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Online Abuse
The Kerala High Court has quashed a criminal case against film director Sreekumar Menon who was accused by a prominent Malayalam actress of abusing and defaming her, saying that mere utterances of unpleasant words against a woman would not result in insult to her modesty. The order by Justice S Manu came on the plea by Menon, who is the director of the 2018 Indian Malayalam-language fantasy drama film 'Odiyan' starring Mohanlal. The female actor had alleged that the director had engaged in defaming her during the shooting, promotion and release of the film 'Odiyan' in which she too had a role. She had also alleged that he behaved in an indecent manner with her and mentally harassed her at the shooting locations. She later claimed that Menon also used abusive words against her in front of people at Dubai airport. Based on her complaint, an FIR under sections 354D (stalking), 294(b) (use of obscene words in a public place) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty
In a bid to ensure sustained social stability, security officials across China have shut down 34,000 online accounts for spreading rumours and punished more than 6,300 people since the start of a crackdown campaign in April. Over 4,800 cases have been handled, with more than 6,300 people punished, Li Tong, an official with the Ministry of Public Security said. Officials across the country have shut down 34,000 online accounts for spreading rumours, Li said. To ensure social stability, the ministry has decided to carry out a yearlong crackdown on online rumours spanning 2024, Li told the media here on Friday. The campaign will employ multiple measures to make sure it is effective and delivers solid outcomes, he said. In 2023, Chinese police have also taken strong measures against criminal acts of cyber violence such as online smearing, insulting and privacy infringement, handling 110 cases so far, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Players at the Women's World Cup were 29% more likely to receive online abuse than those at the men's tournament in 2022, said a report published on Monday. One in five players (152) at the Women's World Cup received targeted discriminatory, abusive or threatening messaging, according to FIFA and global players' association FIFPRO. They released data from FIFA's Social Media Protection Service (SMPS), which tries to help shield players, teams and officials from online abuse and hate speech. Almost 50% of detected and verified abusive messages were homophobic, sexual and sexist, SMPS added. The abuse that persists online impacts football players all over the world and it cannot be ignored. This toxic online environment is a risky place to be in for players and it affects their mental health and wellbeing, FIFPRO president David Aganzo said. Football has a responsibility to protect the players around their workspace. The SMPS was launched last year and has been used in eight FIFA ..