Tech-Governance: MoS Rajeev Chandrashekar speaks on Open Internet, Cyber Security & more

Technology governance can be defined as the process of exercising political, economic and administrative authority when it comes to the development, diffusion and operation of technology in societies.

When it comes to tech-governance in India, the government has formulated laws and policies that uphold the democratic principles of the nation by ensuring both safety and growth for citizens.

In an exclusive conversation with Prasar Bharati, MoS Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar talked about various aspects of tech governance related to – the Open Internet, India’s AatmaNirbhar internet, cyber security and the need for new laws.

Weaponisation of the Internet

While speaking to DD India correspondent Ramesh Ramachandran, the Minister spoke in detail about the ‘Information Security’ stating “that the internet can be weaponised against one nation is a dangerous phenomenon.” Referring to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Minister said that ‘the conflict has exposed faultlines on the ways global tech is organised, what we are seeing on the backdrop of this crisis is the power of this platform being used by some, against some.”

There has been an attempt to unplug a nation from the global internet. Speaking more on big tech, the Minister stressed on Splinternets, meaning ‘internet being replaced by islands connected or disconnected on the whims and fancies of big platforms.’

It is, therefore, ever more important to make a nation resilient and self-reliant in the way we organise our tech ecosystem.

What must India do to strengthen the cyber security & data bandwidth of the nation for commoners, entrepreneurs & platforms?

The Minister stated ‘PM Modi understands that technology is the enabler that can drive massive change. He has laid down a target of Trillion-Dollar digital economy.’

“The first milestone is that today we have 80 crore Indians online, in the coming years we will have 120 crore Indians in the internet world, which would include children, women, the old, the educated and those who are not, among others. Therefore, it is pertinent that the internet in the coming years is inclusive and safe,” the IT Minister said talking about the safety and growth of the tech industry.

The government of India has laid out a vision to make sure that the Internet is; Safe, Open, Trusted by its users, and Intermediaries are accountable to Indian citizens.

Speaking on the law regulating cyberspace in India, the IT Minister said, “22 years ago the IT Act of India was enacted when there was no commercial internet in picture, therefore it is almost intuitive now that we move our legislative and judicial potential to a more contemporary one.”

“It is obvious that we need a New Law,” the IT Minister stated within the framework of rule-making capabilities that address cyber security, data protection-privacy-management, and the standard on which government operates its digitization program.

What we can expect in the coming months is a roll-out of Modern, Global standard, legal and rulemaking architecture of the Govt. of India (Digital India) for Users, entrepreneurs, startups, as well as foreign platforms that operate in India.

“The IT Ministry believes in a no-speed bump policy,” meaning, all the work done must aid the momentum that India has achieved in the post COVID era that ensures more space for entrepreneurs and startups.

India’s AatmaNirbhar Internet – Need, safety, Substitute

The internet platforms initially were only seen as technology innovations, as things for the public good, and therefore not requiring any regulation. The consequence of the concept of harm was never an issue until the last decade.

“The so-called free and open internet has suddenly become islands of big tech, dominated by powerful multi-billion-dollar players who are actually carving the internet into their own personal islands,” said the IT Minister. In addition to that, we are now seeing the phenomenon of a growth of “harm on the online.”

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar who has spent a big part of his time studying the dark internet says, “I can assure you, our understanding of the user harm on the internet is tiny-winy-mili-fraction of what actually exists out there in terms of the harm.” As much as there is good on the internet with the ability to empower, innovate, and connect, there is also the flip side, a dark underbelly that holds much harm, if left unregulated.

‘Most importantly, we don’t need to extrapolate this need for law and regulation to mean that liberty has to be compromised or becoming China or Russia. India is a democracy. The internet in India will never be controlled by the government or any of the big techs,’ the IT Minister said.

India’s approach to AatmaNirbhar Internet says – let there be innovation, startups and foreign-owned competitors functioning on an equal footing. This only ensures more choices for the citizens of India.