WhatsApp, Facebook and Signal, these Over-the-Top (OTT) will have to drive their focus more towards user protection and may not need a licence to operate in India, said senior officials.
Preliminary discussions on the draft telecom bill between the government and industry stakeholders have revealed that user protection provisions must be given top priority, they added. Discussions on light-touch regulations for these platforms that provide internet communication services will continue.
“The idea is not to bring in heavy regulations on OTTs, but to ensure consumer protection and security of the state. We are not going to levy a licence fee on OTTs; that was not the goal," the second official said, also seeking anonymity.
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The government is anticipated to extend the time for stakeholders to provide feedback to 10 November as it continues to hold discussions with stakeholders, such as telecom companies and OTT providers, over the draught telecom bill. The officials also stated that a second draft of the law would be released for additional discussion.
The amendments and early comments from the industry will be incorporated into the second draft of the legislation. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which oversees checks and balances through a dialogue process between the regulator and the telecom department, may have its authority weakened by controversial elements in the draft, according to the first official.
The OTT debate, despite ferocious opposition from the OTT platforms, is unlikely to be resolved as long as telcos insist on subjecting OTT services to the same set of regulations as platforms and applications that offer message, voice, and video call services.
Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea are just a few of the Indian telcos that are represented by the Cellular Operators Association of India. The association has repeatedly urged the government to include OTTs under the licencing regime and make them responsible for the levies, fees, and taxes that are currently assessed on carriers. The telcos have additionally pleaded with the government to make sure that OTTs are required to abide by security standards, legal interceptions, and other regulatory obligations.
