Ministry move on OTT communication players may hit Trai wall
The move by the Ministry of Electronics & IT (Meity) to push the draft for tightening the guidelines (under the IT Act) for OTT communication players might be affected because it is at variance with the telecom regulator, which says no regulatory interventions are required in respect of the privacy and security of such communication services.
The guidelines seek obligations for intermediaries ( OTT communication players) to enable traceability to determine the originator of information for assistance to law enforcement agencies.
OTT communication service providers include Whatsapp, Telegram, Skype, Viber, Google Duo, and Hike. They say this is impossible to provide for encrypted apps like Whatsapp. They are different from OTT platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime which provide entertainment or other content
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai’s) stand will strengthen and reinforce their opposition to the draft guidelines, according to OTT communication players.
The guidelines have been under discussion in the wake of increasing use of such messaging sites to spread fake news across the country, leading to even riots.
A senior executive of a top OTT communication company said: “Now Meity (which is moving the draft) can’t ignore the recommendations of an expert body like the telecom regulator on not doing any regulatory interventions to weaken encryption because that may make the system vulnerable to unlawful actors misusing it.”
The executive pointed out Trai, in its recommendations, had clearly advised not making any policy intervention in haste as that might leave an adverse impact on the industry, and wait for the outcome of deliberations at global platforms like the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on these issues.
OTT players argue any system to intervene for security reasons will compromise the privacy of users and it
can be snooped upon by other illegal entities or even rogue states. They say it might take four-five years before a consensus on a regulatory framework is agreed upon.
However telecom operators do not buy the argument of Trai and say that the recommendations only continue with a non level-playing field
S P Kochar, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India, said: “Lawful interceptions which telecom service providers comply with are not applicable to communication OTT platforms, which remain a threat to national security. The same is true of privacy and security norms which are applicable to telcos but not applicable on communication OTTS.”
Currently countries like the UK, Australia, and the US do not have a regulatory framework for OTT communication players . However, China and some West Asian countries block such apps on and off.
Trai has justified its action by pointing out that the architecture of OTT communication services is evolving to protect the end user and encryption technology has been deployed in a manner that prevents intermediaries from getting communication in clear text or in intelligible form.
The regulator has played a key role in putting up guidelines to determine the use of content on digital platforms. For instance, in 2016 it supported net neutrality by coming up with the Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services, which disallowed service providers to offer or charge discriminatory tariffs on the basis of content being accessed by a consumer. This put an end to the controversial Facebook Basics, which tied up with telcos to offer basic web service together with its own platform at no cost to consumers.
In 2017 its recommendations on net neutrality were accepted by the government. It stated that no internet access service provided can indulge in discrimination, restriction, or interference in the treatment of content which could include slowing or offering higher speeds or blocking them.