New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) India and the UK signed a pact to ensure open access to the internet for their citizens and adopt measures to protect consumers in the digital space, including action against cyber crime and spammers.

The provisions have come under the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) to promote digital trade between the two nations.

Under the agreement, subject to their applicable policies, laws and regulations, both nations shall endeavour to adopt or maintain appropriate measures to ensure that an end-user in its territory may "access, distribute, and use, a service and application of their choice available on the internet, subject to reasonable, transparent, and nondiscriminatory network management".

The agreement calls for allowing end-users in respective territory to connect a device of their choice to the internet, provided that the device does not harm the network and access information on the network management practices of their internet access service supplier, as appropriate.

Both countries have agreed to collaborate for data-related innovations that promote economic, societal and consumer benefits through improved data-driven services and technologies.

The collaborating on data projects include projects involving academia or industry, using regulatory sandboxes as required, cooperating on the development of policies, frameworks, and standards for data mobility, including consumer data portability as well as sharing research and industry practices related to data innovation.

With this agreement in place, entities in both territories can sign online contracts for transborder transactions.

The agreement allows access of government data and information digitally available to the public for entities of both nations.

The agreement calls for securing the online space by protecting consumers from spammers, frauds, cyber criminals, etc.

"The parties recognise the importance of adopting and maintaining transparent and effective measures to protect consumers from misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, and unfair commercial practices when they engage in digital trade, as well as measures conducive to the development of consumer confidence," the agreement said.

To check pesky callers and spammers, both countries have agreed to adopt measures to prevent those messages from reaching the recipient.

"Each party shall endeavour to ensure, to the extent possible, that an unsolicited commercial electronic message is clearly identifiable as such, clearly discloses on whose behalf it is made, and contains the necessary information to enable an end-user to request cessation at any time," the agreement said.

Both countries have agreed to refrain from seeking access to the source code of software owned by entities in the other territory except in case of investigation by a regulatory, administrative or a judicial body.

"Where source code of software has been revealed to a party, or to a designated conformity assessment body operating in a party's territory, upon its request, that party shall adopt or maintain measures to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of source code of software," the agreement said. PTI PRS TRB