Has India figured out a way to regulate OTT communication apps?

The Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022, when it was released for public consultation in September, had raised fears that its scope went beyond telecom issues and pointed to the return of the Licence Raj under the Department of Telecommunications.

Much of the controversy is around the broad definition of ‘telecommunication service’. It included, among others, email, broadcasting services, video and data communication services, OTT communication services such as WhatsApp and interpersonal communication services. The definition of ‘message’ is broad too.

An industry insider had told Business Standard that e-commerce, banking, gaming and social media apps as well as any platform where there is two-way messaging will come under the definition, requiring a licence.