Information Technology Law

Prior to Information Technology Act 2000, there was no legislation in India which governed the area of information technology. The Information Technology bill was drafted by the Department of Electronics in July 1998 and the bill was introduced in the House on December 16, 1999. The bill was then referred to the 42-member Parliamentary Standing Committee and several suggestions were made by the committee. The suggestions which were approved by the Ministry of Information Technology were incorporated into the bill. The bill was passed by the parliament on May 17, 2000 and it received Presidential Assent in June 2000 and India had its first legislation in the field of information technology in the form of Information Technology Act 2000.

Information Technology has reached new heights in recent times. Due to the advancement and growth in the field of technology geographical distances have been reduced and communication has now become more faster. Our dependence on information technology is growing day by day. The increase in use has many advantages and many disadvantages. Communication is not the only activity which has benefitted from the growth in information technology. Borders and boundaries have disappeared and the whole world is at your fingertips and it is all just a few clicks away. Activities in this new borderless world are at a rise and thus arises the need of a law which governs the activities in such a borderless world. The need for such legislation was felt and the Information Technology Act, 2000 was formulated.

The emergence of information technology made many things simpler but then it had its own set of problems too. As we became more and more dependent on computers, new set of problems did crop up. The emergence of cyber world can be well attributed as an effect of the growth of information technology. Anonymity and ease with which one can get information in the cyber world has resulted in an increase in cases of data theft, identity theft, hacking and other cyber crimes. E commerce has further fuelled the growth in the instances of cyber crimes.

We are more prone to be the victims in an instance of cyber crime today than we were ever before. Our vulnerability to cyber attacks can be reduced only if we have effective laws and better mechanisms to implement the law. The Information Technology Act is the legislation in this regard. It specifies as to what acts can be classified as cyber crimes and what is the manner in which such wrongs are to be punished, it also lays down the guidelines which are to be followed by companies which handle personal information of their customers and the manner in which these are to be secured. Because of the increased dependence on computers today, there is not even a single person who can say that he is immune to cyber crimes. Information technology law thus helps in nailing down the cyber criminals.

Mankind is more dependent on computers today than it was yesterday. Today, in our daily lives we send e-mails, we shop online, we book tickets online or in other words we do everything online. Our personal information is available all over the internet and anyone can use such information to his or her advantage. Thus, it cannot be said that we are immune from cyber crimes because that is not the case. Due to the increased dependence on cyber world for our daily activities anyone of us can become a victim of any of the cyber crimes.

The major enactments in the field of Information Technology are:

Information Technology Act 2000
The Act is the principal legislation in the field of information technology.

Indian Penal Code 1860
The Indian Penal Code provides for penal remedies.

Indian Evidence Act 1872
The Act lays down the rules and the value imparted to electronic documents as evidence.