The government has withdrawn a draft policy on encryption which it unveiled only five days ago, suffering another embarrassing blow to technology chops just weeks after backtracking on a decision to ban pornographic websites.
After a chorus of criticism about how the vague language in the draft policy could compel even individuals to store all electronic communication in decrypted format for three months, the government "clarified" on Monday night that activity on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter is exempted.
And on Tuesday morning, Communications & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad junked the entire policy paper and blamed a junior official for the trouble. "I personally feel some of the expressions used in the draft are giving rise to uncalled-for misgivings," he said.
"Therefore, I have written to DeitY (department of information technology) to withdraw that draft, rework it properly and thereafter put (it) in the public domain," Prasad told reporters in the national capital.
After a chorus of criticism about how the vague language in the draft policy could compel even individuals to store all electronic communication in decrypted format for three months, the government "clarified" on Monday night that activity on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter is exempted.
And on Tuesday morning, Communications & IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad junked the entire policy paper and blamed a junior official for the trouble. "I personally feel some of the expressions used in the draft are giving rise to uncalled-for misgivings," he said.
"Therefore, I have written to DeitY (department of information technology) to withdraw that draft, rework it properly and thereafter put (it) in the public domain," Prasad told reporters in the national capital.
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