No conflict between telecom, other laws on OTT regulation: Vaishnaw

New Delhi: Telecom minister Ashiwini Vaishnaw has said there would be no conflict between the draft telecom bill and other laws in the works on regulating OTT players, or apps. He said that the contents of the new draft communications bill need to be seen in consonance with the other upcoming laws to regulate India’s digital framework, including through laws on data protection, and the Digital India Act.

Speaking to reporters Friday, he clarified that the draft telecom bill—which should become a law in six to 10 months—has clearly defined that the apps which provide communication services will be brought under the telecom law, keeping in mind users’ security needs, and not the ones which offer broadcasting services. Further, there is no provision of forcing decryption of encrypted messages in the draft telecom bill, but there is a clear mechanism for interception, based on a Supreme Court judgement.