IT Act changes a must: Net body

The Internet and Online Association (IOA) has sought the services of legal firm Amarchand Mangaldas to prepare a white paper on changes needed in the Information Technology Act.

The white paper is expected to be prepared in the next few days and will be submitted to the Union ministry of information technology.

"We are working with legal experts Amarchand Mangaldas to create a white paper. In the next few days, IOA will make a comprehensive representation on changes in the IT Act," Preeti Desai, president, Internet and Online Association, said on Friday.

She added that besides the IOA, Nasscom, Ficci, CII and other associations have voiced concern over the way the IT Act is being interpreted.

"I believe the recent arrest of Baazee CEO Avnish Bajaj was a case of sheer lack of knowledge of the IT Act. There are only three circumstances under which he was liable to be booked - publishing obscene material, pushing someone to publish obscene material or transmitting such material, and none of these happened in the case of Baazee," Desai said.

Meanwhile, the IOA, which was conceptualised a year ago, has embarked on an exercise to increase its membership.

drastically. "We will add another 18 members to the existing seven and our membership will touch 25," the IOA president said.