Trai seeks views on regulating WhatsApp, Facebook and others

For representational purpose.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has opened discussions on regulating over-the-top (OTT) communication service providers such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram and Signal.

The telecom regulator would also discuss a selective ban on OTT services during instances of civil unrest that have a broad adverse impact, the Economic Times reported on July 8.

The consultation paper, which was floated on July 7 and lists 14  points for discussion, will seek to define and classify OTTs and also look into demands for a level-playing field with telecom service providers. Trai will also seek views on whether regulation is required for OTTs and what form it should take, ET reported earlier.

Moneycontrol couldn’t verify the reports independently.

Telcos have demanded that internet-based calls and messaging apps be monitored as they provide similar services without the security and financial obligations attached to a licensee.

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OTT players, however, are of the view they are already regulated under the IT Act and more rules would only throttle innovation, the report said.

The consultation paper on “Regulatory Mechanism for Over-The-Top (OTT) Communication Services, and Selective Banning of OTT Services” follows a proposal of a parliamentary committee to the department of telecom to “explore the option of banning selective services such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. instead of banning the internet as a whole” in an emergency.

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Last year, the telecom department told Trai that there was a need to examine regulatory, economic, security, privacy and safety aspects as the massive adoption and use of these apps and services had reached maturity.

“Considering the vast growth of OTT services using telecom resources and new facts such as ‘selective banning of OTT Services’ referred in the aforesaid communication of DoT, the Authority is of the view that a fresh consultation process may be initiated to frame suitable regulatory framework for OTT,” the report quoted Trai as saying in response.

But not everyone is convinced. “Any bid to even selectively ban OTT apps like WhatsApp, Telegram or FB-Messenger amongst others would be draconian and an anti-consumer move as it would rob millions of mobile users of their choice,” an unnamed tech industry expert was quoted as saying by the financial daily.