Technology, Media and Telecom

Observing that "the race between technology and the law could be termed as a hare and tortoise race - as technology gallops, the law tries to keep pace", the Delhi High Court on October 23, 2019 ruled that Indian courts can issue global takedown orders to platforms such as Facebook, Google and Twitter for illegal content uploaded by users. The Court also held that the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT Act") had to be interpreted in a manner so as to ensure that judicial orders were effective and "not toothless"....

The scope of public internet that started back in the 1980s has grown over the decades. It allows a telecom subscriber to access almost all the services required for information, education and entertainment etc. It has altogether redefined the conventional marketplace. Even personalized services, such as a taxi ride can be accessed on a person’s fingertips. This growth has also brought about a fundamental shift in other spheres including telecom and TV. Earlier, networks used to be built around specific applications, say voice, internet or Pay TV. Voice, message and video content have now been reduced to mere bytes.There has been a rapid proliferation of voice, video and Over-the-top ("OTT") application services being delivered over networks....

Monday, July 29th, 2019, marked the earliest Earth Overshoot Day that mankind has seen. 209 days into the calendar year and we have used up all the resources the Earth could regenerate in 365 days. Earth Overshoot Day is the date when humanity's annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth's ecosystems can regenerate in that year. This date has crept up by two months over the last 20 years. At this rate, it would take 1.75 Earths to sustainably meet the current demands of humanity, according to the available data....

On July 03, 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs through a written statement informed the Rajya Sabha that the present Government has no plans on amending the laws on sedition in the country so as to ensure that the Government has effective means to combat anti-national, secessionist and terrorist elements. In an election, where national security was a huge factor for the political parties, a stance that was taken by certain political parties was that they would like to amend the present sedition laws in our country^[1], whereas, the ruling party’s stand was that they would like to toughen the existing sedition laws.^[2]...

In a move to better the lives of the differently abled in India, the Government of India, enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (“Act”). After almost a decade’s wait, the Act came into effect on 30th December 2016 replacing the earlier act of 1995. Pursuant to this Act, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issued the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017 (“Rules”)....

According to the World Health Organisation, for the year 2016, more than 25 Indian cities are within the 100 most polluted cities in the World^[1]. The State of Global Air 2017 report quotes that India accounts for the second highest number of premature deaths due to air pollution in the world^[2]. On 2^nd May 2018, India Today's headlines read as^[3], "According to the report of World Health Organisation, about 90 percent of the world's population is exposed to dangerous levels of pollution and 14 of world's 15 most polluted cities are in India." In a view to minimize the ill effects of pollutions, policy makers of India have been strongly promoting the idea of electric vehicles....

Maps make stories easier to understand. Whether it is history, geography or political science, a map can break down complex details into a simple picture, and bring immediate clarity. The boundaries depicted by a map are often fundamental to the story. As a result, the accuracy of maps is of particular concern, and often requires navigating legal and regulatory paths to avoid argument and controversy. This note offers a brief look at the issues that private publishers must keep in mind when publishing maps...

In what has been termed a “defamation blitz”, an Indian corporate house has filed at least 28 defamation suits in courts since January 2018, targetting media and publishing houses, journalists, authors and politicians. Four companies under the Reliance Group have filed these suits objecting to content and reportage published about the company’s commercial activities. This is part of a larger trend in India around defamation suits which raises many questions for publishing houses and authors. ...

On December 26th, 2018 the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce (the "DIPP"),introduced stricter guidelines that govern foreign direct investment ("FDI") in e-commerce firms. The Government through press note 2 (2018) ("Press Note"), provided for guidelines applicable to such e-commerce entities under the consolidated foreign direct investment policy of 2017 (the "FDI Policy"). ...