DeitY bows to public pressure; withdraws draft encryption policy

MUMBAI, INDIA: The draft will be reviewed and experts will be asked to specify to whom the policy will be applicable, Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

Bowing to public pressure, DeitY has withdrawn the draft encryption policy.

The announcement was made by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister, Communications and Information Technology, at a press conference. He said, "I read the draft. I understand that the manner in which it is written can lead to misconceptions. I have asked for the draft policy to be withdrawn and reworded.”

He said the draft would be re-released, but refused to specify a date. “Experts had framed a draft policy...This draft policy is not the government’s final view. There were concerns in some quarters. There were some words (in the draft policy) that caused concern.”

The draft will be reviewed and experts will be asked to specify to whom the policy will be applicable, Prasad said. He did not say when the new draft will be made public. He also asserted that users of social media platforms and Web applications fell outside the scope of an encryption policy.

Several countries have felt the need for an encryption policy because of the boom in e-commerce and e-governance, he remarked. “Cyber space interactions are on the rise. There are concerns about security. We need a sound encryption policy,” he said.

Before Prasad announced the withdrawal of the draft policy, the government had issued an addendum early today to keep social media and Web applications like WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook out of its purview.

Secure banking transactions and password protected e-commerce businesses too will be kept out of the ambit of the proposed policy, the addendum said.