Centre prepares draft bill that aims to replace Telegraph act

The Union government late on Wednesday uploaded a new draft of the telecommunications bill, a law that is meant to replace the colonial era Telegraph act of 1885, which has hitherto been the main law regulating telecommunications in the country.

In key changes, the draft introduces a new definition as to what constitutes telecommunication — “Telecommunication means a transmission, emission or reception of any messages, by wire, radio, optical or other electro-magnetic systems, whether or not such messages have been subjected to rearrangement, computation or other processes by any means in the course of their transmission, emission or reception” – and bakes in powers for the government to order internet shutdowns or intercept communications.

The draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022, covers not just conventional phone calls and text messages, but also over-the-top (OTT) applications, which will include services such as WhatsApp.