Earlier this week, the Government of India introduced a new bill to replace three old laws related to telecom regulation in the country. Although the bill did not involve any references to OTT communication services, several companies were concerned that the GoI could try to regulate Internet apps with the new bill.
India’s Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has now confirmed that the new telecom bill does not apply to OTT services. He further clarified that OTT is regulated by the IT Act of 2000, and will continue to do so.
The new telecom bill gives the government the power to suspend services of any telecommunications service in the country, in situations of any threat to national security. However, the bill only mentions the term ‘telecom services’ and does not clearly specify the exact entities that can get suspended.
Internet communication apps such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, etc. fall under the category of OTT services. However, they can also be classified as telecommunication services under some circumstances as they allow people to communicate with each other. Hence, companies such as Meta were worried that the new telecom bill could give the government the power to suspend services of internet-based apps.
The clarification from Mr Vaishnaw has brought a sigh of relief to OTT services, as the new telecom bill does not make any changes to the regulation of such apps in the country.
It is also important to note that the Indian IT Act of 2000, which currently regulates OTT services, also has the power to suspend any digital service in the country. The section 69A of the IT Act allows the GoI to restrict public access to any service in the interest of public safety. While the new telecom bill does not put any additional regulations on OTT services in India, they are still required to follow the IT Act to prevent getting suspended.
The Telecom Bill of 2023 has been cleared in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. It is now waiting for final approval from the President of India, after which the bill shall come into power.
