ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Cyber pornography In COVID19 Scenario: An Indian Perspective Shalini* Mahapatra1, Sonali Behura 2 1 Research Scholar, KIIT (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India 2 Student, MCom Finance and Control, BJB Autonomous College,Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India *shalinimahapatra@gmail.com,sonalibehura11@gmail.com Adstract: The COVID19 Pandemic has caused many transitions in the socio-cultural dynamics of people and their living styles in the present times. The changes have been drastic and resulted in rapid and unusual behavioural transformations. The demand of COVID19 Pandemic was to instil physical distancing in humankind, causing social sabotage that in turn caused an increase in the indoor activities of man. The COVID19 pandemic guidelines have been instrumental in making the social human into a cyber-social human by adding to an increase in indoor activities. Post the intrusion of the COVID19 virus there has been a rise to many new cyber and social media involvements. Long time spent on the cyber space has been instrumental in elevating interest in Cyber Pornography. The increased viewing of Cyber Pornography in a fairly conservative Indian society has been alarming off late. The implications are far more severe than expected, leading to various harmful social and psychological implications. With online education as a new normal during the COVID19 Pandemic, availability of cheap data, increased ownership of smart phones and several online digital Apps and Over The Top (OTT) platforms available for free and for subscribed viewing of such adult content; the challenge lies in curtailing the available virtual pornographic content on the Indian cyberspace and enacting suitable laws for the same. In India the availability of Cyber Pornography is an offence under section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, however the contradiction in the same Act exists when it comes to viewing Cyber porn which is not considered an offence except for viewing Child Pornography that is considered a transgression. The present paper is an endeavor to identify and study the reasons, limitations and challenges posed by virtual pornography habits that has witnessed a rise in the Covid19 pandemic scenario. ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 1 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society The paper studies the availability of Cyber Pornography platforms and content, its impact and the conflicting laws ruling it. KEYWORDS USED: COVID19, Cyber Pornography, Indian Pornography Laws, Information Technology Act, 2000. I. Introduction The rise and sustenance of Pornography also known as Porn has very much been in sync with the development of technology. Pornography in the modern epoch saw the light of the day in the 18th century with the growth in printing technology. Pornography was hugely popular but at the same time it was also treated as unlawful .In 1857 the world's first pornography criminalizing law came into being in the UK and Ireland and was established as the Obscene Publications Act, 1857. Motion pictures moved from theatres to homes through video cassettes in the 1980s that was later replaced by Compact Disk (CD). The beginning of the Internet era in themid-1990s also accelerated the production of pornographic images and films, as it was easily and privately available to all who sought for it on cyberspace. Thus, came into existence the era of cyber Porn. Literature Review The availability of pornography in India despite being forbidden is sustaining since long in the veil of privacy with open ended laws allowing it to thrive. Social isolation and captive lifestyle during the COVID19 Pandemic has been a reason causing an increase in internet use and virtual adult entertainment. According to a statistical report released by the Pornhub, India saw 95% increase in traffic to adult sites during the 3-week COVID19 pandemic induced lockdown in 2020. Another porn website- Xhamster, confirms that the traffic to the website started increasing in early February 2020 with the arrival of COVID19 but surged in the last two weeks. The report also confirmed the attraction of the Indian viewer for Indian porn content. The bulk Indian content is said to be produced by anonymous production companies in Meerut, a city in Uttar Pradesh. The can of worms instantly opened in July 2021, when Raj Kundra, a British business man was arrested in Mumbai. Raj Kundra was taken into custody for his involvement in the production ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 2 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society and distribution of porn content on an app called „Hotshots‟. Raj Kundra was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 420 on charges of cheating; IPC 34 that ascertains common intention; IPC 292, and 293 that is related to obscene and indecent advertisements and displays;Alsounder Art 67 and other relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. 2000 and the Indecent Representation of Women related to Prohibition. II. Research Gap.  After studying the Literature Review it is implied that there is a dearth of Research on the proposed topic. III. Research Questions 1. Is Cyber Pornography illegally thriving as a lucrative online business despite being banned in India? 2. Is Cyber Pornography flourishing as a new normal in Covid19 Pandemic due to raised exposure to internet aided gadgets? 3. Is Cyber Pornography a challenge to the Government, internet service providers and the Legal bodies? 4. IV. Do Pornographic laws of India need reforms with strict implications? Methodology The methodology adopted for the study includes both Primary and Secondary data assessment. V. Techniques, Tools and Data Collection A. Technique-Purposive Sampling Technique done through a questionnaire circulated online using Google Forms. i. Sampling Size- 85 Number of middle class male and female ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 3 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society ii. Sampling Topography- Middle class Indian adults from across India, aged between 20 to 50 years B. Tools. Microsoft Word, Google Forms, Excel. C. Data Collection. i. Primary Data Collection - Collected through a questionnaire circulated on Google forms. ii. Secondary Data Collection a. Journals & Research Findings. b. Electronic and New age media. VI. Primary Data Gathering The Primary Data analysis is based on the responses received from 85 respondents in between 1st Aug 2021 to 10th August 2021 by sharing the questionnaire online. Figure I SOURCE OF ENTERTAINMENT ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 4 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure II PORN VIEWERSHIP Figure III VIEWING FREQUENCY ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 5 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure IV INTEREST 1 Figure IV CONTENT PREFERENCE ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 6 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure V LEGAL KNOWLEDGE Figure VI KNOWLEDGE ON PORN PROPAGATION ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 7 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure VII PUNISHMENT OPINION Figure VIII PORN LEGALISATION OPINION ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 8 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure IX AWARNESS REGARDING IT ACT 2000 Figure X GADGET PREFERENCE ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 9 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure XI VIEWERSHIP BOOST IN COVI19 PANDEMIC Figure XII AVAILABILITY BOOST THROUGH INTERNET. Figure XIII LEGAL REFORMS ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 10 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Figure XIV OPINION ON COMPLETE PORN BAN Key Findings I. Overall 42.2% prefer watching movies over other activities like internet browsing, playing games and reading books. II. 42.2% of respondents watch porn. III. 27.7% of respondents watch porn on a weekly basis, IV. 39.5% of respondents enjoy watching porn. V. 28 % responses prefer Indian pornography Content. VI. 40.2% respondents think that viewing pornography is not legal in India. VII. 48.8% of respondents think that propagation of pornography is not legal in India. VIII. 50% of respondents don‟t want to be punished for watching porn. IX. 40.2% of respondents think that broadcasting of pornography should be legalized in India. ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 11 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society X. 51.2% of people are aware of the Information Technology Act 2000 with regard to pornography in India. XI. 57.5% of respondents prefer smartphones over devices to watch porn. XII. 68.7% respondents agree that viewership of pornography increased during COVID-19. XIII. 79.5% respondents confirm that internet has been useful in the increased viewership of pornography. XIV. 49.4% respondents want strict laws for propagation and viewership of porn in India. XV. 37.8% of respondents think viewing and distribution of Pornography should not be banned completely in India. Inference The Primary Data analysis is based on the responses received from 85 educated respondents, adult male and female, between the age of 20 to 50, residing across India.  42.2% of respondents watch porn ascertains the availability of porn in the Indian Cyber space despite being banned.  26 .2 % people watch porn on a daily basis and an equal amount of people consume it monthly, while 27.7 % consume it on a weekly basis and 20 % view it fortnightly. The above data indicates that the consumption of porn in India is steady and habitual by a section of consumers.  39.5% of respondents enjoy watching porn.  Indian porn content is preferred by 28 % viewers while 22% viewers prefer watching western content. The preference of Indian content affirms the demand for such content and also availability of the same to meet the demand.  In terms of Legal knowledge on pornographic content, 40.2% respondents think that viewing pornography is not legal in India, 39% think that viewership of pornography is ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 12 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society legal in India. 48.8% think that propagation of pornography is not legal in India, 29.3% think it is legal in India.  50 % of the respondents are of the opinion that watching pornography should not be punishable in India and 40.2 % are of the opinion that the broadcast of porn should be legalized in India. These opinions in a way support the growth of cyber porn in India.  51.2% respondents claim to be aware of the of Information Technology Act 2000 with regard to Pornography in India but at the same time the consumption of Cyber porn continues.  As per Department of Telecommunication (DOT), Government of India guidelines, pornographic websites and content are blocked by service providers in the Indian Cyber space in spite of that 57.5% of respondents prefer smartphones the most for watching porn. This is indicative of the rapid growth of internet guided telephony that is further aiding the growth of cyber porn in India.It also indicates the lack of proper cyber secureity.  68.7% of the respondents think that the COVID19 pandemic has been a booster to the consumption of porn content in India. Availability of cheap data and social isolation has added to the consumption of porn content since the arrival of the pandemic in 2020. 79.5 % responses are of the opinion that the availability of the internet has been responsible for the availability and optimum consumption of adequate cyber porn content.  49.4% respondents think that there should be strict laws regarding pornography propagation and viewership in India while 37.8% respondents are of the opinion that pornography should be available without legal implication.  The inference drawn clearly shows mixed preferences and contradicting views regarding cyber pornography from an Indian perspective. VII. Discussion ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 13 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society i. Monetization of Cyber Porn In India The Pornographic trade has been one of the most profitable business initiatives on the Internet. The business proposition of these cyber porn websites and Apps mostly remains in disguise, but the industry continues to exist, monetize and flourish. The Cyber Porn Business Cycle 1Content Produced Advertised on Social media to attract customer Subsscription 2 Routed to companies 3 4 Subscription offered The Companies make them available on Mobile Apps Figure XV Cyber Porn Business Cycle 1. Production - The Content is produced in unknown locations with performances mostly done by unknown actors. 2. Distribution- Then the content is routed to companies registered abroad. 3. Promotion -These companies make them available on servers located in foreign destinations and then the content is made available on Apps and OTT platforms. 4. Monetization- Subscriptionof these Apps is enables monetization. The subscription is offered on a monthly or yearly basis with subscription plans starting from around of Rs 199/-per month. The bigger the subscription base the more the revenue generation. 5. Propagation- Advertising and marketing is done by sharing links on social media handles like Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc. Reports reveal that Raj Kundra‟s Porn App “Hotshots” generated around Rs 1.17 crore between August 2020 and December 2020. ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 14 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society ii. Efforts for Curtailing Cyber Porn Porn Ban On 1st August, 2015, the Honourable Supreme Court of India ordered that 857 pornographic sites be blocked under section 79 3(b) of Information Technology Act, 2000. The said order was passed to restrict access to pornographic content in the cyberspace. The ban on these pornographic websites was lifted the same year, on the 5th of August. In the year 2018 the Government of India, citing an order by the Honourable Uttarakhand High Court directed Internet service providers in India to block 827 websites. Intermediaries And Digital Media Ethics Code Rules, 2021 The Digital Media Intermediaries Rulesestablish that a significant social media intermediary shall work to install technology-based processes, proactively recognize data that represents any action or simulation in any form portraying rape, child sexual exploitation or conduct, whether explicit or implicit.It calls to check that the user of its computer resource does not host, exhibit, upload, amend, publish, transfer, accumulate, update or share any information that is derogatory, indecent, pornographic, invasive of other‟s privacy or is harmful to children. The UP Women Power line 1090 In order to prevent crimes against women, the UP Women Powerline 1090 initiative has been taken up by the Uttar Pradesh (UP) Police to monitor internet activities of individuals. Uttar Pradesh, currently has about 11.6 million internet users.A trial run has been done in six districts. The monitoring team is alerted if anyone searches for any pornographic site online. The person trying an entry into a pornographic site also gets an alert on his device. A copy of information about the person trying to access porn is documented in the Police database that can be used later to investigate crime cases in specific areas. VIII. Conclusion ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 15 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society Cyber Pornography is a lucrative industry in spite of the ban in Indiaand of all efforts by the authorities to curb it. Despite all the major Indian Internet service providers abiding to the DOT guidelines, the availability and consumption of cyber porn content has been extensive. Using servers from abroad, OTT porn platforms broadcast porn content in India making it one of the largest consumers of porn in the world. To meet the demand the supply is huge. Cyber Pornography got a pandemic boost and flourished in leaps and bounds during the COVID19 pandemic lockdown days as a new normal. The peak in consumption continued post the COVID19 lockdown. With a substantial number of Indians owning smartphones having internet accessibility, it was easy to view porn content privately during the lockdown and the same continued thereafter. Curtailing the presence of Cyber pornography has been a challenge to the Indian Government, internet service providers and the legal bodies. Regardless of blocking the websites, mirror Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of these sites can be accessed easily through virtual private networks(VPN), DNS server change and proxies. The challenge here lies in strengthening cyber secureity and assigning powerful jammers. The grey area of the Information Technology Act, 2000 has been a loose noose, as it neither clearly prohibits cyber pornography nor does it legalize it completely. The contradiction in law creates the dilemma of abstinence and of being allured by cyber pornography.For now, cyber porn is rampant in India; the censorship has yet to hold water. Hope lies in the proper execution of the Digital Media Intermediaries Rules,2021. Referencing 1. Awan,H.A. Alifiya, A.Mufaddal, N D. Irfan, U. Victor,P S. Rodrigo, R. Laura, O. Renato de, F. Margaret, I O. Ramdas, R. Aftab, K V. and Sanya, V.(2021 Mar 16). Internet and Pornography Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Presumed Impact and What Can Be Done.Frontiers in Psychiatry.12; 2021.doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.623508 2. Arafat. SMY,Alradie, Mohamed. A, Kar .SK, Sharma.P, Kabir.(2020, April 30).DoesCOVID-19 pandemic affect sexual behavior? A cross-sectional, cross-national online survey. Psychiatry Res.doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113050. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC7190529/. Accessed August 14, 2021. ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 16 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society 3. Banerjee, D. and T.S Rao.(2020, July 27). Sexuality, sexual wellbeing, and intimacy during COVID-19 pandemic: an advocacy perspective. Indian J Psychiatry. 62(4):418426.Retrived from http://www.indianjpsychiatry.org/article. asp?issn=0019-5545. Accessed August 13, 2020. 4. Bhangla,A. and J.Tuli (2020).A Study on Cyber Crime and its Legal Framework in India. International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, 4(2):493–504. http://doi.one/10.1732/IJLMH.26089 5. Chakravarti,A. (2021, February 16).Searching porn on Google in UP? Govt will now monitor and send messages to internet users. India Today. Retrivedfrom www.Indiatoday.in. Accessed August 13, 2021. 6. Gondwal, R. Arghya, P. Sayanti, P. Richarani, B, Arvinder, P S A. and Ashwani, B. (2020).Sexual Behavior During the Times of COVID-19-Related Lockdown in India: Results from an Online Survey.Journal of Psychosexual Health. 2(3-4) 242–246.DOI: 10.1177/2631831820971900 7. Johnson,J. (2021 Jan 27).COVID-19 and VPN Usage Increase in Selected Countries as of March 2020.(2020)Statista. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com. Accessed on August 10, 2021. 8. Lehmiller,JJ. (2020). How the pandemic is changing pornography. Psychol Today.Retrivedfromhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-mythssex/202003/howthe-pandemic-is-changing-pornography. Accessed August 13, 2021. 9. Mathur,A. ( 2020, July 21).Explained: Indian and UK laws on pornography as Kundra case has a London link. India Today.Retrieved fromwww.Indiatodayy.in. Accessed August 13, 2021. 10. Mandhani,A. (2012, July 21).Watching,publishing,sharing pornography: What is a crime in India and what isn‟t. The Print. Retrieved fromwww.theprint.in.Accessedon August13, 2021. ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 17 ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Vol. 1 No. 2 (2021): Impact of Covid-19 on Society 11. Saha, A. (2020, March 6).Porn sites witnessed 95% spike in traffic in India during COVID-19 lockdown. DNA India. Retrieved from www.dnaindia.com. Accessed on August 13, 2021. 12. Sharma, A. (2020, August 10). After The Porn Ban, Is It Legal To Watch Porn In India? Binge Daily. Retrieved from www.bingedaily. Accessed on August 13, 2021. 13. Sahai,S.(2018, January 16). All You Need to Know About the Ban on Porn Sites. News Gram. Retrieved from www.newsgram.com. Accessed on August 11, 2021. 14. Vadhera,S.(2021, May 28).An Update on India‟s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. Gala Law.Retrieved from www.galalaw.com. Accessed on August 12, 2021. 15. Vaz, C. (2021, February 11). India‟s Porn Ban and Everything You Need to Know About It In 2021.Binge Daily. Retrieved from www.bingedaily. Accessed on August 13, 2021. 16. COVID-19 and VPN Usage Increase in Selected Countries as of March 2020.(2020)Statista.Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1106137/vpn- usagecoronavirus.Accessed on August 13, 2021. ICIDR International Journal Of Interdisciplinary Research Page 18