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A mobile phone clip of a 16-year-old boy having oral sex with his girlfriend has prompted calls from India’s IT industry to reform outdated cyber laws because they are ambiguous and draconian. The two-and-a-half-minute footage found its way onto eBay’s India site Bazee.com, where police were alerted and took action by arresting website executive, Avinish Bajaj. Mr Bajaj has since been jailed, released and asked to pay nearly $2,300 in charges under India’s Information Technology Act of 2000. The swift action from authorities in North Delhi has propelled a staunch defence of Bajaj, a US citizen, not only from eBay but also from one of India’s top IT companies, Infosys. Speaking to Bangalore reporters, Narayan Murthy, CEO, said the “drastic” arrest highlights the need for a new framework to regulate electronic auctions. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry backed his call, saying the industry should revisit the IT Act of 2000, so it can be aligned with “international norms.” In a statement, they said Bajaj’s arrest was unfair because the offensive clip was removed from auctioneer Bazee.com, as soon as it was discovered. The FICCI also believe such harsh treatment of the eBay boss under an outdated technology law will deter Western firms from signing BPO agreements. Indian IT giant, Nasscom, which looks after the country’s software interests, said the arrest and detention “of a respected professional” was uncalled for and “not expected in a mature democracy like ours.” They confirmed it sent the wrong message to foreign investors. “While the law must take in its own course – without favour or fear - such a peremptory arrest in a case like this is not only an extreme and unnecessary step, it verges on draconian measures that do not fit into our self-image as a civilized, modern democracy.” Meanwhile, appeals from the IT industry have found support from India’s legal experts. Pavan Duggal, President at consultancy CyberLaws.Net, says the IT Act behind Bajaj’s arrest is completely outdated and not fit to deal with cyber crime today. Speaking to American site UPI, he confirmed that there had been several recommendations tabled to amend to the IT law. He said hopes of reform were pinned on unfair clauses, such as section 79, which holds a service provider guilty for the online data a customer processes. “It is not fair to hold network service provider responsible for the data processing of a third party," said Mr Duggal. “When the law was framed, there were no technologies like MMS or sophisticated devices like mobile phones with cameras,” he continued. “The IT Act is struggling to cope with the change in modern technology.” Yet some leaders questioned whether the Act was right to pursue Bajaj at all, because no obscene material was actually displayed. President Mahendra Sanghi, of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), said the original seller had written out a product description, pledging to email the sex clip as a MMS attachment to buyers for a fee. Only this product description was displayed on the site, the actual attachment was never on the site and therefore, according to ASSOCHAM, no obscene material was ever online. Mr Sanghi said India is at cutting edge of the IT revolution and has all the makings of an IT superpower. If this is to be recognised, he argues India must urgently modify its technology law so it clearly distinguishes between actual offenders and victims. Local press reports in Delhi suggest the boy who had sex with his girlfriend in the clip made the recording “just for kicks.” The 16-year-old and one of his fellow students, who is thought to have posted the item on Bazee.com, have since been arrested. eBay boss, Avinish Bajaj, has now been bailed by a High Court judge after the court in New Delhi acknowledged the “heinous nature of the alleged crime” might be down to someone else. It is understood the sex clip first started its journey to the auctioneer after it was sent from classmates to fellow citizens, onto overseas users who posted it on established websites. Investigators are now intending to question two other students who received clips from the boy in the video, so they can complete the trail of the file, before it was ‘eBayed.’ Dec 24, 2004 Email this article Printer friendly page Previous Page
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