Are Online Travel Companies In India Adopting Unfair Practices?

Are online travel agencies in India violating cyber law of India? Are online travel companies in India adopting unfair practices? These are few of the questions that are making round these days.

These doubts and questions are arising because of the nebulous condition of e-commerce law of India. The e-commerce laws in India are still evolving and e-commerce stakeholders in India are not aware of cyber law due diligence in India. Neither the online travel companies nor the online consumers are aware of the consequences of online transactions entered in India in an improper manner.

To further aggravate the position, Indian cyber law is in a poor state of condition. In fact, techno legal experts like Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT law firm Perry4Law, have openly suggested repealing of the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) as it is clearly violating civil liberties in cyberspace.

"Personally, I believe that Indian Cyber law is outdated and it needs urgent repeal," Praveen Dalal said. However, he has been suggesting reforms for the same for the last five years. Dalal also feels that the Indian government is indifferent towards this much needed requisite.

As a result, online travel companies and other e-commerce companies and websites are operating in India with great disregard to the cyber law of India. Further, at times their activities are also suspicious. For instance, many of you must have realised that while booking air or other tickets online, the price of tickets increases substantially suddenly within few seconds.

Numerous complaints have also been lodged in this regard with the online travel companies and agencies of India. The travel portals have sidelined the issue by citing the same as a “technical error”.

This episode has happened in addition to the controversial practice of selling “opaque charges” where the name of the airline is not disclosed till the ticked is booked. Many airlines of India have openly protested against this practice and have either withdrawn their business completely from online travel portals or have reduced it to the sub minimum limits.

There is an urgent need to formulate dedicated laws for online travel companies and agencies of India. Till then the customers have to bear the irregularities and unfair practices on the part of airlines and online travel companies and agencies operating in India. However, they can take sufficient legal actions against both airlines and online travel companies and agencies where the situation and circumstances warrant so.  

Cyber Law Lawyers And Law Firms in India

Cyber law is a technical subject that requires thorough understanding of both technical and legal aspects. This is the reason why most of the lawyers and law firms find it difficult to deal with the same.

There are very few cyber law firms in India and cyber law lawyers in India. Even lesser are cyber security law firms in India. Similarly, e-commerce lawyers and law firms in India also limited in number.

When it comes to cyber forensics law firms in India, we have a single firm in India that provides techno legal cyber forensics litigation, consultancy, corporate advisory and skills development services. Perry4Law is the sole techno legal ICT and IP law firm of India and world wide.

Further, Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) is the premier techno legal segment of Perry4Law that takes cares of various techno legal services of Perry4Law.

With the passage of information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000), the foundation for cyber law of India was laid down. However, even after more than 10 years of passing of the same, very few lawyers, judges, police officers, etc are aware of the same. This ha also led to a limited growth of cyber law jurisprudence in India.

There is an urgent need develop techno legal skills of lawyers, police officers, judges, etc in India. Suitable trainings and skills development exercises must be undertaken by Indian government in this regard.

Natgrid And NIA Have Become Obscure And Unconstitutional

Indian government is implementing various e-surveillance projects in clear violation of human rights and fundamental rights. Merely labeling a project as national security project does not make it one. The truth is that Natgrid project of India is still nebulous and unconstitutional. Exempting it from the applicability of RTI Act 2005 proves this point.

Accountability and transparency are two words that do not apply to Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies. India has chosen to stick to the British legacy of non transparency. Whether it is laws like official secrets act, Indian telegraph act or the accountability of Indian law enforcement and intelligence agencies, Indian government has even surpassed the Britishers in this regard.

Instead of strengthening the transparency and Parliamentary scrutiny, India is further making these agencies more unaccountable and lawless. The right to information act 2005 (RTI Act 2005) is the sole transparency law of India that needs further amendments and strengthening. However, the proposed right to information rules 2010 instead of strengthening the RTI Act, 2005 took steps that are retrograde in nature.

Firstly, India amended the cyber law of India through the draconian information technology amendment act 2008 that empowered Indian government and its agencies with unconstitutional e-surveillance, internet censorship and website blocking powers. Subsequently, it made the RTI Act 2005 weaker and redundant.

Now Indian government has announced that Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), national investigation authority of India (NIA) and national intelligence grid (Natgrid) would be exempted from the applicability of RTI Act, 2005. The constitutional validity of national investigation agency act, 2008 (NIA 2008) is still doubtful and CBI and Natgrid are not governed by any law at all. Even the proposed central monitoring system of India is without any parliamentary oversight.

Whether it is CBI or Intelligence Agencies of India, none of them are presently Accountable to Parliament of India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based ICT law firm Perry4Law and CEO of exclusive Human Rights Protection Centre for Cyberspace in India. This casts a doubt about the Impartiality and Transparency of these Agencies, suggests Dalal. Exempting these Agencies without any parallel “Parliamentary Oversight” is against the provisions of Indian Constitution, informs Dalal.

In these days the role of Indian Parliament has been reduced to almost nothing. Important laws are never passed and existing laws like the cyber law of India have been made e-surveillance instrumentality for Indian government and its agencies. The Parliament of India needs to take its legislative role seriously, at least now.

Why Is Google Messing Up With Search Placements?

It is no more a secret that Google do censor and filter search results. Whether they are news, search engine results pages (SERPS) or realtime results, Google do manipulates the results. Now this manipulation, censorship or filtering may be a compulsion due to orders or direction form a government like Indian government or may be due to some rouge employee who is messing up with search results.

Surprisingly, Google has neither admitted nor denied these allegations though they have been leveled against it since 2010. What is more interesting is the fact that news and opinions about Aadhar project of India and unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) are the one that are mostly censored and manipulated with.

The government of India gained draconian, unconstitutional and illegal e-surveillance, Internet censorship, website blocking and many such Orwellian powers through the information technology amendment act, 2008 (IT Act 2008). The IT Act 2008 amended the sole cyber law of India i.e. information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and conferred unregulated and unreasonable e-surveillance and censorship powers upon Indian government and its agencies. Till now the Indian government has not prescribed procedural safeguards and guidelines subject to which these Orwellian powers can be exercised. As a result the government is using these powers without any accountability and transparency.

This was bound to happen as people of India never objected to the draconian cyber law of India that becomes a nightmare after the 2008 amendments. Now the civil liberties of Indians like right to privacy, freedom of speech and expression, right to know, etc are at stake. Internet censorship in India kept on increasing and India citizens remained silent. It is high time that the present unconstitutional cyber law of India must be repealed.

India has become a police state and commercial companies like Google have to comply with various directions and order of Indian government and its agencies. Neither Google nor Indian government is going to protect your civil liberties and resorting to self defence is the only possible option to reclaim some of your civil liberties.

Cyber Law Skill Development In India By PTLB

In this guest column, Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) has shared the details about its cyber law skill development initiatives. Cyber law skill development in India has still to pick pace. Cyber law skill development is also necessary these days due to growing regulatory demands for cyber due diligence. The cyber law skill development initiatives of PTLB can help all the stakeholders to meet various regulatory compliances and due diligence requirements. Read for further details and procedure to enroll for the same.

Cyber Law of India is incorporated in the Indian Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act 2000). It has been amended through the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act, 2008). With this amendment, Cyber Law of India has become more onerous and complicated.

Stakeholders like Police, Lawyers, Judges, Corporate Executives, etc must be well aware of the Cyber Law of India. They require good and qualitative Cyber law Training and Skill Development in India. At Perry4Law and PTLB we ensure world class Techno Legal Trainings and Cyber Law Skill Development. Besides, Skill Development for other Technology Laws is also taken care of by Perry4Law and PTLB.

Perry4Law and PTLB are also in the process of writing the first and exclusive techno legal Cyber Crime Investigation Manual of India. The manual is in the final phase of preparation and it may be available to Governmental Departments and General Public after few months. The Manual is a “Must Have Guide” for Law Enforcement Agencies, Intelligence Agencies, Government Departments, Home Ministry of India, etc. In short, it would greatly help in enhancing the Cyber Crime Investigation Capabilities in India.

Cyber Due Diligence in India also requires good knowledge of Cyber Law of India. There are many Due Diligence Requirements under the Cyber Law of India that various stakeholders have to comply. Another area that requires Cyber Law Skill Development is the requirement for Cyber Due Diligence for Banks in India. In fact, to ensure proper cyber security of banking transactions and to comply with the IT Act 2000 cyber due diligence requirements, all banks now would have to create a position of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) as well as Steering Committees on Information Security at the board level at the earliest.

This is the recent direction of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that all banks must comply with. At PTLB we provided Cyber Law Trainings to prospective CIOs and Steering Committee Members. The best part is that PTLB is the exclusive Techno Legal Online Skill Development Initiative of India and world wide. In short, the Cyber Law Skill Development in India is a major career area that must be taken seriously.

Application form for the enrollment to various Skill Development Courses, Internships and Trainings of PTLB can be downloaded from here and more details about the courses of PTLB can be found here. For all those who wish to have partnership or collaboration with PTLB, they can contact us with their detailed proposals covering the terms and conditions in details.

Cyber Law Policy Of India

Cyber crime policy of India is an important aspect of technology driven legislations in India. Without a proper policy background, effective cyber laws cannot be formulated in India. The present cyber law of India has decayed and requires an urgent scrapping.

Cyber law of India has reached to its present detrimental position due to lack of accountability and excessive trust upon people who do not understand the importance of a strong and robust cyber law for India. Cyber law of India cannot improve till the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) interferes and initiates the procedure to enact a strong cyber law for India.

Although after the 2G scam Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh has started taking interest in ministry of communication and information technology (MCIT) yet he must also make it sure that the present cyber law of India is cured from the ailments of industrial lobbying and e-surveillance. He must direct the MCIT to urgently draft a new, better and comprehensive cyber law for India.

India has no constitutionally sound lawful interception law in India. Further, India is also not a part of EU Convention on Cyber Crime and its Cyber Law is not as per the Contemporary International Standards, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of New Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and Supreme Court lawyer. India must urgently formulate an effective Cyber Law Policy so that the Cyber Law of India may be modernised and made effective, suggests Dalal.

Let us hope India would pay attention to these crucial suggestions and would urgently make its cyber law productive and useful.

Information Security Policy Of India

Information security in India is a very crucial part of homeland security of India. However, despite information security being a crucial field, it is in poor state of condition in India.

There are many factors for this poor information security in India. Two chief reasons for the same are lack of information security policy of India and absence of information security laws in India.

The importance of having an Information Security Policy is not only now being acknowledged even by top management of organisations but has also been recently made mandatory by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for banks operating in India, informs Praveen Dalal, managing partner of new Delhi based law firm Perry4Law and leading techno legal expert of India.

In fact, recently the RBI has released its Information Technology Vision Document 2011-17 that endorses the requirements for having strong information security for online banking and offline banking transactions. The document also mandates that all banks would have to create a position of chief information officers (CIOs) as well as steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest, informs Dalal.

Lack of information security policy of India is also casting doubts whether India is capable of tackling the cyber terrorism attacks against it. Further, cases of cyber espionage and cyber attacks are also increasing in India.

On top of it, we have a weak cyber law of India that gives a free hand to cyber criminals’ world wide. If India wishes to secure its cyberspace, it must formulate a robust and effective information security policy of India. This policy must be supplemented by stringent cyber laws of India. Till these steps are taken, Indian cyberspace would remain vulnerable to cyber attacks, cyber terrorism and cyber espionage.

Cyber Due Diligence Requirements In India

Cyber due diligence in India has emerged as an essential regulatory requirement. The information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) originally carried provisions regarding cyber due diligence but they were not as stringent as they are now.

With the passing of the information technology amendment act 2008 (IT Act 2008) things have changed dramatically. Now the cyber law of India has made cyber due diligence even more stringent.

Further, the ministry of communication and information technology (MCIT) has also framed certain rules that go even further in mandating extreme cyber due diligence requirements by intermediaries in India.

Under the IT Act 2000 “Intermediary” are required to observe “Due Diligence” to escape liabilities arising out of third party acts or omissions, informs Praveen Dalal, a Supreme Court lawyers and leading techno legal expert of India. The scope, definition and ambit of Due Diligence is very wide under the IT Act, 2000 and stakeholders must be wary of the requirements of Indian Cyber Law, suggests Dalal.

Another aspect that is closely related to cyber due diligence pertains to e-discovery. For instance, e-discovery for due diligence by banks is imperative in today’s banking environment in India.

In fact, to ensure proper cyber security of banking transactions and to comply with the IT Act 2000cyber due diligence requirements, all banks now would have to create a position of chief information officers (CIOs) as well as steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest.

Since the cyber due diligence is new in India, there is no ready made reference material available for it. Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) and Perry4Law are in the process of writing the first and exclusive techno legal cyber crime investigation manual of India. The manual is in the final phase of preparation and it may be available to governmental departments and general public after few months. The manual also cover cyber due diligence requirements to be followed by stakeholders in India, especially by intermediaries.

Cyber due diligence must be perceived as an essential business requirement than a regulatory requirement. Many frauds and crimes can be prevented if proper cyber due diligence is at place.

Cyber Due Diligence In India

Due diligence means to act with due care and caution. Cyber due diligence means to take proper care and caution while dealing with cyberspace transactions. In the Indian context, the information technology act, 2000 (IT Act 2000) mandates taking due diligence for cyberspace matters and other allied matters to escape civil and criminal liability.

Under the IT Act 2000 “Intermediary” are required to observe “Due Diligence” to escape liabilities arising out of third party acts or omissions, informs Praveen Dalal, a Supreme Court lawyers and leading techno legal expert of India. The scope, definition and ambit of Due Diligence is very wide under the IT Act, 2000 and stakeholders must be wary of the requirements of Indian Cyber Law, suggests Dalal.

Recently the Reserve Bank of India made the requirements of observing cyber due diligence by banks in India even more stringent. RBI executive director G Gopalakrishna recently said that all banks would have to create a position of chief information officers (CIOs) as well as steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest.

This decision came after the incidence of fraud by the Gurgaon branch of Citibank came into light. According to Dalal incidences and frauds like these can be prevented if proper Cyber Due Diligence is in place.

Among many factor, e-discovery plays a major role in preventing and punishing cyber crimes, banking frauds and other crimes. Although there is no e-discovery law in India yet it must be adopted as a prudent and due diligence exercise by all.

Till now there was no guidelines and readymade reference for crucial issues like cyber crime investigations, due diligence practices, best practices to prevent cyber crimes, etc. Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) and Perry4Law are in the process of writing the first and exclusive techno legal cyber crime investigation manual of India. The manual is in the final phase of preparation and it may be available to governmental departments and general public after few months.

Issues regarding due diligence and cyber due diligence would also be discussed in the manual. Banks operating in India can effective use the manual of Perry4Law and PTLB to meet the techno legal requirements of due diligence, cyber security and prevention of cyber crimes committed against banking institutions.

Due diligence, especially cyber due diligence, cannot be ignored by any person and institution any more. It is in their own interest to follow proper and adequate due diligence requirements to escape punishment under various laws.

Information Technology Vision Document For 2011-17 By RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently released the information technology vision document for 2011-17 (IT Vision 2011-17). It has brought many far reaching reforms in the banking industry of India.

According to the vision document, Information Technology (IT) has transformed the conduct of businesses in every sector of the economy, including the financial sector. RBI has endeavoured to streamline technological change in a manner that would help to enhance the inclusiveness of the financial sector. The developments largely relate to improvements in back office management in the form of streamlining Management Information System (MIS), strengthening centralised processing and improving communication networks.

In this context the appointed Committee has identified the specific areas that need to be addressed during the ensuing years. These issues may be addressed in the short, medium and long term.

Some of the important issues are integration of information and technology, focused approach in usage of data for MIS and Decision Support System (DSS), inadequacies in information needed to take vital decisions, disparate IT systems at different levels of maturity, metadata and uniform data reporting standards, adoption of data mining and business analytics for information refinement, re-engineered business processes and delivery models, strategic alignment between business and IT, information and security policies, business continuity management, project management, vendor management, availability of trained manpower for deployment of technology, etc.

One of the areas covered by the vision document pertains to information security policy (IS policy). Information security policy is a documented business rule for protecting information and the systems which store and process this information. Information should be based on the principles of integrity, reliability, and validity. Protecting confidential information is a business and legal requirement.

The existing IS policy would have to be reviewed and updated at periodical intervals. The IS Policy may detail principles for protecting information from unauthorised access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification or destruction. The information security policy should, inter alia, relate to policies such as firewall, email, network security, and password. The policy should also address issues relating to prevention of cyber attacks by deploying appropriate technologies such as two-factor authentication.

While following the above, legal aspects relating to the provisions of the Acts such as Payments and Settlement Act, 2007 and IT Act, 2000 may be strictly adhered to. Further, all banks now would have to create a position of chief information officers (CTOs) as well as steering committees on information security at the board level at the earliest. This would ensure compliance with cyber laws and other laws and would ensure effective cyber security. Let us hope these guidelines would be followed very soon by banks in India.