DM Monitoring
New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday (December 21) approved the controversial Telecommunications Bill, 2023, granting the government the authority to temporarily take control of telecom services in the ‘interest of national security’.
The Bill, which was passed through a voice vote, allows the Union to assume possession of a telecom network in cases of public emergency or for the interest of public safety. Communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Bill would repeal two laws, including 138-year-old Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
The Lok Sabha passed the Bill yesterday.
According to The Hindu, no opposition MP participated in the debate in the upper house. In the Lok Sabha, most opposition members were unable to participate in the debate due to their suspension, the Economic Times reported.
Under the passed legislation, the government can halt transmission and intercept messages ‘during public emergencies to prevent incitement for committing offenses’, the Economic Times reported.
This single measure gives officials immense powers to control and spy on every message over the entire telecom network for public safety.
Critics have argued that the telecom Bill, was a repackaged version of the colonial 1885 law it meant to overhaul, which continues to retain the draconian surveillance and internet suspension powers of the Union government.
The newly-passed Bill has also raised concerns about potential infringement of privacy and granting the government sweeping control over all private communication.
One of the things the Bill mandates is users to not provide false information while establishing their identity for accessing ‘telecommunication services.’
However, the ambiguous wording, if applied to internet services, may harm a user’s ability to maintain anonymity during communication. This poses a risk, particularly for vulnerable individuals like whistleblowers and journalists who rely on anonymity to safeguard their identity.
The Bill also introduces measures for the allocation of spectrum to satellite communication companies through administrative methods, aligning with global satellite services companies’ demands and rejecting arguments from domestic telecom players for auctioned spectrum, the Economic Times report said.
The Bill outlines specific cases, listed in the First Schedule, for which spectrum assignment will be done through administrative processes. Once approved by Parliament, companies will transition from licenses to authorizations to provide telecom services.
The Bill has introduced a reduced penalty cap of Rs 5 crore on telecom operators, down from the previous Rs 50 crore, and protective measures for telecom infrastructure. The bill allows the termination of spectrum assignment if deemed unutilized without sufficient reasons, the report said.
To prevent misuse, the Bill mandates companies to issue SIMs after capturing verifiable biometric data with penalties for fraudulent acquisition.
Minister Vaishnaw expressed regret over the opposition’s absence from the debate and said “they ran away”.
