What if WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Zoom and their ilk had to get a licence from the telecommunications department to operate in India? If the new Telecommunication Bill, put out for consultation by the department yesterday, is passed in its current form, they might just have to.
The new bill seeks to replace three existing acts: the Indian Telegraph Act (1885), Wireless Telegraphy Act (1933), and Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act (1950). The reasoning is quite simple – since the oldest of these acts were passed, technology and communication services have evolved much beyond telegraphs.
