Lok Sabha Question No. 670 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-16
Subject: Regulation of OTT
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: P. Velusamy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 670 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  SEPTEMBER, 2020

## REGULATION OF OTT

## 670. SHRI VELUSAMY P.:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  is  working  on  a  set  of recommendations for the Department of Telecommunications ( D O T ) t o regulate the Over the Top (OTT) service providers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  tool  to  intercept  WhatsApp  and  other  social  media communications sent or received through their platforms and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government is having any proposal to bring out a comprehensive legislation for regulation of OTT service providers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

- (a) & (b) Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  had  issued  a  Consultation  Paper regarding  'Regulatory  Framework  for  Over-the-Top  (OTT)  Communication  Service'  on  12 th November, 2018. After publication of comments and counter comments received on the Consultation Paper,  TRAI  held  two  Open  House  Discussions  (OHD)  for  the  stakeholders  to  submit  their comments. The recommendations in the matter are released on 14 th September,  2020.  They  are  as follows:
- i) No regulatory interventions are required in respect of issues related with privacy and security of OTT services at the moment.
- ii) It is not an opportune moment to recommend a comprehensive regulatory framework for various aspects of services referred to as OTT services, beyond the extant laws and regulations prescribed  presently.  The  matter  may  be  looked  into  afresh  when  more  clarity  emerges  in international jurisdictions particularly the study undertaken by ITU.

(c) On  arising  of  the  situations  mentioned  in  section  5(2)  of  Indian  Telegraph  Act  1885,  the Government  may  order  interception  of  messages  in  line  with  the  provisions  under  Rule  419A  of Indian  Telegraph  Rules  1951.  The  suitable  mechanism  to  implement  the  order  of  interception  of messages is deployed from time to time.

WhatsApp and many other social media applications make use of encryption technology and proprietary authentication protocols to secure messages.  Security agencies are able to intercept these encrypted  communication  services  under  the  provisions  of  law  through  the  lawful  interception facilities. But they are not able to decrypt some of encrypted intercepted communication to readable format  as  there  are  various  aspects  involved  in  getting  such  encrypted  communication  in  readable format.  These  aspects  include  technical,  international  relationship,  legal  and  regulatory  policy, commercial and security requirements etc.

The Government regularly interacts with the stakeholders including social media providers to address the issues and implement the solution to resolve the issues arising from time to time keeping in view the security, services and developmental needs of the country.

(d) In view of (a) & (b) above, there is no proposal regarding legislation for regulation of OTT service providers at present.

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