AVIA commentary news

Following the European Commission’s launch of a consultation on a proposal to make content companies pay government-mandated fees to broadband providers, science and technology policy think tank the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), has called for rejection of the plan.

Tech bosses could be jailed in Britain if their platforms fail to protect children from online harm after the government agreed to toughen a proposed law to avoid the prospect of a first parliamentary defeat for the prime minister.

Just weeks ago, Indonesia’s government changed its controversial Job Creation Law – better known as the Omnibus Law – into a “Government Regulation in Lieu of Law” as it was considered an emergency to issue the regulation.

On September 21, 2022, the Department of Telecommunications initiated public consultations on a proposed new legal framework for telecommunications.

Rising tariffs and device prices do not bode well for the Indians who live in economically disadvantaged parts of the country.

The saga of regulating the vastly popular OTT platforms just hit another discordant note where TRAI felt that a separate set of regulatory provisions are needed for this innovative business while a central minister held the view that self-regulation continued to be the best bet.

The communication service apps provide a rich interactive platform service for either minimal charges or free to the consumer, which is vastly different from the tariffed vanilla voice and data connectivity of the telcos. How can we equate the two?

Why did the Ministry of Electronics and IT invite feedback to the draft amendments of the the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021? What are the functions of the new Grievance Appellate Committees?

On October 1, 2022, the Vietnamese government promulgated Decree No. 71/2022/ND-CP (“Decree 71”) amending and supplementing Decree No. 06/2016/ND-CP (“Decree 06”) on the Management, Provision, and Use of Radio and Television Services. Decree 71 will take effect on January 1, 2023, at the same time as the new Cinema Law.

As Americans grapple with inflation, media companies are seeing steep increases in the cost of a valuable commodity: sports rights.

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel called for the homogeneousness in the Centre’s Rules and Regulations for all the types of services, such as Over-the-Top, i.e. OTT and Mobile Telephony, with lines blurring between them, gradually hinting at convergence. 

The draft telecommunication Bill, put out last week for public comments, hints at a disturbing governmental pursuit, for more control over a range of digital applications and over-the-top streaming services that millions of Indians use daily.

To help organizations stay on top of the main developments in European digital compliance, Morrison Foerster’s European Digital Regulatory Compliance team reports on some of the main topical digital regulatory and compliance developments that have taken place in the final quarter of 2022.

Satellite Communication: Very few countries including the US, Mexico, Brazil have attempted to auction satellite spectrum in the past. But whoever tried an auction route for satcom spectrum earlier has not succeeded and resorted to administratively allocation.

The Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 (Draft Bill), which seeks to consolidate and update the sector's legislation, makes its challenging task harder by side-stepping global best practices.

While paying lip service to media freedom, the government itches to intervene in the media. The latest example is its new rules forcing TV channels to carry half an hour of content daily on eight topics ranging from education and agriculture to national integration.

The National Association of Broadcasters is looking to get the FCC to classify over-the-top video services as multichannel video programming distributors.

Small homegrown streaming platforms, many making regional language content, are using their niche appeal and limited audience base to their advantage to attempt some risky themes and subjects.

On 21st September, the government released, for consultation, the Draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 (henceforward "The Bill"), which seeks to replace the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.

A contradiction is developing in the world of streaming media, and it revolves around bundling.

Does the new Bill dilute the powers of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India? What will be the effects of including OTT communication services within the definition of “telecommunication services”?