IT Act's Amendment - Detrimental to the Internet Spirit

A strong IT act can protect as well as the propel the growth of the IT industry. But wrong and confusing rules and regulations can be detrimental to the growth and put the whole industry into turmoil. The current amendment to the Indian IT act though seems to mean well but are sending out wrong signals, as I can gauge from the media reports and response by the industry.

As per the new amendment, Internet companies have to remove objectionable content from their sites, including anything "grossly harmful" or "harassing," within 36 hours of being notified by authorities. If you do not comply, your executives will likely face penalties like stiff fines or jail time.

The buzz around the topic is already heating up the offline as well as online media. Though I support the need for a strong IT Act and cyber laws, but I am bit concerned about the amendment.

• Whereas it makes good sense to remove objectionable content (some companies are already doing it, while some are putting in checks like you cannot access unless you are an adult), but how do you define “objectionable” items? It will be extremely important for the policy makers to define the term in its fullest context.
• At times, the online company might not have the bandwidth to monitor the huge user generated content within the said period of time.  What to do then?
• India being a democratic company, we have the freedom of expression. Why should it be different for the Internet? I believe a free and open Internet is essential for the growth of digital economy and safeguarding freedom of expression.
• How and why should intermediaries be responsible for 3^rd party content?
• The rule is not very concrete and is open for interpretation; political parties can use it to settle scores with their opponents or government and bureaucrats themselves might misuse it for their gains.
• Bloggers and online writers will be hugely impacted as their opinions and viewpoints can be deemed objectionable by the government. How do we ensure that things like this do not happen?
• It will be difficult for multi-national brands to comply with such regulations. How do we customize it? We sure do not want to go into a regulation era and bid the MNCs goodbye.

There are many additional loopholes and issues as pointed out by the industry experts and media. Arbitrary and half-baked rules will be detrimental to the huge strides that the Indian IT industry has made. The need of the hour is to have an IT Act that promotes the IT industry as well as propagates a safe Internet.