Disclose ur true identity online!!

False web identity may land you in prison!!

If you have been furnishing fictitious information while registering yourself for an e-mail address with a website, you could be cooling your heels in a prison.

The government would soon make providing false information on the internet, including the residential or office address, for creating e-mail ids a punishable offence. The punishment could be a prison sentence of up to two years.

Many people provide false information on internet to get new or alternate email ids on the same website as at times the email service providers refuse to provide two ids to the same person. The new Act could catch such people unawares.

“A new section (section 66A) would be added in the proposed Information Technology Act 2006, which would make it a punishable offence to provide any false information about yourself,” an official in the department of information technology (DIT) told ET.

The offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to two years and all the clauses applicable under the Indian penal code (IPC) for similar offences would be applicable, the official said.

The information about a false e-mail identity could be established with the help of the internet service providers and the IP addresses. It becomes easier to track a false e-mail address when a user has two or more e-mail IDs with different addresses.

It would, however, be up to the investigating agencies like the central bureau of investigation (CBI) or the crime investigation department (CID) to establish that a person is using false or misleading information on the internet, the official said.

The move is aimed towards giving a greater teeth to existing cyber laws. The new clause, in particular, would help investigative and security agencies put a tab on the communication by terrorists or other anti-national groups who use the internet as an easy tool for disguised communications, a security expert said.

The government is also planning to review the draft Information Technology (IT) Act 2006 in consultation with all stakeholders, including the industry and the user groups. The department is in the process of reviewing the act and has sought the feedback on the proposed changes from all stakeholders.

The decision followed the parliamentary panel’s report that indicated some major flaws, particularly in the areas of cyber terrorism and child p*rnography. The report also said that the draft act does not clearly define the term cyber terrorism.

The panel, constituted to look into the proposed changes in the IT Act 2000, had earlier this month pulled up the department of information technology (DIT) for flaws in the proposed amendments. DIT would also put the draft act for public comment once the review process is over.