Providers4 and Voice-over-Internet Protocol5 service providers such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to operate in India without any oversight. It is argued that under the existing licensing regime, Internet Telephony is a strictly regulated and licensed service under the Unified License6 and ISP (IT) License issued in accordance with Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 18857 . However, platforms such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp provide voice-calling services without holding any such license, thereby bypassing the Indian licensing regulations. The Petitioner, as a licensed ISP, is required to pay license fees from 1st January, 2006, while these unlicensed entities operate without any such obligation. 3. In such circumstances, being aggrieved by the selective implementation of the licensing regime, the Petitioner had approached this Court through W.P.(C) 11173/2019 titled as World Phone Internet Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors., seeking a direction that the license regime applicable on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp should in compliance with the same licensing regime as applicable to licensed TSPs/ ISPs etc. The said writ petition was disposed of by the Court on 8th December, 2022, noting that MEITY had not accepted the recommendations made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India8 , that regulatory intervention was not required for Over-The-Top9 service providers. Rather, MEITY had sent the recommendations back to TRAI for re-examination and reconsideration of the issue. Accordingly, the writ petition was disposed of
