When does “compromising” to find a solution that works for both parties become synonymous with “caving” (in)? Only when you take a perverse delight (one might even call it schadenfreude) in gloating, “I told you so”, when the Canadian government’s policy initiative (C-18, the Online News Act) runs into opposition from the giant internet platforms at which it is aimed.
On 30th January 2023, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (“TRAI”) released the Consultation Paper on Regulating Converged Digital Technologies and Services – Enabling Convergence of Carriage of Broadcasting and Telecommunication Services (“CP’”) inviting public consultation on the same.
On 10th March 2023, the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and Information Technology held public consultations with stakeholders on the architecture and framework of the proposed “Digital India Act 2023” (“DIA”) which is expected to replace the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”).
On 22nd December 2022, the Hon’ble Minister for Industry and Commerce introduced the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2022 (“Bill”) which seeks to decriminalise minor offences and rationalise monetary penalties by amending 183 provisions across 42 acts. The Bill has been referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee which is expected to submit its report in the upcoming budget session of the Parliament.
Recently, on 28th October 2022, MeitY notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media and Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2022 (“Amended Rules”). The Amended Rules include several proposed amendments which were circulated earlier in June 2022.
The Draft DPDP Bill partly retains the “GDPR formula” in terms of consent, purpose, collection and storage limitation of data, legal basis for processing personal data and some other limited aspects. The current draft is, in many respects, a “light touch” legislation in comparison to the earlier drafts.
The Ministry of Communications (“MoC”) had published the draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 (“Draft Bill”) on 21st September 2022 along with an explanatory note on the Draft Bill. The Draft Bill seeks to replace the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950 and is open for public comments till 20th of October 2022.
RBI, on 10th August 2022, released guidelines for digital lending to provide a regulatory framework pertaining to lending activities conducted by FinTech and Digital Lending Applications (“DLA”).