Draft Telecom Bill: Negative Impact on Digital Ecosystem, Say Tech Companies

The Indian Express, November 12, 2022

By Soumyarendra Barik

The government should keep internet communication services and other internet-based services outside the purview of the draft telecom Bill, industry groupings representing top tech firms have said, arguing that such a prescription would be against global standards.

“The overbroad definition of telecommunication services will extend licensing and authorization requirements over the wide range of IT and digital services. In case of non-compliance, the Bill also sets a significant and disproportionate penalty (includes both imprisonment and hefty fines) on these service providers,” BSA said. “This will pose significant risk for IT and Digital businesses in India and will likely throttle Internet-based innovation as well as the nascent Indian start-up ecosystem.” 

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Original Posting: https://indianexpress.com/article/business/draft-telecom-bill-negative-impact-on-digital-ecosystem-say-tech-companies-8263849/