India has announced plans to overhaul internet regulations in the country, potentially changing the way Silicon Valley giants operate in the world’s largest market. A first draft of the new law is set to be published in June 2022, with proposals aimed at creating an environment where Big Tech can operate while being held more accountable to the government and better protect users.
The current two-decade-old law is not equipped to achieve India’s goal of reaching a digital economy target of $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 82,68,550 crore) or 20 percent of GDP over time. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, said during a briefing in Mumbai on Tuesday that the proposed changes will impact how Alphabet’s Google to Meta Platforms to Amazon.com do business in a market that the government estimates will expand to 1.3 billion internet users by 2025, from the current 830 million.
The government intends to implement the legislation by the end of 2023, ahead of its re-election next year. The proposed changes will impact several areas, including defining fair and non-discriminatory treatment of users to ensure market concentration, platform power, and greater user choice. The nation’s antitrust regulator recently imposed large fines on Google, stating that the firm wields too much power over the mobile market. The government will decide if enforcement of some of these changes will rest with competition law or the Digital India Act.
The new law may also do away with safe harbor provisions, making internet users identifiable and traceable. Intermediary firms such as Twitter and Facebook may face legal liability for content shared by their users if they don’t provide user identification or traceability to the government when directed. A draft telecom law contained similar provisions to tackle internet anonymity last year.
The new law will also include a framework for revenue sharing between content generators and platforms, in addition to exploring differentiated rules for various kinds of platforms such as e-commerce, social media, and digital news. The law is also expected to tackle issues such as age-gating, user rights, and moderation of fake news. However, there are no plans to establish an independent digital regulator.
The government is also expected to introduce a law on personal data protection in the next parliament session, while a national data governance policy and digital competition law are works in progress. Changes to the penal code are also imminent, marking a complete overhaul of India’s digital laws.
The proposed changes will alter business practices for Silicon Valley giants operating in India, impacting how they operate in the country. The changes aim to create an environment where Big Tech can operate while being more accountable to the government and protecting users, ensuring market concentration, platform power, and greater user choice. These changes are part of a broader overhaul of India’s digital laws, including personal data protection, national data governance policy, digital competition law, and changes to the penal code.
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