The Digital India Bill is essential as India works to achieve a $1 trillion digital economy, or 20% of GDP. Large internet firms could function under this new law while being more accountable to the government and protecting citizens.
India plans to update the rules that govern internet usage, which could have a huge impact on how Silicon Valley companies conduct business in the largest market in the world.
It is anticipated that the initial draught of the new legislation, which is due to be issued in June, would include proposals on a wide range of topics. This new law’s primary goal is to foster an environment in which major technology firms can continue to operate while simultaneously being more accountable to the government and safeguarding citizens.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, said during a briefing on last Tuesday in Mumbai that India’s goal of one trillion dollars or twenty percent of GDP in the digital economy over time cannot be achieved with the current law, which has been in place for twenty years.
The government projects that the market will increase from 830 million users to 1.3 billion users by 2025. The reforms will have an impact on how businesses like Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. conduct business in that market. Chandrasekhar stated that India has the largest online community in the world and that the rest of the world would imitate what we do in an interview that was conducted on the sidelines of the event.
According to Chandrasekhar, the administration, which will be seeking reelection the following year, plans to implement the law by the end of 2023. The main areas are as follows:
Internet Access
The new regulations will make it more clear what constitutes fair treatment of users and what constitutes discrimination. Examples of these could include market concentration rules, “platform power,” and strategies for giving customers additional choices.
In recent months, the country’s antitrust commission imposed significant fines on Google, citing the firm’s overwhelming influence in the mobile market as basis for the move. According to Chandrasekhar, the government would decide whether any of them should be subject to competition legislation or the Digital India Act for enforcement. This was a comment on the possible overlap.
In an effort to identify and track internet users, the minister claims that the new law may do away with the so-called safe harbour regulations. This operation aims to make it feasible to identify and track internet users. Because of this, intermediary businesses like Twitter and Facebook risk being held accountable for the content posted by its users if they refuse to provide the government with user identity or traceability when requested to do so.
Monetizing Content
A framework for the financial exchange between platforms and content providers would be provided by the new legislation, according to Chandrasekhar. The competition regulator is investigating a similar case involving news organisations and publishing news.
The law that is being considered would look at the prospect of varying the rules that apply to diverse platforms, including social networking, digital journalism, and e-commerce. Despite Chandrasekhar’s claim that there are no intentions to create a separate digital regulator, this endeavour will deal with issues like user rights, age limitations, and the moderation of “fake news.”
The upcoming session of parliament is expected to result in yet another bill protecting people’s personal information. A national data governance policy, a digital competition law, and revisions to the criminal code are all being developed; these initiatives represent a thorough review of India’s current digital laws.