Passengers watch videos on their mobile phones while traveling on a suburban train in Mumbai, India, April 2, 2016. REUTERS/Shailesh Andrade/File photo
NEW DELHI, Sept 7 (Reuters) – A group of tech and telco giants in India has urged the central government to regulate internet shutdowns in the country to avoid suspicions from states issuing such orders, sources and a letter showed. Reuters
In the year In 2019, the government said the emergency internet shutdown was a matter of law and order for the states.
The current system “causes serious problems for the local population as a whole,” said the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) – Alphabet’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google, Twitter ( TWTR.N ), Facebook ( META.O ) and Trust. (RELI.NS) among others – in a letter to the government.
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The letter, seen by Reuters, says that only the federal government should act as the governing body for internet bans, and states should follow suit.
Two industry sources said federal oversight would facilitate the closing process.
Internet shutdowns will cost the nation more than $580 million in 2021, with 59 million people affected by wireless service outages lasting more than 1,150 hours, according to a study by Internet privacy group top10vpn.
India has led the world in total internet shutdowns over the past four years, accounting for 58% of the 182 reported globally last year, according to internet advocacy group Access Now.
State governments in the country often try to maintain law and order, such as during protests, or in some cases, to prevent cheating during exams.
Once a shutdown order is issued, telecom companies will shut down mobile networks in local mobile internet towers, disrupting services such as Google, Twitter and WhatsApp.
IAMAI’s letter to the government, which has not yet been made public, says India’s biggest tech companies are raising costs and slowing investment plans as they face stricter rules on everything from data storage to compliance.
The letter is part of a broader response from IAMAI to the government’s consultation paper seeking stakeholder input on reforming the telecom sector’s legal framework.
India’s Ministry of Communications did not respond to a request for comment on the IAMAI letter. Industry body Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reliance also did not respond.
Radhika Jalani, a volunteer legal advisor at the Center for Software Freedom and Law, has followed up on the issue, saying, “Internet shutdowns are widespread, disproportionate and excessive. They affect livelihoods, education, health care.”
About 96 percent of internet users in India are mobile internet users and the shutdown has brought their lives “to a standstill,” she added.
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Reporting by Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Himani Sarkar
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
