Comments
Internet service providers (ISPs) have expressed their inability to implement an order by the Ministry of Electronics and Information to block internet access to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) without financial support.
The Ministry had issued an order on April 18, which made it mandatory for ISPs to enrol for services offered by Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) to help block internet access to CSAM by August 1.
Rajesh Chharia, President of Internet Service Providers Association, told BusinessLine , “The subscription for IWF costs £70,000 a year and only for the first year they are offering a discount of £28,000. The ISPs should not be mandated to engage only with IWF.”
The Internet Watch Foundation is a private charity based in the UK, which offers systems that can filter and block websites listed by the interpol that host CSAM.
Concern over ISPsChharia expressed concerns over the ISPs being asked to subscribe to services offered by only one private entity which could pose the threat of a monopolistic situation and further lead to the exploitation of internet service providers by website (URL) blocking systems provider by imposition of higher tariffs.
In a letter addressed to the Department of Telecommunications, he said, “We believe that the expense should be negotiated by one agency on behalf of all ISPs as it will not be possible for an individual ISP to negotiate with the foreign entity.”
ISPAI has also pressed for financial support from the government for the implementation of a single licence system as the ISPs were already complying with the interpol’s list circulated by the DoT.
Rajan Mathews, Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India, said the cellular operators already had blocking system and parental controls in place which restricts access to CSAM.
When asked about operators having to subscribe to IWF services, Mathews said, “DoT had ordered to shut down and pull up access to certain sites, but we have not received any order as such.”
Rakesh Maheshwari, Senior Director of Cyber Law and eSecurity Group, Deity, said, “It seems that ISPs have not complied with the deadline, we will see what happens further, the matter is now under the consideration of the DoT.”
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.