New Delhi: Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Friday said the draft Indian Telecom Bill, 2022 provides an enabling framework to fight cyber and telecom frauds along with ensuring safety of users.
Speaking to the media, Vaishnav, however, highlighted that the new Telecom Bill will not be a direct solution to fraud.
“It is important that we look at this bill as part of a larger broader digital framework that we are trying to discuss. We should not look at the bill as the final solution because it will not happen. This is the first step towards a bigger solution to this problem of fraud, we want to break those institutions and cycles.”
On Wednesday, the draft Telecom Bill was released for further deliberations and comments from industry participants. Two key element What stood out in the draft were licenses for OTT platforms that provide telecom services like WhatsApp calls, signals, etc., and fraud protection to users through a strict KYC process.
Vaishnav, who is the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, pointed out that a strict KYC process would not only give users the option to know who called them, but also there would be a steady decline in fraud cases.
“It is the right of a citizen to know who is calling them, irrespective of the platform, to have the option of taking the call or not. Be it Signal, Facetime or WhatsApp calls, one needs to know who is calling them and that’s why we want to take users’ KYC seriously. We have tried to ensure that there are checks and balances in the KYC process, and hence, the Bill says that a person should clearly be part of the process,” he said.
Please note that WhatsApp contacted The Delhi High Court had last year moved against the Centre’s New Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules, 2021, claiming that it would break its end-to-end encryption policy. The company’s petition also states that if intermediaries like WhatsApp were to trace the identity of a caller, it would have to decrypt the calls/messages, which would amount to an “invasion of privacy”.
When asked about the issue, the minister said the government would not force companies to decrypt. He also said that the government is in no hurry to implement the new telecom rules, as the deliberations will take at least 6-10 months.
“This Bill, once implemented, will enable us to break the cyber fraud cycle, there are many who have been harassed and we intend to provide protection. The final draft will be well woven after deliberations, it is likely that it will take 6-10 months to be implemented and we are in no hurry.
License, Registration and Authorization
Vaishnav said the draft bill would ensure that all telecom networks and services would have to be licensed, infrastructure would have to be registered and wireless devices would need authorisation.
The primary intention, the minister said, was to ensure that there is “light touch regulation” to promote innovations and reduce the regulatory burden on companies.
“In the past there was confusion about who needs licenses and who does not, and with this Bill, we will get more clarity. We have simplified the terms and conditions of the license. As per the interpretation of the Indian Telegraph Act, OTT platforms already come under the purview of the Indian regulatory framework. We want to create a conducive environment for innovation and we do not want to impose any regulatory burden on any entity. However the safety of the users will always be our primary focus,” Vaishnav said.
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