Dark Web and Encrypted Communications — Legal Reforms

Entry	Year	Description	Impact
IT Amendment 2008	2008	Section 34 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, enacted as Act 10 of 2009, substituted section 69 of the IT Act with provisions addressing interception, monitoring and decryption. The text requires the competent government or specially authorised officer to be satisfied on specified grounds, records reasons in writing and subjects the action to prescribed procedure and safeguards. Section 69(3) provides for assistance by a subscriber, intermediary or person in charge of the computer resource. The statutory title year differs from the Act’s 2009 enactment number.	For encrypted communications, separate authority to issue a direction from the technical ability to obtain intelligible information and from proof of an offence. The amendment does not mean that every encrypted message is illegal or that every encryption design can be defeated. A hypothetical investigation should identify the lawful ground, authorised decision-maker and applicable safeguards before asking what assistance is required. Interception or decryption under section 69 also differs from blocking public access under section 69A. This historical amendment entry does not reproduce an old penalty as current or replace the applicable procedural rules.