REGULATION OF OTT PLATFORMS UNDER THE TELECOM– CYBERSECURITY LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA

  • Unique Paper ID: 191177
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 8
  • PageNo: 6689-6700
  • Abstract:
  • This paper examines the evolving nature of the mechanism used to regulate Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms. Understanding OTT platforms by examining the various definitions provided through varying regimes then by analyzing the intertwining legal regime of telecom and digital platform regulations in India. OTT services subsume multiple services ranging from messaging platforms, films, social media, filesharing facilities etc., that are provided over the public internet without using the telecom infrastructure, Organizations like BEREC and ITU explain that OTTs are unique in the sense that they are not controlled by regular networks and disrupt the activities of telecom and media companies. Globally, regulators have taken two approaches: some have maintained a combination of co-regulation and multi-stakeholders, that is attentive to competition, business influence, and infrastructure; others are more attentive to economic markers and data privacy. Since OTTs are not required to pay network charges, to obtain licenses, or to comply with the quality-of-service regulations that telecoms should, it poses a regulatory gap and individuals are demanding a more equalized model of oversight. One of the concerns that continues to pose a challenge is that OTT apps rely on phone numbers as universal identifiers, which leads to large-scale cyber-attacks such as phishing, vishing and social engineering. Address book syncing and caller id integration are features on which hackers find opportunities to conduct large scale attacks. The telecommunications Cyber Security Amendment Rules 2025 are expected to address these problems by providing digital platforms, such as OTTs that use mobile-based verifications, with real-time verification and suspension capabilities under that name of Telecommunication Identifier User Entity (TIUE). These proposals threaten overregulation by authorizing authorities, raising constitutional issues, due process issues, and potential adverse effects on innovation and economic development.

Copyright & License

Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

BibTeX

@article{191177,
        author = {Kavya R Krishnan and Gayathri Narayanan N},
        title = {REGULATION OF OTT PLATFORMS UNDER THE TELECOM– CYBERSECURITY LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {8},
        pages = {6689-6700},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=191177},
        abstract = {This paper examines the evolving nature of the mechanism used to regulate Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms. Understanding OTT platforms by examining the various definitions provided through varying regimes then by analyzing the intertwining legal regime of telecom and digital platform regulations in India. OTT services subsume multiple services ranging from messaging platforms, films, social media, filesharing facilities etc., that are provided over the public internet without using the telecom infrastructure, Organizations like BEREC and ITU explain that OTTs are unique in the sense that they are not controlled by regular networks and disrupt the activities of telecom and media companies. 
Globally, regulators have taken two approaches: some have maintained a combination of co-regulation and multi-stakeholders, that is attentive to competition, business influence, and infrastructure; others are more attentive to economic markers and data privacy. Since OTTs are not required to pay network charges, to obtain licenses, or to comply with the quality-of-service regulations that telecoms should, it poses a regulatory gap and individuals are demanding a more equalized model of oversight. 
One of the concerns that continues to pose a challenge is that OTT apps rely on phone numbers as universal identifiers, which leads to large-scale cyber-attacks such as phishing, vishing and social engineering. Address book syncing and caller id integration are features on which hackers find opportunities to conduct large scale attacks. The telecommunications Cyber Security Amendment Rules 2025 are expected to address these problems by providing digital platforms, such as OTTs that use mobile-based verifications, with real-time verification and suspension capabilities under that name of Telecommunication Identifier User Entity (TIUE). These proposals threaten overregulation by authorizing authorities, raising constitutional issues, due process issues, and potential adverse effects on innovation and economic development.},
        keywords = {OTT Platforms, Telecommunications, Cybersecurity, Telecommunication (Cyber Security) Rules, 2024, Telecommunication (Cyber Security) Amendment Rules, 2025, Phishing Attack, Vishing Attack, Whaling Attack},
        month = {January},
        }

Cite This Article

Krishnan, K. R., & N, G. N. (2026). REGULATION OF OTT PLATFORMS UNDER THE TELECOM– CYBERSECURITY LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN INDIA. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology (IJIRT), 12(8), 6689–6700.

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