Thread by @internetfreedom

Alarming news! A recent report states that the DOT has cited "fiscal constraints" in establishing a Multi Stakeholder Body (MSB) that would ensure India's hard won net neutrality protections for all. #SaveTheInternet

Here's why you should care 👇🏽 1/n
internetfreedom.in/is-the-dot-doi…

In Sept '20, the @TRAI had forwarded key strategies around enforcing net neutrality principles to the @DoT_India. Now, the DoT has apparently stated financial constraints around COVID-19 as an excuse to not follow up on them!

We filed an RTI with the DoT to confirm this. 2/n

We asked them:

a. What actions were initiated by the DoT with regards to TRAI recommendations (Sept '20)

b. If an MSB was constituted to support net neutrality

c. Impact of budget constraints on the potential to act on recommendations.

We are yet to receive an answer. 3/n

A Multi-Stakeholder Body is important so that we avert the possibility of industry capture + discriminatory practices, enforce technical & operational standards for monitoring and enforcing net neutrality, and raise institutional capacity to reduce net neutrality violations. 4/n

IFF has recorded as many as 62 violations since 2021 began. Website blocklists are widely inconsistent, which suggests a) non-compliance with blocking orders or b) arbitrary blocking w/o legal orders. This raises alarm bells for #netneutrality transparency & accountability! 5/n

The DoT, on the other hand, has dismissed #netneutrality as ‘avoidable expenditure’.

BUT: its expenditure on regulatory bodies is negligible: 0.27% of the total DoT budget in 2019, 0.56% in 2020, & 0.39% in 2021.

Surely #netneutrality gains are worth this small expenditure. 6/n

Our recommendations for the DoT:

1. Operationalise the TRAI #netneutrality enforcement mechanisms at the earliest & make the multi-stakeholder body a priority.

2. Approach any major policy rethink on net neutrality with transparency + public participation! #SaveTheInternet 7/n

We urge the @DoT_India to urgently respond to our RTI & provide relevant documents. They must take this fight to its logical conclusion and assist in public advocacy, especially since their annual report states that one of the 'Secure India' goals is to ensure #netneturality. 8/n

Many thanks to our community who have been tagging us to draw our attention to the various arbitrary website blocks that are ongoing! #SaveTheInternet

Do you care about #netneutrality or want to report a violation? Tell us at the IFF Forum 👇🏽

forum.internetfreedom.in