Create Improved Institutional Frameworks To Deal With Cyber Security: BIF Report

Broadband India Forum (BIF) released a study on “Revising the Information Technology Act 2000” as a part of BIF’s Digital Dialogues series. The study aims at providing recommendations for the revision of certain key sections of the proposed new Digital India Act.

The study suggests the creation of improved institutional frameworks to deal with cyber security, establish processes for oversight of surveillance and enable fairer content curation decisions and grievance redressal, which are aimed at ensuring that India has a modern and comprehensive legal framework that is capable of addressing the challenges of the digital age.

The Government of India is planning to replace the Information Technology Act, of 2000 with new legislation, Digital India Act, as part of a broader package of laws concerning the digital ecosystem. 

In the released study, Rishab Bailey, Visiting Research Fellow, XKDR Forum highlighted how they have examined the proposed law in how it dealt with four focus areas – online censorship, intermediary liability, surveillance and cyber security.

The president of BIF, TV Ramachandran said, “With over 850 million online users, India boasts of being the world’s largest digitally connected democracy. So, the need for a robust law provision to safeguard the evolving online landscape becomes a priority. We await the well-articulated evolvable digital law to replace the two-decade-old IT Act.”

BIF is an independent policy forum and knowledge-based think-tank.