The Bengaluru Central Cyber Crime police have registered a case against unidentified social media users for allegedly posting and promoting obscene content across multiple platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.
According to the police, the case was registered based on a complaint filed by a 27-year-old private firm employee. In his complaint, the complainant stated that while scrolling through Instagram, he came across an account that was posting photographs of men and women accompanied by sexually explicit content.
The complainant said the posts were shared with misleading captions such as “link in bio” and “DM for video”, which allegedly directed users to pornographic websites or encouraged them to seek obscene videos through direct messages. He said that unknown persons and troll pages were attempting to spread obscenity on public social media platforms.
The complaint also referred to an Instagram reel whose URL was being widely shared as part of the alleged activity. He also provided links to such handles.
Based on the complaint, the Central Cyber Crime police have registered a case against unknown persons under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, which deals with punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form. Further investigation is under way.
Over the past four months, TNM has investigated the shadowy business of stolen CCTV footage being sold on Telegram. The investigation uncovered how CCTV visuals from theatres, homes, hostels and even hospitals were being traded on the messaging platform, indicating that the scale of this underground market is vast.
We will continue to track the issue and examine different aspects of this disturbing ecosystem. This is the first story in the series. The second story will focus on how CCTV visuals from hospitals are being leaked and sold.
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