Gaming Rules

Days after “online gaming” was formally brought under the purview of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MEITY”) through the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961[1], MEITY has proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“2021 Rules”), to create a novel co-regulatory framework to govern the operations of online gaming intermediaries (“Draft Gaming Rules”). The Ministry has invited public comments on the Draft Gaming Rules till January 17, 2023.[2]Continue Reading Draft Rules for Online Gaming: The Beginning of an Enabling Framework?

Data Protection Bill

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MEITY”) has released a draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 (“The Bill”) for public consultations along with an explanatory note for each provision and the underlying principles that guide the drafting[1]. The public consultations are open till December 17, 2022[2].Continue Reading The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 – Part I

The TRAI Recommendations on Privacy

This piece reviews the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recommendations on “Privacy, Security and Ownership of Data in the Telecom Sector” released on July 16, 2018 (Recommendations) and attempts to highlight some of their more immediate potential consequences.

Consultations are typically taken up by TRAI based on requests from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). In the instant case, the TRAI has atypically put out the consultation and subsequently the Recommendations of its own volition, without an explicit mandate on the subject.

TRAI recommendations are approved and implemented by the DoT pursuant to the procedure under Section 11 of the TRAI Act, 1997. This process may involve the DoT seeking clarifications, modifications or otherwise referring items back the TRAI.

This process may turn out to be more complex in connection with the current set of Recommendations, given that much of their content recommends the passing of broad-ranging new legislation that is not limited to only the telecom sector.Continue Reading The TRAI Recommendations on Privacy, Security, and Ownership of Data in the Telecom Sector, 2018