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Leaders Online Desk: On the eleventh day of the winter session, the central government introduced the new 'Telecom Bill 2023' in the Lok Sabha. The bill introduced in Parliament will replace the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933 and the Telegraph Telegraph (Unlawful Possession) Act 1950.
A provision in the bill empowers the central government to suspend telecom networks on grounds of national security. The bill states that the central government can control any message sent to any person or group or by any telecommunication device for the purpose of India's sovereignty and integrity, defense and security of the state. In addition to this, the Bill provides for punishment and fines for unlawful interception of any message. It is punishable with imprisonment up to 3 years or a fine of Rs 2 crore or both.
The government introduced the Indian Telecom Bill, 2023 in the Lok Sabha on Monday to replace the 138-year-old Indian Telegraph Act. Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnav tabled the bill after opposition members in the Lok Sabha protested over the security of Parliament.
Through this bill, the government proposes to enact a new Telecommunication Act to replace the Telegraph Act, 1185. The bill was approved by the cabinet in August. The draft law will not only simplify many important regulations for telecom companies, but also introduce new regulations for satellite services. However, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Ritesh Pandey opposed the introduction of this bill as a 'money bill' in the House. He said that the government is presenting the bill as a 'money bill' to shield it from the scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha.
Customer consent must be obtained before sending promotional messages
Consumers' consent must be obtained before sending advertisements and promotional messages for goods and services. It also said that the telecom service provider will have to create an online mechanism, so that users can register their complaints online.
Over-the-top services are excluded from the new version of the bill
The bill excludes over-the-top services like e-commerce, online messaging from the definition of telecommunication services. When the draft Telecom Bill was introduced last year, OTT services were also included in it. Internet companies made a big fuss about this. After this, OTT has been excluded from this bill.
