How to ensure that the internet remains accessible to all

Source– The post is based on the article “How to ensure that the internet remains accessible to all” published in The Indian Express on 17th December 2022.

Syllabus: GS3- Awareness in the field of IT

Relevance–  Issue related to accessibility of internet

News– The article explains the need to ensure a level playing field in the context of evolving technologies in digital space.

Why is there a need for regulating the emerging digital space?

To enable access to the internet, various gateways have come up in the last few decades in the form of telecom service providers, personal computers and smartphones, operating systems.

However, when these gateways enable and restrict access to other gateways or networks, the openness of the internet is threatened. They then shift roles from being a facilitator to a regulator, from being a gateway to a gatekeeper. Hence, the need for a code of conduct or regulation arises to keep the playing field level and accessible to all.

In case of India, example of the enforcement of this code on providers Indian government policy on Net Neutrality. It ensured that we took a democratic stance against Big Tech. Without this policy, we would have seen the internet being partitioned into walled gardens controlled by telcos and Big Tech companies.

What are the issues related to accessibility of emerging digital space?

Digital technologies are evolving at a very fast rate. The code of conduct and regulations can’t catch up with the new gateway providers that are emerging.

The two prominent operating systems, Google and Apple, enjoy a lion’s share of the app store market. They brought in good practices to ensure basic hygiene for smartphone applications, maintained quality benchmarks, and safeguarded the interests of their users.

Various practices of these distribution platforms have come into question lately. These range from restrictions on payment gateways, advertising choices, app policies and various other aspects of an application or business that could be considered discriminatory in both principle and practice.

In March, a report placed before the Competition Commission of India found Google Play Store’s payments policy “unfair and discriminatory”. Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, are said to be charging up to 30% commission on payments processed.

Google and Apple have garnered unilateral control over the publishing of smartphone applications on their OS. Various smartphone application-dependent businesses and developers continue to remain vulnerable to such internal business policy changes on these platforms.

What are the steps by various governments for regulating digital space?

The European Union has recently enacted the Digital Markets Act. Its regulations aim to keep digital markets innovative and open to competition, through ex-ante regulation. It will prohibit the implementation of the most harmful anti-competitive practices by the largest digital platforms.

The Indian government has taken steps to maintain its sovereignty through the path-breaking and disruptive digital public goods it has created. Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, and CoWIN are just a few examples.

What is the way forward?

The need of the hour for the government to devise appropriate regulations to ensure a level playing field and not let the innovating gateways turn into gatekeepers.