Net Neutrality in India: From Rules to Enforcement

AutorSmriti Parsheera
Ocupação do AutorResearch Fellow at the CyberBRICS Project and a Fellow at the National Institute of Public Finance & Policy, New Delhi, where she focuses on technology policy research
Páginas61-68
61The Value of Internet Openness in Times of Crisis
Policymakers in India have acknowledged that non-discriminatory treat-
ment of content, or, in other words, maintenance of network neutrality,
constitutes an essential feature of having an open Internet. This essay fo-
cuses on the development of India’s net neutrality framework, tracing the steps
that have been taken so far and the questions that lie ahead. In the follow-up
piece1, I discuss some of the specific ways in which the net neutrality rules may
be tested by recent developments surrounding the COVID-19 crisis.
In the period between 2016 to 2018, India took two major steps towards estab-
lishing what can be regarded as one of the most powerful net neutrality regimes
in the world. The first step, taken by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) in February 2016, was theadoption of a regulation2to prohibit any con-
tent-based pricing of data services. The immediate impetus for this decision
came from the tie-up between Facebook and Reliance Communications to intro-
duce the Free Basics platform in India. This raised serious concerns about the
Internet being splintered into free and paid versions, with accompanying
negative effects for online innovation and free speech.
Having decided against the zero rating of services, the regulator then went on
to conduct a robust, multi-stage consultation process on the other net neutrality
principles. This resulted in adecision by the Indian Government3in July 2018
to adopt a comprehensive set of principles on non-discriminatory access to con-
tent. Through this decision, Internet service providers (ISPs) were disallowed
FOUR
Smriti Parsheera
Net Neutrality in India:
From Rules to Enforcement
26/10valueOfINet.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/20 5:54 PM Page 61

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