Amid our digital era, where silicon and soul converge, and algorithms permeate our daily lives with an uncanny resemblance of intelligence, a compelling question arises: Can we confer personhood upon our silicon companions? Imagine a world where you arrange a coffee date with a robot friend. Imagine a courtroom where a robot stands trial, its circuits pulsing with anticipation, or a scenario where your silicon partner breaks your heart. Electronic personhood is a captivating realm where the concept transcends mere legal jargon. The journey comments at the intersection of jurisprudence and ..read more

The emergence of the virtual world is one of the miracles of technological developments. Unlike the real world, the virtual world is an artificial manifestation of human imagination. It replicates the real-world experience in an alternate, virtual form. This virtual world contains a virtually-generated environment inhabited by virtual inhibitors or characters known as avatars. These avatars have the agency to take action. They can interact, learn, and behave in the virtual world like humans do in the real world. Those activities may include walking, buying property, making friends, partying, e ..read more

Due to the Internet’s ubiquitous nature, cyber crimes do not have territorial limits. A perpetrator can execute a cyber attack impacting one or multiple countries simultaneously. A hacker can use computers and networks as tools, targets, or as a facilitator for traditional crimes. They can also use these IT systems as a place for criminal activity, for example, hosting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) content. This article looks at essential provisions from laws of various countries and what they say about the extent of extraterritorial jurisdiction. Existing Provisions In India, Section 75 ..read more

R. v. Coban 2022 BCSC 1810 In the Supreme Court of British Columbia Docket X078463 Before Justice Devlin Decided on October 14, 2022 Relevancy of the Case: Appeal against the final sentencing in a case of online sextortion where a minor victim suffered for over 3 years Statutes and Provisions Involved The Criminal Code, 1985 (Section 163.1, 172.1, 264, 346) Relevant Facts of the Case In 2012, AT, a British Canadian teenager, tragically died by suicide. She was the victim of sexual extortion by the accused, Coban. From November 2009 to February 2012, he bombarded AT with over 700 messages on ..read more

Do you (and the people around you) have access to the Internet and related digital technologies? Do you make use of these? If you pick yes as your answer to these two questions, congratulations! You comprise one part of the 4.9 billion people (or 63% of the global population) who are online. One-third of the world, however, cannot say yes to this answer, for they lack access to these digital services. It is this divide that digital inclusion seeks to eliminate. According to the UN, digital inclusion refers to “equitable, meaningful, and safe access to use, lead, and design of digital technolo ..read more

There is no denying the European Union’s (EU) groundbreaking work in regulating tech. The 27-member Union has been elbow-deep in building policy around technology since 2016. In that year, it published the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a defining data privacy and security law put into effect in 2018. It covers data protection, security, accountability, consent, and privacy rights. Thus, it attempts to give people more control over the processing of their personal data. Subsequently, the EU introduced the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Market Act (DMA), a single package ..read more

The twentieth century has introduced some of the greatest inventions humankind has seen. The internet is one such invention. There is barely any area untouched by its very presence in our daily lives. Due to its intangible and boundaryless nature, it is complicated to establish its actual haven, which hosts a plethora of cyber criminals. In such circumstances, unified legislation is called for to address the cross-jurisdictional nature of crimes committed on the internet. The Convention on Cybercrime is an important development towards a unified cyber crime regulation. Considered the Council o ..read more

Dark Patterns or Deceptive Design Patterns are certain dirty tricks websites and apps use that make consumers or users take specific actions they do not mean to. In 2010, Harry Brignull coined the term dark patterns. For example, whenever WhatsApp updates its policies, it only gives the users the option to “Agree and Continue“. The users do not have an option to select or express their disagreement. Since users rely heavily on such apps, they quickly fall for such tricks. The service providers save a lot by drafting a standard agreement, but the consumers are at a loss. Alongside, Brignul ..read more

The words halo and horn evoke some celestial images in the mind — of angels and devils, of hell and heaven. However, the psychological effects they reflect aren’t as literal. Oxford defines the halo and horn effect as “an effect in which one person’s judgement of another is unduly influenced by a first impression”. The impression may be positive, as reflected by the halo, or negative, as reflected by the horn. First Impressions and Physical Attractiveness When first impressions are a thing of real life, virtual life has heightened it to another dimension. One of the most common trait ..read more

You have heard of psychology, but have you looked into the fascinating area of cyber psychology? This field investigates our digital behaviour, revealing how we navigate the online environment and how it informs our offline activities. Social media is a strong tool for connecting and sharing information with our social networks. However, it is also a place where people sometimes show irrational behaviour. This could be owing to the internet’s anonymity or the lack of immediate consequences. Anonymity, accountability, and the perception of free speech all play a role in this phenomenon, providi ..read more