long-lasting mental scar in the kid’s life which either crushes their self-esteem and confidence after which they find it very difficult to socialize, and leading to self-isolation or

suicidal thoughts or it makes them more hostile towards every aspect where they often tend to respond with anger, aggression or frustration.

  1. Spams & Scams

The words Spams and Scams seem very similar but have a distinct contrast. The word Spam means sending of unsolicited messages through Phishing or Smishing, with malicious intentions, to a large group of random people to trick the recipients into clicking a link with malware or to obtain sensitive and confidential information. Spam becomes a scam when a person falls prey for the tricks and becomes a victim of it. In simple words, Scam is the successful execution of spam. 10

They don’t realize that they have consented to the search engine to collect their data for promotional, research and development purposes. Privacy policies often assure user confidentiality and privacy but despite all protective measures, Data breaches occur and a large chunk of data often gets leaked by the hackers and fraudsters often use such leaked data and target children based on their search and try to lure them into believing their spam messages. Once the child believes such a message falls prey to the spam, the sensitive data is collected by them.

  1. Morphing

Morphing is a special effect in motion pictures and animations that changes one image or shape into another through a seamless transition.

11Morphing is one of the most commonly committed offence against children where the perpetrator uses pictures of the victim child to morph over an indecent or obscene picture and attempt to defame or blackmail them. Spreading of morphed images seriously scar a child’s mind for a very long time.

  1. Cyber-Extortion / Blackmailing

Cyber extortion is when a cyber attacker demands money or something else in return for stopping the attack or returning access to your systems/data. Cyber extortionists first gain access to a computer, software, or network, usually through ransomware.12 Perpetrators often target children by gaining access to their personal information and data via aforementioned methods and threaten to release sensitive pictures or information if their demands are not met with. The demands need not necessarily be monetary in nature, it can also involve coercing the victim to do something illegal / unlawful or threatening the life of someone close to the victim.

  1. Why are children an easy target?

Children are inexperienced, curious, eager and naïve, and unless guided properly, they tend to believe almost anything they see on the internet which makes them vulnerable and an easy target to the perpetrators. Since children are depending on the internet for education today, they easily come across content which should not be accessible to them and also tend to ignore instructions / restrictions regarding age and usage terms.13

The children and the elderly are the most vulnerable groups to easily get infected by Covid-19 since the immunity levels in those groups are comparatively lower than that of a regular adult.14 Thus the children are restricted from stepping out of their residences due to the lockdown/curfew restrictions and children tend to get bored easily hence they turn towards technology to stay in touch with their friends, to learn new things and to pass time by playing games or entertainment.15

Technology has become so handy that the children, without any authorization and knowledge of their legal guardians, access the App Store which enables them to easily access and download apps and games which shouldn’t be accessed by them. Such Apps and Games often come with complex and elaborate terms and conditions which must be agreed to by the user without which it cannot be accessed and used. Children tend to click “I Agree” even without reading the terms and conditions and even if they do, the technical words used in such agreements are not usually easy for the children to understand.16

Social media platforms, Games and Entertainment apps have become an essential part of almost every child’s life due to the isolation and social distancing post pandemic. Children are getting addicted to these apps, in multiple unhealthy and unsafe ways which result in health physical or mental health complications or privacy violation.

Some examples of such adverse effects are as follows,

  1. Lack of sleep due to spending too much time playing games17,
  2. Spending money on online games without the knowledge of their legal guardians18,
  3. Lacking interaction with family and drifting apart from the family and communicating with random strangers online to make new friends and sharing

personal information to gain attention and falling prey to cyber-perpetrators leading to blackmail and unsolicited acts.19 20

  1. Clicking on links with Malwares by getting lured into attractive (false) offers, falling prey to Phishing / Spamming / Scamming emails. 21
  2. Impact on Children

The internet world is a double-edged sword with great advantages on one side where users can share and simultaneously access and gain knowledge on multitude of levels, understand concepts in a better way using Theoretical and Audio-visual aid, connect with people across the globe, pass numerous amounts of data and information over miles in mere fractions of seconds and so much more while the cynical side with grave repercussions where culprits and perpetrators misuse and exploit the technology and its facilities. It is called a two-edged sword because one needs to carefully balance between the sharp menacing sides where one sharp side being negligence, leads to falling prey to the perpetrators and the other sharp side being malice, where one can become a perpetrator himself and execute unlawful acts, hence one needs to carefully balance and stay on the bright side between the two sharp edges.

Children are the most vulnerable group of the society since they are inexperienced, curious, gullible and easy to manipulate. They lack awareness and understanding of the consequences of their actions which are often committed as an innocent being. Children usually fall prey to the perpetrators while compared to children becoming delinquents and misusing the technology.

Child victims of cyber-crime, who endure the abuse silently show a drastic and incomprehensible change of behaviour and respond to everything in an unusual and indifferent manner, the key to help such trapped children and prevent any grave incident is to acknowledge the sudden change of behaviour and investigate the cause of such drastic change without spooking the child.22

“Almost every school-going child has access to social media these days, but shockingly hardly any of them know about the privacy settings on their profiles. With details of their personal lives going public, they make themselves vulnerable to all sorts of cyber harassment.”23

  1. Internet and its effects of children

Although technology has evolved remarkably over years, India observed a drastic surge in usage and dependency on technology post the Covid-19 Pandemic which resulted in Nation-wide lockdown, compelling people to adapt to technology to keep up with daily routines. Working class people had to adapt to Work from Home and children had to adapt to online classes to cope up with education during the period.

  1. Data Breach

Rise in usage and dependency on technology also gave a window to the cyber-crimes. The online platform called “Zoom” became very popular among commercial and educational institutions. The very popularity and high usage in a very short period made it a primary target for the cyber-criminals due to its poor security and privacy measures. As per the news a data breach leaked over 500,000 zoom accounts, which were sold on the dark web for less than a rupee. Immediately after the incident was reported, zoom released an official statement where they assured the users that they were investigating the source of breach and simultaneously locking out the compromised accounts.24

The issue to be noted here is that these were damage-control measures where the damage had already been done. Prevention is better than cure. The security measures to prevent such incidents is of utmost importance rather than controlling the damage post disaster.

  1. Online Games

Children use the social platforms to stay in touch with their friends and opt for online games to play with their friends since the lockdown restricted any kind of gathering outside residences but unfortunately, they access and use the applications and games without the supervision of their legal guardians and nor do they care enough to read all the terms and conditions of use.

The now-banned, online suicide games such as The Blue Whale challenge and The Momo challenge were online games which seemed simple, fun and interesting where the kids playing the game were initially given a minor

task/challenge which they were supposed to complete. The initial few stages of the game were harmless but as the stages of the game progressed, disturbing dares/challenges with elements of self-harm would start surfacing and at this point, the perpetrator on the other side of the game would have had accessed personal information about the player which was used as a leverage, to blackmail and coerce the player into doing the challenges irrespective of their wish. The final challenge of the game always involved Suicide.

The aforementioned issue surfaced in India at Mumbai where a 14 YO student jumped off the terrace of his residence building25 and in another incident at Indore where a student of 7th grade attempted to jump off the third floor of his school26 and a girl studying 10th grade in Ajmer ended her life by slitting her wrist and hanging herself to death in the Momo Challenge.27

  1. Social Media

Children using social media come into contact with strangers and often make friends with a completely random person and some, being naïve, even fall in love with the person on the other side without even knowing who is actually behind the screen on the other side. Perpetrators often masquerade their real identities and impersonate by lying about their true identity and make friends with children, by spending time and chatting with them, they cultivate trust by being an emotional support.

  1. Cyber-crime in India

Earlier, offline education was the most preferred and used mode of education all over India and out of the blue, the pandemic hit and turned the tables making Online education the only viable option to ensure the continuum of education. While the online mode of education changed the landscape of education in our country, it also paved a way for cyber-crime, where children without proper supervision and guidance fail to differentiate between right or wrong, good or bad and either end up exploiting and misusing the technology leading to bullying, harassing and cyber- stalking or becoming the victims of the same to other online perpetrators.

Education is about knowledge and not speed, the blended mode of learning promotes educational independence where the children are not forced to walk the same path,

instead it gives the freedom of choice and time to the children. In 2021, the blended mode of education was proposed to be adopted, where the children could choose the time, mode and course plan for their classes and also select test schedules based on their learning capabilities. 28

  1. JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

As said by our first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru “Today’s Childrens are tomorrow’s citizens” the future does really lie in the hands of the children of our nation. The word future here need not necessarily mean a positive and great future, if the children are not supported properly and guided towards the right path, they may tend to become cynical and destructive, and thus it is our duty to shape the children of our nation in such a way that it ensures a bright future for them and the nation.

Technology has evolved and changed the way the world operates and it is accessible to almost everyone. Children are inexperienced, curious, eager, naïve and they lack understanding to comprehend complex matters and tend to react in a poor manner when they face new situations, the childhood of a child shapes their adulthood. On one hand, without proper guidance and supervision, children tend to lose the ethical values and get deviated from the right path, using the technology for cynical benefits causing harm to others while on the other hand, if the children are left unprotected and unguided, they are most likely to fall prey to perpetrators since they are the easy and vulnerable target.

  1. LAWS AGAINST CYBER CRIME IN INDIA

Laws have been enacted and enforced in our country to prevent crime and to protect and uphold the fundamental rights of every individual as per the Constitution. Despite that, with time, we come across new loopholes in different situations for which prevailing laws do not provide an apt solution or do not apply at all.

With the rapid growth of technology, the cyber-world has become a center of attraction for perpetrators. Cyber-crime is one of the most rapidly growing crimes and Cyber-crime against children has raised over 400% in the year 2020 (in comparison to 2021).29 Cyber-offenders mask their true identity by hiding behind the technology and execute their evil plans by luring naïve and innocent children.

  • The Government has established a National cyber-crime reporting portal which

provides for preventive measures and safety tips to the public. The Information Technology Act, 2000 amended in the year 2008, penalizes sending of offensive messages under section 66A, which allows the authorities to intercept, decrypt and monitor exchange of any information, which concerns safety and security.30

  • The government has also imposed a ban on certain websites with adult and inappropriate content and it has been mandated by the government for the telecom companies to abide by the ban and parental authorization criteria to ensure that no child gets access to such inappropriate websites.
  • The government has also launched a separate website, specifically for the purpose of educating people regarding cyber-crimes, which is available in multiple languages with audio guides and it also allows the user to file a complaint directly.31

4.1) CURRENT LAWS

The Indian government has taken great measures to reduce the rate of cyber-crime and to make the internet a safer place for the citizens of India. Despite those measures, the recent report provided by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) about the cyber-crime against children shows about 308 cases registered in the year 2019 alone. Crimes against children usually go unreported since it potentially affects the future of a child.

The law to prevent cyber-crimes has been established by the government as follows,

  1. The Information Technology Act, 2000

This act came into force in the year 2000, where the government gave the right to every citizen to access and use the technology which attracted a huge crowd towards the cyber world. The said act provides for punishment for exploitation of children, under section 67B which imposes stringent punishment for the offenders who collect, browse, transmit, or publish an inappropriate, obscene or sexually explicit content of children in any electronic format. And the rules post amendment imposes a duty on every individual to restrain from Browsing, posting, modifyingn, displaying, hosting or sharing any information which has a potential to harm a child, failing to abide which shall result in violation of law.32

  1. POCSO Act, 2012

A specific act for protection of children was brought into force in the year 2012. No statute for protection of children was enforced before the said act except the “Goa Children’s Act, 2003”. It is a gender-neutral law enacted to prevent and punish crimes against children involving abuse, sexual assault, pornography, sexual harassment, rape and other related offences. Under this act, non-reporting of any abuse is a punishable offence and one of the most important highlights of this act is that there is no time limit for reporting any abuse and it also maintains the confidentiality of the victim’s identity.33

  1. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR)

This act assesses and reviews the safeguards that are provided for child rights protection by presenting reports on the workings of the laws. It Inquires about cases of child rights violations and initiates proceedings against the offender. This act provides for Inquiry into complaints and takes Suo-Motu notice of matters relating to child rights. ‘Cyber trivia’ app has been launched specifically for children which gives knowledge and understanding about strangers on the internet.34

  1. The Indian Penal Code, 1860

The penal code provides protection for all individuals including children under sections 108, 111, 305, 317, 361 and 369 where offences against a child are punishable as prescribed under this code.35

  1. ISEA

It is a website managed by the government which focuses on spreading awareness by conducting programs on cyber-crime like quiz and it also offers online courses which educates a person on the cybercrime and how to avoid falling prey to it.36

  1. REPORTING CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN & IT’S PROCEDURE

The POCSO Act established a child welfare committee which mandates the police to report, any sexual offence regarding a child, to the committee within 24 hours. The committee established is child friendly which provides counseling sessions for the victim / aggrieved child to help the child deal with their fear and anxiety and strengthen them. A helpline has been established called “Childline” which has been solely established for the purpose of reporting any offence against a child. The Courts and its procedures for such matters are

designed and established in such a manner that the children do not get intimidated by their surroundings.37

National cyber-crime reporting portal has been established by the government to report such offences through the website which is attended by the law enforced authoritiesi. A national helpline number is also put forth for the complaints to be registered through the portals.38

  1. SUGGESTIVE MEASURES TO ENHANCE CHILD SAFETY

Cyber-crimes against children have increased tremendously post Covid despite all measures taken by the government. Thus, it is pertinent to take steps to prevent the same. As discussed earlier, the cyber-world is openly available for every individual to access and despite security measures like restrictions and parental controls, children find their way around the security steps. The following measures are suggested to make children safer against cyber-crime.

  1. Accountability & Responsibility the part of Guardians
    1. Children are able to bye-pass security measures and protocols due to the negligence of parents/guardians who do not actively participate in monitoring the activities of the children under their custody.
    2. Similar to Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, 2019, parents/guardians can be made to stand responsible for any unlawful act committed by their child and heavy fines can be imposed to attract more attention of the parents towards their responsibility.39 40
  2. Authorization by Legal Guardian
    1. Any app/website which restricts a child/minor or advises supervision for a child should be accessible only after verified authorization by the legal guardian.
    2. It should be a legal responsibility of every guardian to ensure that their child does not have access to their email and mobile phones to trick and surpass the authorization step.
    3. The legal guardian should get prompt notifications regarding the cyber-activities of the child under their care.
  3. Mandated Training sessions for Guardians
    1. Every school must conduct regular mandated sessions where the parents of the children should also attend the awareness programs.
    2. Such awareness programs must mandate every parent to be present and spread awareness regarding cyber-crimes and cyber-security measures.
  4. Public-awareness promotion
    1. Government can initiate public awareness programs where cyber- security measures are taught to people.
    2. Casting televisions ads showing the importance of cyber-security and guiding the viewers.
    3. Mandatory non-skippable ads, on devices with internet connections, along with other ads.
  1. CONCLUSION

It is not logically possible to completely eradicate the use of technology from our lives but, if proper steps and measures are taken, it is possible to avoid undesired incidents and in the long run, with proper counter measures, even to eradicate cyber-crimes. But to achieve the long-term goal, it is necessary to ensure that children are given utmost importance in the matter of cyber-safety. It is our responsibility to ensure that children are regularly monitored and properly guided to help them avoid taking any wrong turn. Achieving cyber- safety for children is not possible merely by implementing textual legislations with penal actions or establishing help-lines on the part of government alone but it is big time that each individual takes up the responsibility of considering cyber-safety of children as their fundamental duty and take action against any suspicious or unlawful incident.

It is possible to build a great future for our nation only if the future of our nation, the children, are protected today.

  1. REFERENCES

1 Dr. S V N Vijayendra,Today’s children are tomorrow’s citizens, City Today News, 14 November 2018, https://citytoday.news/todays-children-are-tomorrows-citizens/

2 Technology in Everyday Life,

https://www.jfg-nc.com/technology-in-everyday-life/#:~:text=Technology%20has%20vastly%20increased

%20productivity,on%20performance%20prior%20to%20prot otyping

3 Lawrence Williams, What is hacking? 12 February 2021, https://www.guru99.com/what-is-hacking-an- introduction.html

4Josh Fruhlinger, What is Phishing?, 4 September 2020,

https://www.imperva.com/learn/application-security/phishing-attack-scam/#:~:text=Phishing%20is%20a% 20type%20of,instant%20message%2C%20or%20text%20message

5 Norton LifeLock, What is Smishing?, 18 January 2018, https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-emerging-threats-what-is-smishing.html

6 Alison Grace, What is Pharming and how to protect yourself, 12 September 2019, https://us.norton.com/internetsecurity-online-scams-what-is-pharming.html

7 Julia Kagan, Identity Theft, 13 February 2021, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/identitytheft.asp

8 Sherri Gordon, What is Cyberstalking?, 16 August 2021, https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-cyberstalking- 5181466

9 Sherri Gordon, What is Cyberbullying?, 5 February 2021, https://www.verywellfamily.com/types-of-cyberbullying- 460549

10 Kojo Eghan, The Difference between Spam and Scam, 3 January 2017, https://www.afd-techtalk.com/spam-scam/

11 Sameera M, What is Morphing?, 23 November 2010, https://www.techulator.com/resources/4318-What-is-Morphing-.aspx

12 Ellen Zhang, What is Cyber Extortion?, June 29 2020, https://www.zeguro.com/blog/what-is-cyber- extortion

13 Sanjeev Kumar, Crime against children in cyber world, January 2021, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/348191254_CRIME_AGAINST_CHILDREN_IN_CYBER_WORL D

14 Mary Van Beusekom, Young kids more likely than older kids to spread COVID-19 to household, 16 August 2021,

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/young-kids-more-likely-older-kids-spread-covid-19

-household

15Western Governors University, Impact of technology on kids today, 3 October 2019, https://www.wgu.edu/blog/impact-technology-kids-today-tomorrow1910.html#close

16 Dr. Tim Sandle, Report finds only 1 percent reads ‘Terms & Conditions’, 29 January 2020, https://www.digitaljournal.com/business/report-finds-only-1-percent-reads-terms-conditions/article/566127

17 Effects of Technology on Children During a Pandemic, https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/effects-of-technology-on-children/

18 Tech Desk, Punjab teen spends whopping Rs 16 lakh on PUBG in-game transactions, 5 July 2020, https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/gaming/punjab-teenager-khagar-pubg-16-lakh-in-app-purcha ses- 6489572/

19 Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Kimberly J. Mitchell, University of New Hampshire, March 2008, Online “Predators” and Their Victims, https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-632111.pdf

20 Child Crime Prevention & Safety Center, https://childsafety.losangelescriminallawyer.pro/children-and-grooming-online-predators.html 21 Toni Birdsong, How to Help Your Kids Combat Clickbait Scams, 29 November 2021, https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/family-safety/how-to-help-your-kids-combat-clickbait-scams/

22 Mehak, Cyber Crime: It’s Impact on Youth, August 2019, https://rfppl.co.in/subscription/upload_pdf/Mehak- IJLHB%20VOL.5%20NO.2%20MAY-AUG%202019%20( Special%20Issue)_9636.pdf

23 Kiran Bharadwaj, Cyber Crimes And Its Impact On Children And The Alternative Solutions, 24 June 2020,

https://www.indialegallive.com/cyber-crimes-and-its-impact-on-children-and-the-alternative-solutions

24 Monit Khanna, Zoom Data Breach: Over 5 Lakh Zoom Login Data Being Sold On Dark Web For Less Than Rupee, 4 May 2020,

https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/zoom-data-breach-over-5-lakh-zoom-user-login-data-is-bein g- sold-on-dark-web-512407.html

25 Shewali Tiwari, 14-YO Mumbai Boy Falls Prey To ‘Blue Whale Challenge’, Kills Self By Jumping Off A Building, 1 August 2017,

https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/14-yo-mumbai-boy-falls-prey-to-blue-whale-challenge-kills-self-by- jumping-off-a-building-326952.html

26 India Today Web Desk, Indore: Class 7 student attempts suicide, Blue Whale Challenge angle suspected, 11 August 2017,

https://www.indiatoday.in/fyi/story/blue-whale-challenge-indore-class-7-child-suicide-third-floor-chameli-de vi- school-1029091-2017-08-10

27 Mirror Now Digital, Momo challenge claims first life in India, Class 10 student commits suicide in Ajmer, 21 August 2018,

https://www.timesnownews.com/mirror-now/in-focus/article/momo-challenge-claims-first-life-victim-india-cl ass-10-student-commits-suicide-ajmer-rajasthan/272664

28 34 UGC Public Notice regarding: Blended Mode of Teaching and Learning, https://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/7782448_Public-Notice.pdf

29 Press Trust of India, Over 400% rise in cyber crime cases against children in 2020: NCRB data, 14 November 2021,

https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/over-400-rise-in-cyber-crime-cases-against-chil dren- in-2020-ncrb-data-121111400320_1.html

30 India Code, The Information Technology Act, 2000, 9 June 2000, https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13116/1/it_act_2000_updated.pdf

31 National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, https://www.cybercrime.gov.in/

32 Id. at 33

33 India Code, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012,19 June 2012, https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2079/1/AAA2012 32.pdf

34 India Code, The Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005, 20 January 2006, https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2056/1/200604.pdf

35 India Code, The Indian Penal Code, 1860, 6 October 1860, https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/4219/1/THE-INDIAN-PENAL-CODE-1860.pdf

36 International Safety Equipment Association, https://safetyequipment.org/

37 Id. at 37

38 Id. at 35

39 Motor Vehicle (Amendment) Act, Section 199A – Offences by Juvenile

40 Dhananjay Mahapatra, Times of India, Parents to pay for minors causing accidents: SC, 1 October 2008,

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/parents-to-pay-for-minors-causing-accidents-sc/articleshow/3546 390.cms

Darshan.S 

Sri jagaduguru renukacharya college of law