Indian cyberspace is passing through a state of transformation. Lots of developments are taking place in India that have a direct impact upon our lives and the way we live them. Some of the proposed actions of India government are so gross that they are going to violate the civil liberties in cyberspace.

The starting point of this transformation stage began with the amendments in the cyber law of India. Now we have a draconian cyber law of India that has been imposed upon us by our own government. The present cyber law of India has taken away many of our civil liberties and rights and only outlaws can have these rights in India as on date.

Similarly, big brother projects like Aadhar, central monitoring system, etc have further complicated the cyberspace of India. Although the Supreme Court of India has declared that a person can be arrested only after approval of a senior police office for posting any message upon social media websites yet this is at most a piecemeal effort. These piecemeal efforts would never free us from the draconian cyber law of India.

There are some very significant developments that have recently happened in India. The command and control servers of FinFisher were found in 36 countries and India is one such country. The infamous international ATM heist also has Indian connections and Indian Cert has also started an investigation in this regard. An Indian firm has also been accused of launching sophisticated cyber attacks though the firm has denied its involvement.

Meanwhile the cabinet committee on security has cleared the cyber security policy of India and it may be cleared very soon. India has also declared that all VoIP service providers must establish a server in India to operate. India has also expressed it desire to launch its own social media platforms as foreign social media websites are not cooperating with Indian law enforcement authorities.

Recently, the U.S. government refused to serve Indian summons on U.S. websites citing constitutional protections. However, such refusals are justified as all nations must maintain a balance between national security and law enforcement requirements.

This is a crucial phase for Indian cyberspace and it would only take that shape that we wish it to take. We have already made a big mistake by allowing the laws like Telegraph Act and IT Act 2000 to exist and it is high time to seek their repeals. It is also the high time to oppose every single rule and regulation that Indian government introduces from now onwards that can violate our civil liberties in cyberspace.