MeitY seeks ideas on IT Act revamp

Bengaluru: The government has started inter-departmental and industry consultations to revamp the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 to stay on top of the various technological advances in the social media, e-commerce, cybercrime and digital payments space. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has reached out to stakeholder ministries, including the Ministry of Home Affairs and Department of Telecom for their inputs, a senior government official told ET.

Following MeitY’s ask, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has written to industry bodies for feedback. Industry lobby group National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and Assocham received an email from DPIIT last week. ET has reviewed a copy of the email.

DPIIT, in an email sent last week, asked industry bodies to share inputs and suggestions pertaining to the amendment in the IT Act, 2000, including studies, committee reports, court advisories and global best practices.

In February, Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad disclosed the plan to revamp the IT Act, citing shifts in technology since the last decade.

In a note, Nayonika Dutta, Deputy Director, e-Commerce Policy at DPIIT, said that though the Act was last amended in 2008, recent technological innovations such as social media, digital services, ecommerce services, artificial intelligence, machine learning, smart devices, Internet of Things and blockchain have changed the digital ecosystem significantly. “While on the one hand, these innovations have provided opportunities for growth and efficiency gains, on the other, they also pose significant challenges. Accordingly, the IT Act, 2000 needs to be amended in order to address such upcoming and future opportunities as well as challenges,” Dutta added.