Are Information Technology (IT) Laws outdated to protect Internet users?

Are you sure that the law is keeping you and people around you safe on the internet? Well think about it again, the IT Laws also known as Cyber Laws, have been the same for an extended period. To be specific they have been the same since the early introduction of the “Internet”, the initial laws may or are still in practice in many places around the world. Regardless if the laws have changed technology has surely evolved and has made a significant change in the lives of many. New technologies, upcoming inventions and solutions to modern problems are all aided by the existence of different technologies, specially the ever-ending resources that are being made available on the public domain or as most would call it the “Internet”.

Believe it or not, the internet processes more data than it really needs to, an evidence to this is the 2400% increase in data over the past decade alone. The increasing access to technology has further added to the humongous databases of information with data about different individuals who belong to different geographical regions, communities, etc. Large entities in the technological world are handling extremely crucial and sensitive data, records, and transactions which are being made by different people. Thus, resulting in the releases of different software’s and hardware’s that are supposed to protect its users, these include firewalls, VPN software’s, anti-virus software’s and other detections and prevent tools which are making great profits which the intention of providing a safer and securer environment for users online.

However, little do we know that the use of these software’s and hardware’s are also of not much help. Though they may be adding another layer of security they do still get to see what we are doing and gain access under the intention of protecting us. VPN applications which require subscriptions do claim to provide us with safety, but our data is still being processed by the VPN provider for that data to reach where it needs to. Therefore, the internet isn’t much safe if we really think about it, everything adds up to create a new chain of questions that raise concerns towards our security and privacy of the data which we technically claim.

Therefore, exist the Cyber Laws (IT Laws) which aim to provide a legal aspect to our safety, protection and security of the data we produce. The creation of these laws is often with regards to different considerations which include, the society we live in, the morals of internet usage, computer ethics, etc. These laws are intended to solely maintain discipline and justice in the cyber world between data processing entities and owners of the data. Nevertheless, as stated before the cyber laws are turning out to be outdated. This is a result of the endless inventions and innovation of technology that is introducing new concerns every time they are launched. Previously existing laws have turned out to be the leading causes as to why certain cybercrimes are happening.

For instance, the previously prescribed Data Protection Act adopted by the European Union in 1998 was created when the internet was just growing and becoming a new trend however two decades later the European Union found it to have been outdated and not helping its citizens to protect their data and know more about their data raised concerns for the EU Council. This meant that a Legal Reformation was required for the safety of their citizens. Soon the directives from 1998 were replaced with the New General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Thus, the previous concerns under the IT Laws were resolved but there still exist certain countries where the legislative acts are not yet reformed to provide the safety that is currently required in the growing technological world. Another instance that proves minimal attention is being given to cyber law offenders, comes from India where it is reported that most cybercrimes don’t really end in conviction, there are definitely multiple reasons behind why the following is happening but a part of it is also the fact that the Law in order is not really helping or providing any justice to those who have been victims of it.

Henceforth, it is certain that the cyber laws currently existing are not worthy enough to keep internet users safe online. The conclusion is made on the basis of currently changing laws that show there was minimal action being taken in the past decades of technological innovation and that there still exist laws that are not going to be undergoing reformations any time soon. The intensity and level of response towards the currently existing cyber laws is also seen to have been less conservative by countless law enforcements around the world which when added up with the outdated laws creates a massive loophole in the legislations of Cyber Laws.