The lower house of India’s Parliament, the Lok Sabha, recently
passed
the Telecommunications Bill, 2023. While the government has described the bill as a significant step towards reforming the telecommunications sector, critics
of the bill have raised concerns about privacy and freedom of expression, citing the bill’s potential to grant extensive control over telecommunications to the government.
Introduced by Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, the bill seeks to dismantle barriers to the development of telecom infrastructure. Additionally, it also aims to simplify and restructure the telecom regulatory and licensing framework, ultimately intending to bring India’s regulatory structure into the digital age by allowing Centre the authority to create guidelines for telecommunications network security.
The legislation proposes to replace three existing laws: the
Indian Telegraph Act, 1885; the
Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933; and the
Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950, which collectively govern telecommunications in the country. The Telecommunications Bill, 2023 proposes to oversee the assignment of spectrum to satellite communications companies through the administrative method.
Beyond reform, the bill also grants the government the ability to temporarily assume control of telecom services in the interest of national security or during public emergencies. Provisions permitting surveillance and internet suspension, replicated verbatim from the Telegraph Act of 1885, continue to be a part of the new legislation.
Critics, including a group of international digital privacy groups, have asked the Indian government to withdraw the bill, citing privacy concerns. They argued that the bill contains multiple infringements on user rights, many of which go against the fundamental right to privacy. An example they cited is clause 3(7), which enables any organization—authorized by the Union government—to verify the identity of the individuals to whom it is providing telecom services by using any verified biometric-based identification.
The first draft of the bill was released in September 2022, and it was open for public comments. The introduction of the bill followed a
consultation paper on the ‘Need for a new legal framework governing Telecommunication in India,’ published in July. The bill will now undergo review in the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament.