A telecom reboot is welcome but not at the cost of privacy
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday, is designed to subsume a clutch of old Indian laws, especially a telegraph law that predates most of the telecom technology we use today. A big revamp was clearly needed.
Some proposals cut both ways. Telecom spectrum allotments that bypass auctions, for example, may hasten the launch of new services, but could also run into controversy over a level-playing field.
What glare out are parts that have far less to justify them. The Bill would let the government take over, manage or suspend any or all telecom services or networks in the interest of national security.
To prevent statist excess, the bar for this must be high: Only a national emergency under Article 352 should allow such drastic action. The Bill would also empower the Centre to formulate encryption standards for services like chat apps, which could let it run roughshod over the privacy assured by end-to-end scrambling of personal messages.
While social media can’t dodge legal oversight, the state must not intrude into the online lives of people. Lest this bit has a chilling effect on chats, put it to scrutiny under the lens of fundamental rights.
. Read more on livemint.com
