1. Laws-Facebook user must know.
Basically Cyber Law is “Law governing Cyber Space”. In India the
Information Technology Act 2000 is the primary law in dealing with
the cybercrimes.
In Today’s world, everyone is very much active on Facebook, but a
single wrong post or comment on Facebook can land us in Jail.
This article is entirely for educative purpose and to make people
aware of Laws related to Facebook in India.
Que. Legal to open a Facebook account in a fake name?
Ans. It is not legal to open a Facebook account in a fake name. It is
a serious offense. It makes the creator liable for 2yrs imprisonment.
Using this fake account to post comment, photos or send friend
request will make the liability to 3yrs in jail.
Punishable laws- Forgery (Section 464 IPC), Sending Offensive
Message (Section 66A IT Act)
Que. Legal to refer to a politician as “corrupt” on Facebook?
Ans. No it is not legal to refer a politician as “corrupt” unless the
politician is found guilty of corruption by a court of law. It could get
someone in jail for up to 3yrs.
Punishable laws- Defamation (Section 499 IPC), Sending Offensive
Message (Section 66A IT Act)
Que. Legal to call someone an “idiot” on Facebook?
Ans. Calling someone “idiot” on Facebook is a serious offense and
it could land someone in jail for up to 3yrs.The dictionary meaning
of “idiot” is “mentally deficient person”.
Punishable laws- Defamation (Section 499 IPC), Sending Offensive
Message (Section 66A IT Act)

2. Que. Legal to call someone a “fat pig” on Facebook?
Ans. It is a serious offense and could get someone in jail for up to
3yrs.In Indian context “fat pig” is believed to be a person having
loathsome or disgraceful state.
Punishable laws- Defamation (Section 499 IPC), Sending Offensive
Message (Section 66A IT Act)
Que. Legal to post obscene photos / videos on my wall or
Page?
Ans. No, it is not legal to post obscene photos/videos. It is serious
offense and the person posting such content is liable for
imprisonment up to 3yrs.
Punishable laws- Posting obscene photos (Section 67 IT Act),
Posting sexually explicit photos (Section 67A IT Act), Posting
photos depicting children in sexually explicit act (Section 67B IT
Act)
Que. Legal to use abusive language in posts?
Ans. No, it is not legal to use abusive language in posts. It is a
serious offense and the person using such language is liable for
imprisonment up to 3yrs.Even if someone use asterisk marks
instead of words, if the meaning is apparent, the person is
punishable.
Punishable laws- Using abusive language (Section 66A IT Act)
The above mentioned scenarios are few, there are many more. Any
person who uses Facebook irrespective of their age, profession etc
should be made aware of at least this much of legal knowledge.
*Contents are based on my study of Cyber Law (India)*
By- Utkarsh Kumar
UIT-RGPV
CSE-2nd
Yr.
utkarsh.hb@gmail.co