New telecom Bill introduced in Lok Sabha allows govt to intercept messages

New Delhi, December 18

A new telecom Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha today seeks to provide greater powers to the government to intercept messages and lay down levels of encryption on messaging services. It aims to bring WhatsApp-type services and email providers within the purview of ‘telecom services’, meaning these can be regulated.

The draft Telecommunications Bill, 2023, allows the government to temporarily take control of telecom services in the interest of national security, drops OTT in definition of telecom services and provides for non-auction route for allocation of satellite spectrum (radio waves used for mobile telephony).

Introduced by Union Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Bill seeks to repeal the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933, and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950. When Vaishnaw initiated the process of introducing the Bill, BSP MP Ritesh Pandey opposed its introduction as a money Bill while stating that this would keep it outside the scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha. Pandey demanded that the Bill be sent to a parliamentary committee as there were concerns relating to privacy.

The Bill aims to make amendments and consolidate the laws relating to development, expansion and operation of telecommunication services and telecommunication network.

It empowers the government to notify standards and conformity assessment measures related to encryption and data processing, including identification, analysis and prevention of intrusion in telecommunication services and networks. This implies the government can then formulate encryption standards for services such as WhatsApp, which could end the end-to-end encryption and private interpersonal communication.

The Bill empowers “the central and state governments or a specially authorised officer to seek interception, disclosure and suspension powers in case of a public emergency or interest of public safety”. It seeks to allow only “authorised entities” to provide telecommunication services. Service providers, including Gmail and WhatsApp, would be required to obtain authorisation from the government. The Bill mentions that all users must to be KYC-verified using a biometric-based identification—Aadhaar.

It also says that certain satellite-based services like ‘global mobile personal communication by satellites’, ‘national long distance and international long distance’ and ‘mobile satellite service in L and S bands’ would be provided spectrum through administrative allocation. This comes in line with requests made by satellite communication projects like Amazon’s Project Kuiper, SpaceX and Bharti Airtel-backed OneWeb, which had been urging for administrative allocation in their responses to a consultation carried out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. The Bill proposes that the messages of accredited journalists and correspondents will not be “intercepted”.