Social media websites like Facebook, Linkedin,
Twitters etc and foreign technology companies like Google, Yahoo,
Microsoft etc have been operating under the Laws of their
jurisdiction i.e. United States. These websites openly deny to be
regulated by Indian Laws even though they have significant commercial
and business interests in India. Some of them have even subsidiary
companies in India but despite this fact Indian Government has failed
to regulate them effectively, says Praveen
Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law
and the leading techno legal expert of Asia.
These companies can take Indian Laws for granted
because Indian Government has not deemed it appropriate to make them
Accountable and Amendable to Indian Laws, opines Dalal. However,
things may change in the near future. Initially, it was suggested
that Internet
telephony and VOIP service providers must establish servers in India.
Now the Central Government is working on the
formulation of the E-Mail
Policy of India. It is contemplating banning
private e-mail service providers like G-mail and Yahoo for government
communication purposes. Even an advisory
by Maharashtra government to use official e-mails, Indian cloud based
services, routing traffic through NIXI and section 43 A compliance
checks has been issued.
However, G-mail
must be banned in India for even private communications as
it abets and encourages the commission of cyber crimes in India.
Google
is openly violating the laws of India by using the façade
of conflict of laws and Indian
government is taking Google lightly. We need to have
techno
legal framework in India so that companies like Google
cannot take Indian laws for a ride. We also need such techno legal
framework so that child
pornography can be curbed to the maximum possible extent
in India, opines Dalal.
All subsidiary/joint ventures companies in India,
especially those dealing in information technology and online
environment, must mandatorily establish a Server in India. Otherwise,
such companies and their websites should not be allowed to operate in
India. A stringent liability for Indian subsidiaries dealing in
information technology and online environment must be established by
laws of India. More stringent online advertisement and e-commerce
provisions must be formulated for Indian subsidiary companies and
their websites, opines Dalal.
It is high time for Indian government to consider
these recommendations as further delay would not be conducive for the
cyberspace environment of India.
