A draft of the Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 was made available for public comment in September 2022 by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) of the Indian Government. The Bill seeks to establish a thorough and modern framework for the nation's telecommunications legislation. The Bill poses several onerous regulatory obligations for both Internet-based service providers and users, including the expansion of various legal classifications, including that of a "telecommunication service." The open, internationally accessible, secure, and reliable Internet is in danger in various ways as a result of the Bill. The need for licenses for Internet-based service providers to continue providing services in India, stringent Know-Your-Customer (KYC) guidelines for users to confirm their identity on service platforms, threats against encryption, especially end-to-end encryption, and the government's unilateral move to formalize its authority to order Internet shutdowns are of the utmost concern. In the end, it's unclear whether the Telecom Bill would succeed in effectively regulating India's telecommunications industry. Jurisdictional concerns are also raised by competing laws and regulations from other ministries and organizations, such as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Computer Emergency Response Team - India (CERT-In). Instead, this legislative plan is likely to significantly have a negative impact on the nation's GDP and digital economy, put millions of users at risk of injury, and threaten both personal and commercial security. Everyone benefits from having an accessible, reliable, secure, and open internet, and the Indian government must make sure that laws and regulations uphold these characteristics so that the internet can exist and grow. Thank you.
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