A Victory, and Moving Forward – TRAI Consultations on OTTs

Posted on by Kartik Chawla

Last week, the Supreme Court of India in its judgment in the case of Shreya Singhal and Ors. v Union of India has decreed S. 66A of the Information Technology Act unconstitutional in its entirety, and at the same drastically restricted the ambit of Ss. 69A and 79 by reading into them the jurisprudence of Art. 19(1) (a) and 19(2). It has at the same time struck down the notice-and-takedown regime, replacing it with a system with more oversight, as we will see in following posts.

We will shortly be coming out with separate, detailed posts on each of the separate dimensions of the judgement, including but not restricted to the Free Speech issues, the Intermediary Liability issues, and the Website blocking concerns. But before we start on to that, a short word of caution.

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GCHQ Mass Surveillance in Violation of Human Rights

Posted on by Veera Mahuli

For the first time since the Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s (IPT) establishment in 2000, a complaint against a UK intelligence agency has been upheld. The IPT, which oversees Britain’s secret agencies, is one of its most secretive and deferential courts. In a judgment last week, the IPT announced that the intelligence-sharing rules between the United States National Security Agency (NSA) and its British equivalent Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) governing the exchange of information collected through ‘mass surveillance of internet communications’ were against UK human rights law.

The tribunal ruled that “the regime governing the soliciting, receiving, storing and transmitting by UK authorities of private communications of individuals located in the UK, which have been obtained by US authorities … contravened Articles 8 or 10 [of the European Convention of Human Rights]”. Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) confers the right to respect for private and family life and Article 10 of the ECHR confers the right to freedom of expression.

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Uber – Into the New Tomorrow

Posted on by Jitesh Anand

[Image Source: http://flic.kr/p/jyCqcH]

The rapid influx of technology has in recent times forced various firms to revamp their respective business models. The taxi industry is no exception. In this blog post, I will discuss the government’s ban on Uber cabs and the issue of its compliance with the IT Act, 2000 or the Radio Taxi Scheme, 2006. I will analyze the ban on the lines of the economic concept of ‘entry costs’. I will also deliberate on the need for leveling the play field between both, the radio cab operators and the importance for taxi ‘app’ companies to get a georgia tax id.

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Supreme Court on Non-Discrimination in Call Networks – An Argument for Indian Network Neutrality

Posted on by Kartik Chawla

(Image Source: http://flipthemedia.com/2014/01/net-neutrality-rules-are-dead-for-now-why-should-students-care/)

In an incredibly interesting judgement, the Supreme Court has on 30th January, in the case of Cellular Operators Association Of India & Ors. v. Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India & Ors., stated that providing different rates for calls to private Telecom Service Providers in comparison to those for calls to BSNL/MTNL violated of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. What is curious here is the implication that this case might have for Network Neutrality. The following is my argument in the same vein.

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