It is no secret that the government has not been on the right side of 100 million-plus internet users or the media when it comes to internet regulations for a while now whether it was the IT Rules of April 2011 or the run-in with some internet companies later that year in December. The revelation that bureaucrats propelled India into taking a position at the United Nations to regulate the internet through a UN funded and controlled 50-member inter-governmental body,the UN Committee on Internet Related Policies (CIRP),without prior public consultation ,could not have come at a worse time. The mandate of the CIRP to write treaties and agreements at a global level and oversee technical and commercial bodies involved in internet governance was indefensible. Stretching that mandate to coordinate issues of policy or crisis management on cyber security within governments would be even more ill-considered.
Surprisingly,however,the government seems to be taking small steps to change its position on the issue of consulting stakeholders such as industry,civil society and academia,reviving the hope that internet governance relating to content,surveillance,blocking and take-downs will also receive a fresh look.
Several factors seem to be playing a role. First,a genuine desire to engage. In the last two months,Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Department of Telecommunications Secretary R. Chandrashekhar,along with the Director General of CERT-IN Gulshan Rai,have held wide-ranging dialogues with some of their worst critics. Not every crucial issue was discussed and not every stakeholder was present at every meeting,but the process of reaching out to all parties has begun.
Two weeks ago,industry association FICCI hosted another open consultation on the CIRP that saw a multi-stakeholder panel deliberate upon the issue. While there were no takers for the CIRP,the meeting remained civilised,focused and constructive.
Last week,at the curtain raiser for the IIGC that begins in New Delhi on October 4,Sibal re-emphasised that the government did not want to control the internet but sought a consensus from the forthcoming conference on issues of internet governance. Chandrashekhar admitted that while internationally countries had settled their views on internet governance,in India the process of consultation was just beginning.
The next three months are crucial. The worlds largest multi-stakeholder Internet Governance Forum will take place in Baku,Azerbaijan,in early November,followed by a UN conference under the aegis of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) the World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai in December. These meetings will help evolve policy positions,especially on internet governance,regulation,cyber security architecture,etc. The forthcoming conference should help evolve Indias position on these issues.
Operationally,too,these meetings matter. Countries such as Russia and China,and some states in the Middle East,are attempting to increase the UNs power to regulate the internet through the ITU. This could lead to content regulation on the one hand and hike the cost of accessing content for citizens of developing countries such as India on the other. Since much of this would be done through treaties,they could overrun domestic laws and policies,making recourse virtually impossible for Indian citizens.
According to a McKinsey report,the impact of the internet on Indias GDP will touch Rs 5 lakh crore by 2015,with the possibility of half a billion internet users and a 1.6 to 2 times multiplier effect on the related economy. Protection of privacy and identity begins with the insight that people should know how their information will be used,stored and collected. Though we remain far from the open,accessible and inclusive ideal of information and data management that we strive towards,recent statements from our political leadership,willingly seeking multi-stakeholder dialogue,provide a real opportunity for all stakeholders to assume a leadership role in harnessing the economic and social power of internet.
For any policy to be effective,it must be preceded by the willingness to listen to those affected by it. Policy by itself is not the end and it should never be allowed to evolve into a treaty that has the potential to overrun local laws,disregard individual identities and the intricacies unique to a countrys constitutional make-up. It is commendable that governments are willing to reconsider their decisions,especially when those decisions have the potential to undermine the basic principles of the internet integrity,global reach,permission-less innovation and,above all,the spirit of collaboration that comes from a true sense of ownership.
We cannot ignore two policy essentials of the internet privacy protection and freedom of speech and expression must co-exist and drive dialogue on policy. Today,India is at the tipping point. The world is our stage. The question is whether India can take this opportunity to lead the dialogue on internet governance.
The writer teaches journalism and communication at Lady Shriram College for Women,University of Delhi
