Legal Requirements Of Undertaking E-Commerce In India

There is a great confusion as to the legal requirements necessary to do e-commerce business in India. According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of Asia, E-Commerce in India requires compliance with various Statutory Laws of India. The chief among them are the Cyber Law of India, Indian Contract Act, Privacy and Data Protection Regulations, Cyber Security Regulations, Foreign Investments Regulations, etc.

See Cjnews India for more.

E-Commerce Laws And Regulations In India

There are very few lawyers or law firms that can provide legal opinion about e-commerce laws and regulations in India. We frequently come across queries asking for help in this regard.  Fortunately, Perry4Law, a New Delhi base ICT law firm, has discussed techno legal aspects of e-commerce in detail.

See E-Commerce Laws And Regulations In India for more details.

Mobile Cyber Security In India

However, of all the benefits of use of mobile, we cannot ignore the risks associated with it. For instance, the mobile banking in India is risky as the present banking and other technology related legal frameworks are not conducive for mobile banking in India.

Similarly, we do not have a well developed e-governance infrastructure in India. Naturally, India is still not ready for m-governance. India does not have any infrastructure, legal framework, policies and strategies and most importantly expertise to implement these ambitious projects.

The biggest hurdles before the mobile related uses in India pertain to use of weak encryption standards and non use of mobile cyber security mechanisms in India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and CEO of Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB). Absence of encryption laws in India has further made the mobile security very weak in India, says Dalal.

See Cjnews India for more.

Big Brother Must Not Overstep Its Limits In India

E-surveillance in India is not a new concept. However, the real problem is that parliamentary oversight of intelligence agencies of India is still missing. Even we have no dedicated privacy and data protection laws in India. We have no constitutionally sound phone tapping laws in India as well.

According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of Perry4Law and CEO of Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB), “At present, governmental will to frame necessary legal frameworks for these e-surveillance projects and proposals and to make these projects constitutional is missing. it must make these projects, including cell phone location tracking, constitutionally valid and legally sustainable so that they can serve the larger interest of the country and not just the government”.

See this Tehelka article for more.

Cyber Security Issues In India

Cyber security issues in India, like any other country, are complicated to manage. India has still to manage technical and legal issues of cyber law, cyber security, cyber forensics, cyber warfare, cyber terrorism, etc.

Further, techno legal cyber security expertise must also be managed by India. Till now we have a single techno legal cyber security research and development centre in India (CSRDCI). We also need cyber crime investigation and cyber forensics expertise in India as well. 

Online Dispute Resolution In India Is Needed

Online dispute resolution in India and e-courts in India are two concepts that can greatly help in strengthening of judicial reforms in India. However, for some strange reasons India has not established a framework for either of them.

Private initiatives in this regard have been undertaken by selective few in India. The best among these initiatives is undertaken by Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB). PTLB is ensuring legal enablement of ICT systems in India through its techno legal initiatives.

The exclusive techno legal online dispute resolution (ODR) centre of India is also managed by PTLB.

E-Courts In India Are Missing

E-courts in India are still missing despite media claims. Till November 2012 we are still waiting for the establishment of first e-court in India. This is because we lack techno legal expertise to establish and maintain e-courts in India. We have a single e-courts consultancy and training centre in India managed by Perry4Law’s Techno Legal Base (PTLB). E-courts in India cannot be established and managed till institutions like PTLB take active part in the entire process.

E-Justice In India Is Missing

Judicial reforms through information technology are very much possible. For instance, e-courts in India can bring necessary judicial reforms in India. However, there are many judicial woes that are restricting this use of information technology for judicial reforms in India.

The woes include lack of techno-legal expertise among judicial officials as well as lack of connectivity between various prisons, police stations and digital records.

See this report for more.

India's Proposal On International Telecommunications Regulation (ITRs)

So far the international telecommunications regulations (ITRs) and Indian response is neither clear nor satisfactory. Many have found India's proposal on international telecommunications regulation (ITRs) violative of civil liberties protection in cyberspace.

India has to make its stand clear and while doing so it must make a good balance between fundamental rights and national security of India. It is high time for India to clarify its stand as soon as possible.

Google’s And Copyright Protection: A DMCA Non Compliance Debacle

Till now it is clear that Google is actively engaging in manual action penalty, demotion of websites in search results, censorship of news and so on. However, non compliance with the DMCA requirements is a novel method adopted by Google to support copyright violators. What is more surprising is that Google is punishing the copyright holders for lodging DMCA complaints. 

More about this issue can be found at Websites, Blogs and News Censorship by Google and India.

Join the discussion group on websites censorship and manipulation by Google if you have to say anything about this position.

Is Indian Cyber Security Effective And Sufficient?

Is India cyber secure? This is a very crucial question that is frequently asked in India these days. There are both positive and negative claims in this regard. Irrespective of the position, one thing is for sure that no nation can claim that it is absolutely safe from cyber attacks.

Read the debate here.