Pros of the I.T. Act, 2000:

1. Before the enactment of the I.T. Act, 2000, the usual means of communication such as emails and texts were not considered as a legal form of communication and due to this, they were not admissible as evidence in a court of law. But after the enactment of I.T. Act, 2000 electronic formats and communication got legal recognition, and now they are admissible as evidence in a court of law.
2. With the introduction of the I.T. Act, 2000, now companies can carry out e-commerce and e-business and promote online transactions commercially using the legal infrastructure provided by this Act. 
3. Digital signatures and authentications have been legalised after the I.T. Act, 2000, which is a great assistance to carry out transactions online as they help in verifying the identity of an individual on the internet. 
4. The I.T. Act, 2000, provides for corporate to have statutory remedies if anyone hacks and breaks into their computer systems or networks and causes any kind of damages. The I.T. Act, 2000 provides for monetary damages, by the way, compensation, as a remedy for such crimes. 
5. The I.T. Act, 2000 has defined, recognised and penalised various cyber crimes such as hacking, spamming, identity theft, phishing and many more. Prior to this Act, cybercrimes were not included in any legislation, and there was no legal remedy for such crimes. 
6. The Act allows companies to issue digital certificates by becoming Certifying Authorities. 
7. This Act also allows the Government to issue notices on the internet through e-governance. 

Cons of the I.T. Act, 2000:

1. The I.T. Act, 2000 may cause a conflict of jurisdiction. 
2. Electronic commerce is based on the system of domain names. The I.T. Act, 2000 does not address the issues relating to domain names, rights and liabilities of domain owners. 
3. The I.T. Act, 2000 does not provide for the protection of Intellectual Property Rights as issues regarding copyrights and patents are very common in relation to computer programs and networks.
4. The offences covered and defined under the I.T. Act, 2000 are not exhaustive in nature. Since, with the advancements in technologies, computer programs and networks are constantly changing and evolving, and with this advancement, the nature of cybercrimes is also evolving. This Act does not cover various kinds of cybercrimes such as cyberstalking, cyber fraud, chat room abuse, theft of internet hours and many more. 
5. The I.T. Act, 2000 has not addressed issues like privacy and content regulation, which is very necessary, considering the vulnerability internet poses. 
6. Lastly, the main issue with this Act is its implementation. The I.T. Act, 2000 does not lay down any parameters for its implementation and regulations.

Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008:

Few amendments have been made in the I.T. Act, 2000 which have improved certain provisions of the original Act. Few of the amendments are:

1. The term’ digital signature’ has been replaced with ‘electronic signature’ to make the Act more technology-neutral. 
2. The term ‘Communication device’ has been defined. According to the definition, ‘Communication device’ means cell phones, personal digital assistants or combination of both or any other device used to communicate, send or transmit any text, video, audio or image.
3. The term ‘Cybercafe’ has also been defined as any facility from where the access to the internet is offered by any person in the ordinary course of business to the members of the public. 
4. New Sections have been added to address data protection and privacy.

Conclusion:

To sum up, though a crime free society is perfect and exists only in illusion, it should be constant attempt of rules to keep the criminalities lowest. Especially in a society that is dependent more and more on technology, crime based on electronic law-breaking are bound to increase and the law makers have to go the extra mile compared to the impostors, to keep them at bay. Technology is always a double-edged sword and can be used for both the purposes good or bad.

Hence, it should be the tenacious efforts of rulers and law makers to ensure that technology grows in a healthy manner and is used for legal and ethical business growth and not for committing crimes.

Aishwarya Says:

I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.

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