Naavi.org

It is reported that a group of Rajyasabha MPs are visiting Chennai today and Bangalore tomorrow to discuss issues on how to control Cyber Pornography.

Persons interested in providing their views may contact the Cyber Crime police station or the IT Secretaries in each of these states and ensure that their views are heard.

There is a huge economy riding on cyber pornography and hence any attempt to control the menace will have opposition from certain quarters.

There is a view that vested interests are trying to prevent wider discussions on the subject and donot want the members to meet a larger section of the public.

Hence interested persons may take special efforts to reach out to the MPs. The press release indicates the details of how to reach out to the committee.

Related Article

Press Release

Naavi

As a part of the dispute resolution requirements of any organization, it is always a good strategy to develop Alternate Dispute Resolution mechanisms to avoid unpleasant litigations.

Arbitration is one such strategy which Naavi has been proposing as an online service under www.arbitration.in.

In certain cases it would be desirable to have an “Ombudsman” approach before even proceeding to arbitration. The Ombudsman with the right kind of knowledge and enjoying respect in the community can suggest and bring about resolution through mediation and conciliation which can be less expensive and faster.

For “Intermediaries” coming under ITA 2008, “A Grievance redressal mechanism” is mandatory. Many of the intermediaries have a fairly effective complaint handling mechanism with the help desk handling complaints involving technical issues. However the help desk will not be able to effectively deal with instances where the complaint has a potential for escalating into a legal dispute. In such cases, inefficient handling by the help desk personnel may even complicate the resolution.

From a “Techno Legal Perspective” therefore, a security breach incident needs to be vetted by a person with suitable techno legal knowledge so that an early attention can be given for potentially volatile incidents. Further when the first level technical resolution by the helpdesk fails to satisfy a complaining customer, there is a need to escalate the complaint preferably to the next level where a decision can be taken with “Techno Legal” outlook. An Ombudsman would be able to come in at this stage.

Further, when employee issues need to be addressed by a company or it is necessary to pursue a “Whistle Blower Policy”, it is always more effective for the disputes to be addressed by an “Ombudsman” than an internal senior employee. An Ombudsman can act as a filter to anonymize the complainant and avoid nuisance complaints.

Considering such needs and a perceived demand by companies both big and small, Naavi is proposing to offer a new service titled “E-Ombudsman” through www.e-ombudsman.in. This will be a platform through which a panel of eminent persons will offer their services to companies on demand to act as Ombudsmen.

Today being the 14th anniversary of the “Digital Society Day of India”, (Remember that ITA 2000 was notified on 17th October 2000 and brought legal recognition to electronic documents for the first time in the country), the service of e-ombudsman is being formally launched.

A detailed plan of action to make the services available through online applications is being developed to support a greater automation of the service and will be introduced in the due course.

I wish the service will be found useful by the community.

Further information will be updated at www.e-ombudsman.in. For more information please contact Naavi.

Naavi

A Kannada TV Channel namely BTV News channel has reported a sting in which the tampering of auto meters has been discussed in great detail.  A TV debate has been presented today ( 15th October 2014) where the issue is being discussed.

One of the views expressed by panel members is that legal action should be taken on manufacturers of tamperable meters as well as the mechanics who tamper the meter and the drivers. Panel members are also expressing regret that the law is not stringent enough and even when caught the persons responsible are getting away with fine of Rs 500/- or less.

The news report is showing how chips are being introduced in the digital meters so as to make it run faster than what they should. It is being reported that around 1 lakh meters in Bangalore are susceptible to tampering and not less than 50% of these have already been tampered with. Such autos are estimated to be over charging about Rs 10-15 for each trip. The loot therefore is estimated to be around Rs 20-30 lakhs per day.

The TV debate is also presenting one of the meter manufacturer who claim that his meter is tamper proof but there are other meters in the market which are tamperable and the Government has not shown any inclination to encourage the use of tamper proof meters.

Considering the enormity of the problem, it is necessary to clarify that tampering of digital meters is a Cyber Crime and falls under Section 66 of Information Technology Act 2000/8. It is also an offence under IPC as “Assistance to Cheat”. The punishment under Section 66 is 3 year imprisonment and fine upto Rs 5 lakhs. It is therefore stringent enough to send shivers to drivers.

Hence it is not correct to say that the law is not strong. Perhaps the Police is not interested in applying strong laws. Also the traffic police may not have adequate exposure to cyber laws and hence have never thought of invoking the law.

While the tampering mechanic is directly responsible for  causing the electronic system (Digital Meter) to behave in a manner it is not intended to and therefore liable for Section 66, the driver would be also equally liable since he owns the meter and commercially benefits by the tampering.

Unfortunately it may be difficult to make the manufacture of the tamperable meters liable. But the Government may try to encourage tamper proof meter manufacturers and ensure that other meter manufacturers fall in line.

I hope the Police Commissioner in Bangalore will explore how ITA 2000/8 can be applied in all cases of Meter tampering .

Naavi

There was an article in DNA today titled “Flipkart’s Big Billion Day paves way for e-comm regulation” drawing attention to the possibility of a new E Commerce Regulation.

Naavi.org strongly opposes this attempt to tie down E Commerce in a new regulatory framework. Presently E- Retailing is under the same regulation as Brick and Mortar Retailing (BMR) except for the fact that communications between the consumer and the retailer occurs in electronic documents which are regulated by the provisions of ITA 2008. (Information Technology Act 2000 as amended in 2008).

While the BMRs have been miffed by the grand sale achieved by Flipkart on October 6th, they have no right to speak on behalf of the E Consumer.  The apology of the Flipkart promoters was to the  E Consumers and if there are any issues regarding customer service it is some thing that the consumers need to sort it out with Flipkart.

All India Dealer’s Association has no role to poke its nose in the matter. At best it is the Consumer Rights organizations (Only those who understand E-Consumer Rights) can stand up and make a comment.

It is my personal observation that Flipkart has been handling consumer complaints fairly efficiently by following an easy return policy in case of disputes. In terms of delivery they are super efficient. Hence their consumers donot have much of complaints.

On the Big Billion day there could have been problems arising out of early sell out of super discounted offers because there could have been such a demand. We often see such sell outs in the case of high demand limited supply products such as airline tickets, cinema tickets, cricket match tickets etc. Consumers will take these disappointments in their stride.

If there have been booking of such orders, money received and subsequently cancelled for wrong reasons, they can be checked through an E-Audit of transactions.

Recently I had such an experience in Amazon.in and I did voice my displeasure since they had collected payment. However they refunded within the next 48 hours and hence the response was not wholly unreasonable. As  consumer I would have been happy if they had added a small discount coupon for my next purchase to reduce my disappointment but Amazon.in did not have such vision. I am not aware if Flipkart had similar instances and if so, whether they tried to provide any such incentives to keep the dissatisfied customers happy. As a Netizen Consumerist, I would fight for such benefits rather than complaining that Flipkart gave huge discounts.

Brick and Mortar retailers should also recognize that special day sales are not uncommon in the physical society in the form of Exhibition sales, Clarence Sales or Diwali, Dussera, New Year sales etc.  Consumers throng the shops on those days  some times creating stampedes requiring Police to intervene and maintain law and order.

Has the Government intervened in such cases and questioned the discounts offered? If not why should Government be worried about the Flipkart sale?

Brick and Mortar retailers have to also remember that their markets are distinctly different though some overlap cannot be ruled out. If Competition act has to be invoked, the interested stake holders are other online retailers such as Snapdeal or Amazon and not the members of the All India Dealer’s association.

If the All India Dealer’s Association uses its political contacts with BJP try to interfere in E Commerce legislation, it will be a tragedy and a big blow to Narendra Modi’s vision of Digital India.

The All India Dealer’s Association as well as the Brick and Mortar Retailers should realize that they have certain strengths of their own which actually make them more powerful than the E-Retailers. In fact it will be a travesty of truth if we consider that “Flipkart” enjoyed  a “Dominant” status and hence comes under the ambit of unfair trade practices.

If the Brick and Mortar traders so desire, they can always have an E-Tailing division so that they can enjoy both the online and offline trading opportunities. If they fail to do so, it only indicates that they lack the necessary business acumen and they cannot expect regulation to support their inefficiency.

Observers of Internet are aware that when Amazon developed itself an online book seller, it did put other leading offline book stores into reverse gear. It took some time for Barnes and Noble and others to accept the changes and devise their own strategies to survive and grow.

We are seeing similar developments in the  Retail sector in India and this should not be curbed by any special legislation.

Present legislation on unfair trade practices as well as frauds when read along with ITA 2008 are adequate to deal with any E-Retail regulation issue.

Naavi

Also Read: Flipkart Success invites jealous backlash