July 28, 2005
Indian police get mobile over porn
While the Sherawat episode might have taken interest in downloading MMS porn on cell phones to new levels, the trend actually began last year when a Delhi schoolboy used his cameraphone to record his girlfriend giving him oral sex.
According to the the Asia Times, "when it comes to an obsession that has gripped a huge number of mobile phone users in the county - to surf or download porn on the mobile phone - the police are going about their duties with exceptional zeal, and with an unaccustomed determination to view all of the "evidence". They have been peering into people's cell phones outside discos, pubs, bus-stops, pavements, colleges.
... The police in India have been fighting a losing battle to check porn usage. They have raided the Internet cafes that dot the country and hauled up innocent young boys and girls and put them in jail.
Viewing pornography in the privacy of one's home doesn't come under the ambit of the law, but to do so in a cafe, which is legally defined as "public space", is illegal.
According to Section 67 of the Indian Information Technology Act, transmission of obscene material through electronic media can invite a jail term of up to five years".
Related articles:
-- Indian Cops target sexual MMS to make cash
-- MMS mischief-makers snapped up
-- Mobile sex shots make Bollywood camera shy
-- 'MMS episode harmed my dignity'
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