Internet Regulation

Farmers' protest: Haryana extends mobile internet suspension in 7 districts

The Haryana government has further extended the suspension of mobile internet and bulk SMS services in seven districts by a day till Saturday in the wake of the ongoing farmers' 'Delhi Chalo' agitation, according to an official order. Mobile internet and bulk SMS services were first suspended in Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa on February 11 and the suspension was extended on February 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 and 21. In the order issued on Friday, Additional Chief Secretary T V S N Prasad said, "After assessment of the current prevailing law and order situation in the state, the conditions are still critical and tense in the district Ambala, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Fatehabad and Sirsa." "...There is a clear potential of disruption of public utilities, damage to public assets and amenities and disturbance of public law and order in these districts on account of misuse of internet services by way of spread of inflammatory material and false rumours,

No govt instructions to block internet during polls: Pakistan telecom body

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has said that internet services will remain functional on Thursday as the people are voting to elect a new government. The PTA in a statement on Wednesday said it had not yet received any instructions from the government to shut internet and that services would work without any interruption on Thursday. Pakistanis on Thursday began voting in the general elections to elect a new government to rule the cash-strapped country. The polling started at 8.00 AM and will continue without any break till 5.00 PM. A countrywide public holiday has been declared to enable a total of 128,585,760 registered voters to cast their votes. The authority's statement came a day after caretaker Interior Minister Gohar Ejaz on Tuesday hinted at the possible suspension of internet services in case of security issues in any area on election day. Many non-governmental organisations, including Amnesty International, had called for uninterrupted internet access ac

US shows concern over Sri Lanka's controversial internet regulation law

The United States expressed concerns over Sri Lanka's online regulation bill on Thursday, a day after it passed overwhelmingly in Parliament over protests by the media, opposition and rights activists. The Online Safety bill allows the government to set up a commission with a wide range of powers, including ordering people and internet service providers to remove online posts deemed prohibited statements. It can also legally pursue people who publish such posts. Julie Chung, the US ambassador in Sri Lanka, said the United States has concerns about the potential impact of the legislation and urged Sri Lanka to prioritise transparency and ensure any legislation does not stifle the voices of its people . In addition to jeopardizing democratic values, vague and overly restrictive legislation can hinder investment and the development of a digital economy, undermining the economic growth that Sri Lanka needs, Chung said in a statement posted on her X account. Critics say the law is an ..

Need Sebi-like regulatory model for artificial intelligence: Sanjiv Sanyal

India will evolve norms for regulating artificial intelligence, and the AI regulator could function as regulator Sebi, Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) member Sanjiv Sanyal said on Thursday. Stating that the model of self-regulation and bureaucratic regulation is unlikely to work in the artificial intelligence space, Sanyal suggested that India could think of having a regulator, which understands the technology and pays attention to how it is evolving. "You need to create the equivalent (like Sebi) for the AI system. You need a regulator who understands the technology and, instead of wasting time predicting where it will go, pays attention to how it is evolving," Sanyal said at the 'DATE with Tech' event here. For regulating the AI, a system has to be put in place, you need manual overrides just like circuit breakers in the financial market, he added. "You need skin in the game and ex-ante accountability. Just like you have boards in the company, who are accountab

Signature campaign 'Save the internet' based on falsehood: COAI to Trai

Recent signature campaign "Save the internet" against the proposal of network usage fee, that was signed by several startups, is based on "falsehood and misinformation", telecom industry body COAI said in a letter to regulator Trai. Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said the proposal of "fair share charge" will put the onus on large global entities, who are profiting from India, but not contributing to its economy or infrastructure development. The industry body, whose members include Jio, Airtel, Vodafone Idea etc, said the people and companies are being misguided by propagating unfounded fears and supposed scenarios by certain entities with vested interests. Meanwhile, calling for signatures of startups, a note from "Save The Internet" campaign members mentioned that the letter meant for submission to Trai is to oppose network usage fees proposed by telecom operators, and against the idea of imposing telecom licensing on online services. The note said that Airtel, Ji

CICA countries organises workshop to deliberate on misuse of internet

A workshop organised by India for the member countries of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on "Misuse of Internet" concluded on Friday. The two-day workshop saw experts deliberate on topics such as the misuse of the internet in organised crime, the use of malware and ransomware as a tool for financial crime and prevention of information and communication technology in crime against women. The workshop, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Bureau of Police Research and Development and the Central Detective Training Institute, also deliberated on topics such as the use of dark web and cryptocurrency in illegal trade and terror, and futuristic information and communication technology crime and Internet of Things (IoT) hacks. "The virtual workshop was addressed by Muanpuii Saiawi, Joint Secretary (D&ISA) in the MEA, Neeraj Sinha, Additional Director General, BPR&D, and Anurag Kumar, Director, BPR&D," a statement .

Cyber frauds: Banks step up efforts to promote safe banking habits

Apart from HDFC Bank's 'Vigil Aunty', a host of private sector general insurers also offer individual cyber insurance policies

Warning to Twitter aimed at 'securing internet' in India: Govt sources

The sources said Twitter has repeatedly violated directions issued under the IT Act

Twitter names Vinay Prakash as resident grievance officer for India

Twitter has named Vinay Prakash as its Resident Grievance Officer for India, according to the company's website. The US-based company has been in the eye of a storm over its alleged failure to comply with the new IT rules in India, which mandates, among other requirements, the appointment of three key personnel -- chief compliance officer, nodal officer and grievance officer by social media platforms with over 50 lakh users. All the three personnel have to be residents in India. As per the information updated on Twitter's website, Vinay Prakash is the Resident Grievance Officer (RGO). Users can contact him using an email ID listed on the page. "Twitter can be contacted in India at the following address: 4th Floor, The Estate, 121 Dickenson Road, Bangalore 560 042," the page further said. Prakash's name appears along with Jeremy Kessel, who is the Global Legal Policy Director, and is based in the US. The company has also published its compliance report for the period of May 26, 202

Navigating the challenges of digital citizenship

The rebalancing of power between digital platforms and governments was inevitable

OTT: A case for a govt-industry joint governance model in India

Considering the quantum of content emerging and the number of players, it isn't possible for even the government to micro-regulate content

Global cost of internet shutdowns $4 bn in 2020, India share at 70%: report

Top10VPN report says internet restrictions in Kashmir were lifted after 7 months but users were only able to access low-speed 2G connections

Internet: Is the tech wonder of our times headed for trouble?

Germany, which spent, most of the first half of the 20th century waging two World Wars warning the world about imperialism?