India's primary law on electronic transactions and cyber crime, giving legal recognition to electronic records and digital signatures, defining cyber offences and setting rules for intermediaries such as social media platforms.
In the 1990s, online commerce and email were growing, but Indian law recognised only paper documents and ink signatures. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law adopted a Model Law on Electronic Commerce in 1996, and the UN General Assembly recommended that states give it favourable consideration. India responded with the Information Technology Act, 2000, which made electronic records and digital signatures legally valid, set up a Controller of Certifying Authorities and listed early cyber offences such as hacking and tampering with source code.
The Act was heavily amended in 2008 after concerns about cyber terrorism, including after the Mumbai attacks. The amendment introduced technology-neutral electronic signatures, new offences such as identity theft, cheating by personation, cyber terrorism and child sexual abuse material, the controversial Section 66A on offensive messages, and Section 43A on compensation for failure to protect sensitive personal data. It also strengthened government powers of interception (Section 69) and blocking (Section 69A), and created a legal basis for CERT-In.
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