The Delhi High Court has directed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to expedite the consultation process with all the stakeholders for regulating over-the-top (OTT) communication services.
In the court’s order, Justice Pratibha M Singh has said that considering the extensive prevalence and use of internet telephony, TRAI would expeditiously conduct this stakeholders consultation and give its recommendations accordingly.
Additionally, the court has asked TRAI to suggest a suitable regulatory mechanism for OTTs, including issues relating to selective banning of OTT services.
The directions came based on a petition by World Phone Internet Services seeking directions to the government to enforce current regulations for internet telephony to Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and other apps that allow users to make voice calls, and to ensure that these apps comply with the regulatory/licence framework. It also wants the government to stop the unlicensed services of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp until they comply with relevant requirements and the various policy directions issued by the government from time to time. The company alleged that while firms such as itself have to pay licence fees for internet services inlcuding internet telephony, platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are not regulated and also do not pay any such charges to the government.
