Meeting of the Cyber Regulation Advisory Committee Held Today

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Communications & Information Technology

29-November-2012 17:35 IST

A meeting of the Cyber Regulation Advisory Committee was held today (29.11.2012) under the chairmanship of Shri Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Communication and Information Technology to discuss the issues related to the Information Technology Act, 2000. This meeting was attended by representatives of Government, Intermediaries, Industry Associations as well as Members of civil society.

The brief presentation made during the meeting highlighted the fact that same words as used in section 66A and section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 have been used in the Acts of other countries. There was a consensus that the provisions of section 66A and section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are quite contextual. However, the consensus suggested that a suitable clarification in the form of guidelines in this regard be issued by the Government to States and Union Territories to clarify the intent and enable uniform implementation across the country. A consensus on the content of the draft guidelines was also arrived at.

With regard to the intent and provisions of section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 including Rules pertaining to cyber cafe, the meeting also took note of the opinions and suggestions of Members especially with regard to mitigating the difficulties faced.

In conclusion, it was unanimously agreed that all concerned would work together to minimize the unintended consequences and evolve the processes through clarifications and guidelines which could be revisited as necessary in the light of newer developments and ground realities of implementation.

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MV/RK