The net neutrality debate is far from over in India and as things heat up each day, the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has come forth and disclosed that it has no intentions to police the internet. However, it went on to say that there are three unexceptional principles which cannot be debated on.
Speaking at an event, TRAI Chairman, Rahul Khullar expressed that ‘Anybody in right frame of mind would not try to regulate or police the internet. They would find a way around.’ He also disclosed that there are issues which still need to be addressed.
A report by the Economic Times which cites PTI as its source says that Khullar believes there should be no blocking, throttling or degrading of adware from telecom operators. As you probably know, the TRAI accepted the public’s view on regulating OTT services like WhatsApp and Skype. It did create quite a blunder when responses were posted only for everyone to view, but with email addresses attached to each petition.
Also read: Facebook slyly promotes its net neutrality-violating Internet org among users
With over 10 lakh IDs freely visible, it was a gold mine for scammers and this led to internet activist group Anyonmous to take action and bring the website down for hours. The TRAI recently revealed that it will not display any email address for as long as you request it not to by simply adding ‘Do not display my id’ as the subject.
The whole net neutrality debate was sparked when Airtel started separately charging customers for data used on VOIP and IM services. It didn’t end there as the telecom operator then went on to launch its Zero platform which would basically allow its users to access specific apps for free, provided the developer joins its platform by paying a free.
Currently, the TRAI is accepting counter arguments on regulating OTTs and it will be publishing its framework soon.