A Critique on Cybercrimes Concerning Online Games and Content: Need for Comprehensive Legal Framework in India

Abstract

Cyberspace is nothing but a web that captures and unnavigated the entrants. The germane notion is that widespread usage of technology predominantly results in abuse. The virtual world is considered to be in continual conflict with the utilization and manipulation of technology. Cybercrime is one example of the technical defect of the virtual world, where concomitantly several activities transpire in cyberspace that imposes a risk on the privacy, safety, and security of the people and the nation. Cybercrimes currently form an integral part of cyberspace although unsolicited. Numerous activities take place in cyberspace. Online Gaming is one imperative aspect of the same. The contemporary age developers diurnally introduce novel and enhanced games, aiming at different strata of society. In addition, online gaming is estimated to be flourishing further with the advancement of technology. Enhanced products and services (licensed or non-licensed) are luring people to a greater extent, compelling them to avail themselves of so-called pristine technologies, resultantly posing a worldwide threat to the privacy and security of the user’s personal information and the relevant confidential data. Furthermore, the application of Artificial Intelligence in online gaming entails additional challenges by providing actual/second life experience in the virtual world. The menace is not limited to privacy infringement but is sometimes used as a tool to induce crimes such as Gambling, Cyberstalking, and Circulation of illicit content, to name a few. Cybercrime in online games encompasses a whole new challenge to the existing inadequacies primarily in terms of security and privacy issue in cyberspace. In such a scenario and the prospects require a stringent approach to be adopted by the legislatures to eliminate and control malpractices and crimes prevailing in the virtual world. On this note, the existing Indian legislative framework is considered to be non-comprehensive and incompetent for the digital age. Therefore, there is a need to have a more comprehensive approach to regulate online platforms. The present work is an attempt to discuss the overall phenomenon of cybercrime regarding online games with the help of suitable facts and figures. Additionally, the paper will explore the cogency of the regulatory framework in India based on existing and proposed laws.