The government of India is planning to put some new norms on the table that might denounce by the public as well as tech companies. According to these new rules, the government will require messenger, social media channels, and online shopping platforms like WhatsApp, Google, Snapchat, and Amazon to store and share users data. If this will come into effect, it will face a huge dislike from the oppositions.
As the reports suggest, the government is soon coming with an amendment under the section 67C of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Further, to draft this rule, a special committee has also been instituted by the government. The norms questioned here were first mooted in 2008 and since then they have been holding up as the government has been considering of what type of information has to be stored, in which format, and for up to what time period, as per three members of the committee.
Recently, one of the most popular messenger applications WhatsApp has come up with updated features by which it promises its users for end-to-end encryption. Besides, a platform like Snapchat, where message vanishes on its own within a second and is not even saved on the company’s server. Considering this, sharing of the data between the Indian government and the firms will become a serious issue thereby it is believed to be more difficult to execute for the companies.
Also Read: WhatsApp now provides end-to-end Encryption
"This is a fairly complex issue, compounded by the general lack of understanding of mobile apps and over the top service providers," a person on the committee who did not wish to be identified told ET. "Even if it is for national security reasons, how much are these companies answerable to the Indian security establishment? And we do know how Apple refused to unlock the phone even for FBI," he added.
The committee is lead by Ajay Kumar, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MEITY), and has one spokesperson each from the ministry of home affairs, department of personnel and training, department of telecom, Nasscom, Internet Service Provider Association of India (ISPAI). A few officers from MEITY along with an advocate specialising in cyber law will also be the part of this committee.
Must Visit Our Google+ Community Page For Latest And Updated Technology Happenings Around The Globe.
