Telecom Bill 2023: 87 other platforms voiced concern after Meta, Signal, Proton, and Mozilla

 Telecom Bill 2023: 87 other platforms voiced concern after Meta, Signal, Proton, and Mozilla

The signatories cautioned that the new Telecom Bill poses a danger to end-to-end encryption and that platforms that utilize such features "may choose not to operate in India" in a letter sent to Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

On December 21, the Rajya Sabha approved the Telecom Bill 2023.

Following Meta, on December 21, Proton, Mozilla, and 87 other platforms joined forces with the non-profit Signal Foundation, which operates the encrypted messaging platform Signal, to voice concerns on the provisions of the Telecom Bill 2023 and their potential impact on privacy and encryption. noted the risk and pleaded with the administration to revoke the legislation.

On its first day in the Rajya Sabha, this measure was approved, and it is now awaiting the President's signature to become law.

Moneycontrol had earlier in the day revealed that global IT firm Meta is also worried that, because of the bill's broad provisions, over-the-top applications—such as messaging services like WhatsApp or Signal—may come under the proposed law's regulatory purview. Exist definitions.

Ninety groups, citing concerns to encryption and privacy, wrote to the communications ministry on December 21, demanding it to withdraw the Telecom Bill 2023. Among them were the Signal Foundation, Proton, Tor Project, and Mozilla.

The signatories said that the measure threatens end-to-end encrypted services because it expands monitoring without independent control in a letter to Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The letter said that "in the event protected services may also choose not to operate in India" as a consequence.

The current draft has additional measures that worsen the damage while failing to change some of the parts that were criticized in the previous draft. We humbly request that the government revoke the Telecommunications Bill, 2023, and launch extensive, inclusive consultations on a revised version that incorporates rights-abiding modifications to safeguard encryption, privacy, and security as well as to guarantee unrestricted access to an open, safe, and cost-free internet. Let's make a call. Internet," the letter said.