OTT To Come Under Regulation; TRAI Starts Consulting

It came under The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and in the beginning, this was a basic concern.

Are any sort of regulations necessary for the OTT platforms?

In 2020, TRAI recommended that there is no need for any authority to regulate OTT platforms. But now, DoT is asking the division to reconsider its previous decision. So soon, TRAI will start a consultation process regarding the regulation of these apps.

DoT also proposed a KYC (Know-Your-Customer) mechanism while opting for communication OTT services.

Now most communication OTT platforms provide calling and messaging services so DoT is drawing a line between the platforms like WhatsApp or Telegram and a Telecom service.

Besides these, TRAI is also trying to make a framework regarding the regulations. Will it be the same as the telecom providers or a new framework will be determined?

“Prima facie, the websites that use dynamic IP addresses and are hosted on cloud servers can pose a challenge to conventional methods of blocking. In such situations, alternative methods may be necessary to effectively control internet filtering. Advanced techniques can be employed to identify and block access to such websites.” This statement is released by TRAI in their paper.

Previously, most Telecom services opted for these regulations while demanding that they should be treated equally. Now on August 4th and 18th, discussions will be made and soon we will have a proper update on this issue.