HIGHLIGHTS
- Businesses like Meta, Signal, Mozilla, and others expressed worries about the upcoming telecom bill of 2023.
- The government will have the authority to halt any telecom service under this measure.
- Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Minister of Technology, has made it clear that OTT services are unaffected by the new bill.
The Indian government unveiled a new bill earlier this week to replace three outdated laws pertaining to the regulation of telecom services in the nation. Despite the fact that the bill made no mention of over-the-top (OTT) communication services, a number of businesses expressed worry that the GoI might attempt to regulate Internet apps through the new legislation.
It has been verified by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw that the revised bill will not include OTT services. Rather, they shall persist to be governed by the Information Technology Act of 2000.
Telecom Bill 2023 Excludes OTT
Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s Minister of Electronics and IT, has recently reaffirmed that OTT services are exempt from the new telecom bill. He went on to explain that the IT Act of 2000 still applies to OTT and that it always will.
In cases where there is a threat to national security, the government is empowered by the new telecom bill to stop services provided by any telecom provider in the nation. The measure, however, does not specifically state which businesses can be suspended; it just refers to “telecom services.”
OTT services include online communication programs like Facebook Messenger, Telegram, WhatsApp, and others. But as they facilitate communication, they can also be categorized as telecommunication services in specific situations. Thus, businesses like Meta were concerned that the new telecom bill would allow the government to halt internet-based app services.
OTT services have breathed a sigh of relief following Mr. Vaishnaw’s statement, as the new telecom bill leaves the country’s regulations governing these apps unchanged.
It’s also crucial to remember that the Indian IT Act of 2000, which presently governs over-the-top (OTT) services, has the authority to halt the provision of any digital service within the nation. In the sake of public safety, the GoI may impose restrictions on public access to any service under section 69A of the IT Act. Even though the new telecom bill does not impose any new rules on over-the-top (OTT) services in India, they must nonetheless abide by the IT Act in order to avoid being stopped.
Both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha have approved the Telecom Bill of 2023. The measure is presently awaiting the President of India’s final approval, following which it would become operative.
