In much of the world, laws have not kept up with technology. But in India's case, communications legislation is all the way back in the 19th century. The Department of Telecommunications has the power to build, license, and monitor communications networks, thanks to the British-written Indian Telegraph Act of 1885. Apart from allowing the department to set arbitrary licensing terms, the act gives it the authority to intercept messages without a court order in the "interest of public safety." When the department recently announced that it was charging absurd license fees - a minimum of US$50,000 annually for BBSes, and even more for nationwide e-mail providers - Net users across the country protested by forming the Forum for Rights to Electronic Expression (FREE).
The organization conducts its work publicly over Indian Fidonet BBSes, where about 50 people are actively involved, and more than 500 have read discussions. FREE hopes to publicize and change these laws, which are out of place in a democracy with a constitutional right to free speech and privacy.
While FREE has garnered media attention in India, the department so far has refused to respond to its letters. Business India Information Technology, the major Internet mail provider, has applied for the license but has not yet paid the fee to do so. Sprint-RPG, which started its mail services in October, has paid an undisclosed fee. No BBSes have paid the license fee.
You'll find FREE on the World Wide Web at http://www.eff.org/pub/ Groups/FREE/, free@arbornet.org, or via fax at +91 (11) 4601978. - Rishab Aiyer Ghosh (rishab@arbornet.org)
"Nature abhors a forecast even more than a vacuum."
ELECTRIC WORD
FREEdom on the Net in India
A Day Without Boiled Angel Is Like a Day Without Sunshine
The Sound of Concrete Screaming
The Maryland Net: Almost Free, Almost Good
