TRAI considers ways to regulate streaming apps

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is considering ways to regulate streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime. They want to restrict these apps for certain people or in specific areas, but this is proving to be a complex task.

To block these apps, you typically need to know the user’s location, often determined using GPS or cell phone data. However, not everyone has GPS, and using location data raises privacy concerns.

An alternative approach would be to use IP addresses, which are like home addresses for websites, to block them. However, IP addresses frequently change, and companies are hesitant to share them due to security concerns.

The challenge with banning these apps is that they could potentially infringe upon important rights such as freedom of speech and equal access to the internet. Additionally, it might not effectively prevent access to these apps because people can often find ways to bypass such restrictions.

Furthermore, banning these apps could disrupt secure and private communication, which is essential for many users, particularly during critical times. And don’t forget implementing such measures would cost a fortune, which the country can’t afford right now.

Instead of banning, there are already existing laws that empower the government to regulate these apps when necessary, and these laws do not carry the same set of problems as outright bans.

Banning specific OTT services isn’t just impractical and too expensive; it also distances us from the forward-thinking, connected world we aspire to create for ourselves and our nation. M9.News