Map licence raj?

Geospatial Bill needs to be rewritten from scratch

The initial draft of the Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016, has betrayed a woeful lack of understanding of modern geospatial technology and its applications. Stung by the public reaction, the government is not standing by its draft, which may have been withdrawn — but, as an interview with the minister concerned, Kiren Rijiju, in this newspaper shows, it is not retreating from the mistaken ideas the draft embodies. It is hoped that the absurdity-riddled draft will nevertheless be entirely re-written, after consulting domain experts and incorporating best practices from legislation on the subject followed in other democracies.

The draft harks back to the worst manifestations of the licence raj in its ham-handed effort to control the use of geospatial data. The provisions are alarming in their sweeping breadth, and in the incomprehension of how geospatial data are created and used. Written into law, it would criminalise every Indian owner of a smartphone (250 million or so at last count), or any other device that uses locational information, like a “fit-bit” or car units based on the global positioning system (GPS). It proposes a licensing authority, a so-called Security Vetting Authority, and prescribes draconian penalties for unlicensed acquiring, disseminating, publishing or distributing of all geospatial information. The authority would vet applications for licences by everybody using geospatial data. Anybody who possesses such data would also have to apply for a licence to legally retain that data and all data have to be watermarked by the vetting authority. Questioned about this, the minister said: “Why should law-abiding citizens be scared of anything if they want to obtain a permit?” Sadly, this is far from the attitude a post-1991 government should have about a sunrise sector. Using unlicensed geospatial information would be punishable by fines ranging from Rs 1 crore to Rs 100 crore and jail sentences, as well. Creation of such a licensing authority would open the door to widespread abuse, since it would have the discretion to grant, or refuse, licences. Real-time data would also be illegal since the data would have to be vetted and watermarked. So, even directional instructions to a taxi service would be illegal.

Real-time geospatial data are used to enable a vast range of activities. It has revolutionised the state-of-the-art in security services, emergency and disaster relief, mapping, mining, surveying, weather-prediction, urban architecture, road construction, laying down and maintaining of railway lines, electrical grids, etc. Other common usages include telecom services, taxi-courier services, instant messengers, social media networks, etc. In addition to outlawing current usages, the draft’s restrictive provisions would make innovation impossible. Programmes such as Digital India, Smart Cities and Start up India would have to be junked; these depend on real-time data freely accessed and updated by multiple stakeholders.

Apart from absurd provisions that would jail millions and cripple entire sectors, the draft is also in conflict with the Information Technology Act. It is unclear which Act has primacy where there are conflicting provisions (and both the laws would claim primacy in such instances!). The safety and security of India are of course a major concern. But other nations have dealt with, and are dealing with, similar concerns effectively without indulging in jingoism about such things as map boundaries on the internet. It is to be sincerely hoped that the re-draft will eschew such a mindset.