The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, passed by both houses of parliament, is another action to cement authoritarian control over the rights of ordinary citizens. Its impact will be felt directly in four clear ways. https://thewire.in/government/cleverly-drafted-telecom-bill-government-tightens-grip-digital-india
First, there is a clear power for the Union government to regulate and license OTT services such as WhatsApp, Signal, Gmail etc. Here, the unfounded hope and the underserved servility in statements that OTT regulation is excluded from the ambit of regulation of the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, is not borne out from its text. The Union government may prescribe licence conditions that may vary as per “telecommunication service” [Section 3(1)(a) and Section 3(1)(b)] and require prior registration that may be used for the government to weaken privacy and increase snooping in future. While the phrases “OTT”, “Messaging Services” or even “Email” are not expressly mentioned in the Telecommunications Bill as in the draft version, they at the same time have not been expressly excluded from the definition of “telecommunication service” which means, “any service for telecommunication” [Section 2(t)]. Further, the phrase, “telecommunication” is defined to include, “transmission… or reception of any messages…” Hence, internet-based messaging and email services are included.
by Apar Gupta
22/12/2023