Internet Governance Blog
Google Policy Fellowship Programme: Call for Applications
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified May 17, 2013 09:01 AMThe Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is inviting applications for the Google Policy Fellowship programme. Google is providing a USD 7,500 stipend to the India Fellow, who will be selected by July 1, 2013.
The Surveillance Industry in India: At Least 76 Companies Aiding Our Watchers!
— by Maria Xynou — last modified May 09, 2013 06:48 PMMaria Xynou is conducting research on surveillance technology companies operating in India. So far, 76 companies have been detected which are currently producing and selling different types of surveillance technology. This post entails primary data on the first ever investigation of the surveillance industry in India. Check it out!
IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, 69B Rules: Draft and Final Version Comparison
— by Jadine Lannon — last modified Apr 30, 2013 05:47 PMJadine Lannon has performed a clause-by-clause comparison of the Draft 69B Rules and official 69B Rules under Section 69B in order to better understand how the two are similar and how they differ. Notes have been included on some changes we deemed to be important.
IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, 69 Rules: Draft and Final Version Comparison
— by Jadine Lannon — last modified Apr 30, 2013 05:56 PMJadine Lannon has performed a clause-by-clause comparison of the Draft 69 Rules and official 69 Rules under Section 69B in order to better understand how the two are similar and how they differ. Very brief notes have been included on some changes we deemed to be important.
Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, 419A Rules and IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, 69 Rules
— by Jadine Lannon — last modified Apr 30, 2013 06:04 PMJadine Lannon has performed a clause-by-clause comparison of the 419A Rules of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the 69 Rules under Section 69 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 in order to better understand how the two are similar and how they differ. Though they are from different Acts entirely, the Rules are very similar. Notes have been included on some changes we deemed to be important.
IT (Amendment) Act, 2008, 69A Rules: Draft and Final Version Comparison
— by Jadine Lannon — last modified Apr 30, 2013 06:10 PMJadine Lannon has performed a clause-by-clause comparison of the 69A draft rules and 69A rules for Section 69A of the IT Act in order to better understand how the two differ. While there has been reshuffling of the clauses in the official rules, the content itself has not changed significantly. Notes have been included on some changes we deemed to be important.
Report on the 2nd Privacy Round Table meeting
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Apr 24, 2013 06:23 PMThis post entails a report on the second Privacy Round Table meeting which took place on 20th April 2013.
Report on the 1st Privacy Round Table meeting
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Apr 22, 2013 06:26 PMThis report entails an overview of the discussions and recommendations of the first Privacy Round Table meeting in New Delhi, on 13th April 2013.
India´s ´Big Brother´: The Central Monitoring System (CMS)
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Apr 28, 2013 05:45 PMIn this post, Maria Xynou looks at India´s Central Monitoring System (CMS) project and examines whether it can target individuals´ communications data, regardless of whether they are involved in illegal activity.
Off the Record
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Apr 26, 2013 01:58 PMSocial networks track our world but not relationships. We live in a world where things happen. And yet, with the presence of digital objects, the things that happen have increased in intensity and volume.
Comments on the Information Technology (Electronic Service Delivery) Rules, 2011
— by Bhairav Acharya — last modified Apr 03, 2013 07:44 PMBhairav Acharya on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society prepared the following comments on the Information Technology (Electronic Services Delivery) Rules, 2011. These were submitted to the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the 15th Lok Sabha. These were submitted to the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the 15th Lok Sabha.
WGIG+8: Stock-Taking, Mapping, and Going Forward
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Apr 04, 2013 02:49 PMOn February 27, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society conducted a workshop on the Working Group on Internet Governance report, titled "WGIG+8: Stock-Taking, Mapping, and Going Forward" at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) + 10 meeting at Fontenoy Building, conference room # 7, UNESCO Headquarters, Paris from 9.30 a.m. to 11.00 a.m.
Comments on the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011
— by Bhairav Acharya — last modified Apr 02, 2013 06:21 PMBhairav Acharya on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society prepared the following comments on the Sensitive Personal Data Rules. These were submitted to the Committee on Subordinate Legislation of the 15th Lok Sabha.
Comments on the Information Technology (Guidelines for Cyber Cafe) Rules, 2011
— by Bhairav Acharya — last modified Apr 03, 2013 07:44 PMBhairav Acharya on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society submitted the following comments on the Information Technology (Guidelines for Cyber Cafe Rules), 2011.
The Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2013 — Penalising 'Peeping Toms' and Other Privacy Issues
— by Divij Joshi — last modified Apr 25, 2013 01:31 PMThe pending amendments to the Indian Penal Code, if passed in their current format, would be a huge boost for individual physical privacy by criminalising stalking and sexually-tinted voyeurism and removing the ambiguities in Indian law which threaten the privacy and dignity of individuals.
India's Biometric Identification Programs and Privacy Concerns
— by Divij Joshi — last modified Apr 01, 2013 04:40 PMThe invasiveness of individual identification coupled with the fallibility of managing big data which biometric identification presents poses a huge risk to individual privacy in India.
What’s In a Name? — DNS Singularity of ICANN and The Gold Rush
— by Sharath Chandra Ram — last modified Mar 31, 2013 01:35 PMMarch 2013 being the 28th birthday of the first ever registered Internet domain as well as the exigent launch of the Trademark Clearing House disguised as a milestone in rights protection by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) for it’s new gTLD program, Sharath Chandra Ram, dissects the transitory role of ICANN from being a technical outfit to the Boardroom Big Brother of Internet Governance.
Microsoft releases its first report on data requests by law enforcement agencies around the world
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Mar 27, 2013 11:16 PMIn this post, the Centre for Internet and Society presents Microsoft´s report on law enforcement requests, with a focus on data requested by Indian law enforcement agencies.
CIS Welcomes Standing Committee Report on IT Rules
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Apr 03, 2013 06:54 PMThe Centre for Internet and Society welcomes the report by the Standing Committee on Subordinate Legislation, in which it has lambasted the government and has recommended that the government amend the Rules it passed in April 2011 under section 79 of the Information Technology Act.
Driving in the Surveillance Society: Cameras, RFID tags and Black Boxes...
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Mar 26, 2013 06:49 PMIn this post, Maria Xynou looks at red light cameras, RFID tags and black boxes used to monitor vehicles in India.
The Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013: A Citizen's Draft
— by Bhairav Acharya — last modified Apr 07, 2013 01:00 PMThe Centre for Internet and Society has been researching privacy in India since 2010 with the objective of raising public awareness around privacy, completing in depth research, and driving a privacy legislation in India. As part of this work, Bhairav Acharya has drafted the Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013.
Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012 Analysis
— by Jeremy Gruber — last modified Mar 19, 2013 05:53 PMJeremy Gruber from the Council for Responsible Genetics, US provides an analysis of the Human DNA Profiling Bill, 2012. He says that India’s updated 2012 Human DNA Profiling Bill offers largely superficial changes from its predecessor, the Draft DNA Profiling Bill, 2007.
Workshop on the Unique Identity Number (UID), the National Population Register (NPR) and Governance: What will happen to our data?
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Mar 18, 2013 02:22 PMOn March 2nd, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society and the Say No to UID campaign organized a workshop to discuss the present state of the UID and NPR schemes. Some of the questions which were addressed included ´How do the UID and NPR impact citizenship´, ´Why and how is national security linked to UID/NPR´, and ´What is the relationship between UID and Big Data´.
Hacking without borders: The future of artificial intelligence and surveillance
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Mar 15, 2013 07:28 PMIn this post, Maria Xynou looks at some of DARPA´s artificial intelligence surveillance technologies in regards to the right to privacy and their potential future use in India.
A Comparison of the Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Mar 15, 2013 03:23 PMIn this post, Maria Xynou gives us a comparison of the Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012.
Summary of the CIS workshop on the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012
— by Maria Xynou — last modified Mar 15, 2013 03:51 PMOn March 1st, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society organized a workshop which analysed the April 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill and its potential implications on human rights in India.
Unique Identification Scheme (UID) & National Population Register (NPR), and Governance
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 15, 2013 06:31 PMThis post examines the UID, NPR and Governance as it exists in India. The background note gives a summary of what is the NPR, the legal grounding of NPR, its objectives, and the information which could be collected under the NPR. The post also throws light on the UID, its objectives, process of enrollment in UID, how UID is being adopted by different states in India, and finally the differences and controversies in UID and NPR.
Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill (April 2012): High Level Concerns
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 12, 2013 04:53 PMIn 2007 the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill was piloted by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, with the objective of regulating the use of DNA for forensic and other purposes. In February 2012 another draft of the Bill was leaked. The February 2012 Bill was drafted by the Department of Biotechnology. Another working draft of the Bill was created in April 2012. The most recent version of the Bill seeks to create DNA databases at the state, regional, and national level.
An Introduction to Bitfilm & Bitcoin in Bangalore, India
— by Benson Samuel — last modified Mar 12, 2013 01:58 PMAn event at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) was organized on January 23, 2013. The all star team at CIS was awesome at organizing this event for Bitcoin. Live streaming, mainstream newspaper coverage and Twitter based Q&A made this the first Bitcoin event in India that leveraged these mediums of information transfer.
Don’t SLAPP free speech
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Feb 28, 2013 07:22 PMIIPM is proving adept at the tactical use of lawsuits to stifle criticism, despite safeguards. THE DEPARTMENT of Telecommunications, on 14 February, issued orders to block certain web pages critical of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM).
Women in the IT Industry: Request for Data
— by Jadine Lannon — last modified Mar 06, 2013 06:52 PMFor CIS's research on indicators of female economic empowerment in the IT industry in India, we have sent formal request for participation in a short survey to the six largest IT companies based in India. A copy of the letter of request and survey as well as some details of the request for data can be found in this post.
Research Initiative: Women in India's IT Industry
— by Jadine Lannon — last modified Mar 06, 2013 06:31 PMCIS has begun a brief research project which will examine indicators of female economic empowerment in the IT industry in India. Though the gathering of quantitative and qualitative data from the six largest publicly-traded Indian software companies, we hope to provide insight into state of female employment in one of the most important and rapidly growing economic sectors in the country.
BigDog is Watching You! The Sci-fi Future of Animal and Insect Drones
— by Maria Xynou — last modified May 07, 2013 09:00 PMDo you think robotic aeroplanes monitoring us are scary enough? Wait until you read about DARPA´s new innovative and subtle way to keep us all under the microscope! This blog post presents a new reality of drones which is depicted in none other than animal and insect-like robots, equipped with cameras and other surveillance technologies.
Surveillance Camp IV: Disproportionate State Surveillance - A Violation of Privacy
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Feb 19, 2013 08:37 PMThis is the fourth in a series of posts mapping global surveillance challenges discussed at EFF's State Surveillance and Human Rights Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article has been co-written with Elonnai Hickok — Centre for Internet and Society India, and a speaker at EFF's Camp.
The Omnishambles of UID, shrouded in its RTI opacity
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Feb 19, 2013 07:04 PMThe Centre for Internet & Society sponsored Colonel Mathew Thomas to hold a workshop at the fourth National Right to Information (RTI) organized by the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, held in Hyderabad from February 15 to 18, 2013.
Freedom of Expression Gagged
— by Chinmayi Arun — last modified Feb 18, 2013 04:55 PMThe use of law to bully people into silence, called ‘heckler’s veto’, is not unique to India, writes Chinmayi Arun in this op-ed published in Business Line on February 15, 2013.
Analyzing the Latest List of Blocked URLs by Department of Telecommunications (IIPM Edition)
— by Snehashish Ghosh — last modified Feb 17, 2013 03:35 PMThe Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in its order dated February 14, 2013 has issued directions to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block seventy eight URLs. The block order has been issued as a result of a court order. Snehashish Ghosh does a preliminary analysis of the list of websites blocked as per the DoT order.
A Comparison of Indian Legislation to Draft International Principles on Surveillance of Communications
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Feb 05, 2013 01:51 PMThis blog post is a comparison of the relevant Indian legislations allowing governmental access to communications and the Draft International Principles on Surveillance of Communications. The principles, first drafted in October 2012 and developed subsequently seeks to establish an international standard for surveillance of communications in the context of human rights.
Data Retention in India
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Jan 30, 2013 01:36 PMAs part of its privacy research, the Centre for Internet and Society has been researching upon data retention mandates from the Government of India and data retention practices by service providers. Globally, data retention has become a contested practice with regards to privacy, as many governments require service providers to retain more data for extensive time periods, for security purposes. Many argue that the scope of the retention is becoming disproportional to the purpose of investigating crimes.
Five Frequently Asked Questions about the Amended ITRs
— by Chinmayi Arun — last modified Jan 30, 2013 01:36 PMThis piece discusses the five major questions that have been the subject of debate after the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT). The politics surrounding the WCIT are not discussed here but it must be kept in mind that they have played a significant role in the outcome of the conference and in some of the debates about it.
TV versus Social Media: The Rights and Wrongs
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Jan 21, 2013 11:09 AMFor most ordinary Netizens, everyday speech on social media has as much impact as graffiti in a toilet, and therefore employing the 'principle of equivalence' will result in overregulation of new media.
Web of Sameness
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Jan 18, 2013 02:17 PMThe social Web has been an ominous space at the start of 2013. It has been awash with horror, pain and grief. The recent gang rape and death of a medical student in Delhi prevents one from being too optimistic about the year to come. My live feeds on various social networks are filled with rue and rage at the gruesome incident and the seeming depravity of our society.
Draft International Principles on Communications Surveillance and Human Rights
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Jan 16, 2013 12:38 PMThese principles were developed by Privacy International and the Electronic Frontier Foundation and seek to define an international standard for the surveillance of communications. The Centre for Internet and Society has been contributing feedback to the principles.
Statement of Solidarity on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Internet Users in Bangladesh
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jan 15, 2013 07:51 PMThis is a statement on the violent attack on blogger Asif Mohiuddin by the participants to the Third South Asian Meeting on the Internet and Freedom of Expression that took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on January 14–15, 2013.
No Civil Society Members in the Cyber Regulations Advisory Committee
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jan 10, 2013 01:56 AMThe Government of India has taken our advice and reconstituted the Cyber Regulations Advisory Commitee. But there is no representation of Internet users, citizens, and consumers — only government and industry interests.
Mining the Web Collective
— by Sharath Chandra Ram — last modified Jan 07, 2013 07:48 AMIn March 2012, Dr Bruno Latour and his team from the Sciences Po Media Lab organized a workshop that assembled a selected group of researchers from India to explore methods of Controversy Mapping. It was hosted by Dr J. Srinivasan, Director of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India.
State Surveillance and Human Rights Camp: Summary
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Jan 04, 2013 09:01 PMOn December 13 and 14, 2012, the Electronic Frontier Foundation organized the Surveillance and Human Rights Camp held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The meeting examined trends in surveillance, reasons for state surveillance, surveillance tactics that governments are using, and safeguards that can be put in place to protect against unlawful or disproportionate surveillance.
Tomorrow, Today
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Jan 02, 2013 01:00 PMOur present is the future that our past had imagined. Around the same time last year, I remember taking stock of the technologies that we live with and wondering what 2012 would bring in.
Internet-driven Developments — Structural Changes and Tipping Points
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Dec 28, 2012 11:34 PMA symposium on Internet Driven Developments: Structural Changes and Tipping Points was held in Cambridge, Massachusetts at Harvard University from December 6 to 8, 2012. The symposium was sponsored by the Ford Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation and was hosted by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society. In this blog post, I summarize the discussions that took place over the two days and add my own personal reflections on the issues.
The Trouble with Hurried Solutions
— by Chinmayi Arun — last modified Dec 20, 2012 12:23 PMThe World Conference on International Telecommunication showed that countries are not yet ready to arrive at a consensus on regulation and control of the Internet
The Worldwide Web of Concerns
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 27, 2012 12:31 PMThe International Telecommunication Union’s World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) is currently under way in Dubai, after a gap of 25 years. At this conference, the Inter-national Telecommunication Regulations — a binding treaty containing high-level principles — are to be revised.
The Worldwide Web of Concerns
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 10, 2012 01:10 PMThe threat of a ‘UN takeover’ of the Internet through the WCIT is non-existent. However, that does not mean that activists have been crying themselves hoarse in vain.
Online Censorship: How Government should Approach Regulation of Speech
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Dec 05, 2012 03:06 PMWhy is there a constant brouhaha in India about online censorship? What must be done to address this?
Comments on the Proposed Rule 138A of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 Concerning Radio Frequency Identification Tags
— by Bhairav Acharya — last modified Dec 04, 2012 11:32 PMThe Centre for Internet & Society gave its comments on the proposed Rule 138A of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989. The comments were made in response to Notification GSR 738(E) published in the Gazette of India on October 3, 2012.
Section 66-A, Information Technology Act, 2000: Cases
— by Snehashish Ghosh — last modified Dec 06, 2012 05:20 PMIn this blog post Snehashish Ghosh summarizes the facts of a few cases where Section 66-A, Information Technology Act, 2000, has been mentioned or discussed.
Transcripts from WCIT-12
— by Snehashish Ghosh — last modified Dec 03, 2012 10:00 PMWe are archiving copies of the live-transcripts from the World Conference on International Telecommunications, 2012 (WCIT-12) which is being held in Dubai from 3–14 December, 2012.
So Much to Lose
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Dec 08, 2012 12:39 AMUnless you have been hiding under a rock, you have been a witness to the maelstrom of events that accompanied the death of the political leader Bal Thackeray.
Fixing India’s anarchic IT Act
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Nov 30, 2012 02:33 PMSection 66A of the Information Technology (IT) Act criminalizes “causing annoyance or inconvenience” online, among other things. A conviction for such an offence can attract a prison sentence of as many as three years.
Breaking Down Section 66A of the IT Act
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 14, 2012 05:51 PMSection 66A of the Information Technology Act, which prescribes 'punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.' is widely held by lawyers and legal academics to be unconstitutional. In this post Pranesh Prakash explores why that section is unconstitutional, how it came to be, the state of the law elsewhere, and how we can move forward.
Draft nonsense
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 03, 2012 05:08 PMSeriously flawed and dodgily drafted provisions in the IT Act provide the state a stick to beat its citizens with.
DoT Blocks Domain Sites — But Reasons and Authority Unclear
— by Smitha Krishna Prasad — last modified Nov 21, 2012 06:03 PMEarlier this year, ISPs such as Airtel and MTNL blocked a number of domain sites including BuyDomains, Fabulous Domains and Sedo.co.uk. Whereas the Indian Government and courts have previously issued orders blocking websites, these actions have generally been attributed to issues such as posting of inflammatory content or piracy of copyrighted material. However, the reasoning behind blocking domain marketplaces such as the above mentioned sites is not clear.
Arbitrary Arrests for Comment on Bal Thackeray's Death
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jan 02, 2013 11:42 AMTwo girls have been arbitrarily and unlawfully arrested for making comments about the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's death. Pranesh Prakash explores the legal angles to the arrests.
Will The International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) Impact Internet Governance? A Multistakeholder Perspective
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 10, 2012 12:40 PMPranesh Prakash made a presentation at the India Internet Governance Conference (IIGC) held at the FICCI, Federation House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi on October 4 and 5, 2012. The event was organised by the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, FICCI and Internet Society. CIS was one of the supporting organisations.
Statement of Civil Society Members and Groups Participating in the "Best Bits" pre-IGF meeting at Baku in 2012
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 07, 2012 04:06 PMThe Centre for Internet & Society was one of the signatories for this submission made to the ITU on November 16, 2012.
Q&A to the Report of the Group of Experts on Privacy
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Nov 09, 2012 06:20 PMIn January 2012 Justice A.P. Shah formed a committee consisting of a group of experts to contribute to and create a report of recommendations for a privacy legislation in India. The committee met a total of seven times from January to September 2012. The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) was a member of the committee creating the report. This blog post is CIS’s attempt to answer questions that have arisen from media coverage on the report, based on our understanding.
Indian Government's Submission to ITU
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 09, 2012 08:48 AMThe following is the text of the submission made by the Government of India to the World Conference of International Telecommunications, Dubai on November 3, 2012. This is the final version of a draft that was circulated earlier.
Submission on India's Draft Comments on Proposed Changes to the ITU's ITRs
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 07, 2012 12:15 PMGiven below are the responses from the representatives of civil society in India (The Society for Knowledge Commons, Centre for Internet & Society, The Delhi Science Forum, Free Software Movement of India, Internet Democracy Project and Media for Change) to the Government of India's proposals for the upcoming WCIT meeting, in December 2012, in Dubai.
Submission by Indian Civil Society Organisations on Proposals for the Future ITRs and Related Processes
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 07, 2012 04:00 PMThe Centre for Internet & Society was one of the signatories of this submission which was sent in November 2012, in response to the International Telecommunication Union's call for public comments in relation to the revision of International Telecommunication Regulations that are to take place at the ITU's World Conference on International Telecommunications in Dubai from December 3 to 14, 2012.
Rethinking DNA Profiling in India
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Oct 29, 2012 04:00 PMDNA profile databases can be useful tools in solving crime, but given that the DNA profile of a person can reveal very personal information about the individual, including medical history, family history and so on, a more comprehensive legislation regulating the collection, use, analysis and storage of DNA samples needs included in the draft Human DNA Profiling Bill.
Privacy Perspectives on the 2012 -2013 Goa Beach Shack Policy
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Oct 25, 2012 06:23 PMCCTVs in India are increasingly being employed by private organizations and the government in India as a way to increase security and prevent/ deter crime from taking place. When the government mandates the use of CCTV’s for this purpose, it often does so by means of a blunt policy mandate, requiring the installation of CCTV systems, but without any further clarification as to who should oversee the use of the cameras, what bodies should have access to the records, how access should be granted or obtained, and how long the recordings should be retained.
A Public Meeting on DNA Profiling Bill in Delhi
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Oct 10, 2012 06:58 PMOn September 27, 2012, the Centre for Internet and Society hosted a public talk at the Indian International Centre focused on the draft DNA Profiling Bill. Presenting at the meeting were international experts Dr. Helen Wallace, director of GeneWatch UK and Jeremy Gruber, president and executive director of the Council for Responsible Genetics US, and Dr. Anupuma Raina, senior scientist at AIIMs.
Analysing Latest List of Blocked Sites (Communalism & Rioting Edition)
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 06, 2012 07:52 PMPranesh Prakash does preliminary analysis on a leaked list of the websites blocked from August 18, 2012 till August 21, 2012 by the Indian government.
Privacy Matters — Medical Privacy
— by Natasha Vaz — last modified Jul 10, 2012 09:41 PMOn June 30, 2012, Privacy India in partnership with the Indian Network for People living with HIV/AIDS, Centre for Internet & Society, IDRC, Society in Action Group, with support from London-based Privacy International, held a public discussion on "Medical Privacy" at the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration.
India's Broken Internet Laws Need a Shot of Multi-stakeholderism
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Apr 26, 2012 09:45 PMCyber-laws in India are severely flawed, with neither lawyers nor technologists being able to understand them, and the Cyber-Law Group in DEIT being incapable of framing fair, just, and informed laws and policies. Pranesh Prakash suggests they learn from the DEIT's Internet Governance Division, and Brazil, and adopt multi-stakeholderism as a core principle of Internet policy-making.
Statutory Motion Against Intermediary Guidelines Rules
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Apr 03, 2012 05:35 PMRajya Sabha MP, Shri P. Rajeev has moved a motion that the much-criticised Intermediary Guidelines Rules be annulled.
How India Makes E-books Easier to Ban than Books (And How We Can Change That)
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Feb 21, 2012 07:50 PMWithout getting into questions of what should and should not be unlawful speech, Pranesh Prakash chooses to take a look at how Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services, and how it makes it much easier than getting offline printed speech removed.
Press Coverage of Online Censorship Row
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 08, 2011 07:31 PMWe are maintaining a rolling blog with press references to the row created by the proposal by the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology to pre-screen user-generated Internet content.
India's Statement Proposing UN Committee for Internet-Related Policy
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Oct 31, 2011 11:28 PMThis is the statement made by India at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in which its proposal for the UN Committee for Internet-Related Policy was presented.
Analysis of DIT's Response to Second RTI on Website Blocking
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 02, 2011 05:26 PMIn this blog post, Pranesh Prakash briefly analyses the DIT's response to an RTI request on website blocking alongside the most recent edition of Google's Transparency Report, and what it tells us about the online censorship regime in India.
Sixth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, Nairobi: A Summary
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Oct 24, 2011 05:09 PMThe sixth annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum was held from 27 to 30 September 2011 at the United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya. Sunil Abraham participated in six workshops: Privacy, Security, and Access to Rights: A Technical and Policy Analyses, Use of Digital Technologies for Civic Engagement and Political Change: Lessons Learned and Way Forward, The Impact of Regulation: FOSS and Enterprise, Proprietary Influences in Free and Open Source Software: Lessons to Open and Universal Internet Standards, Access and Diversity of Broadband Internet Access and Putting Users First: How Can Privacy be Protected in Today’s Complex Mobile Ecosystem?
Design!Public II in Bangalore ― Event Report
— by Yelena Gyulkhandanyan — last modified Oct 20, 2011 04:48 PMDesign Public, a high-level conclave on innovation, took place in Bangalore at the National Gallery for Modern Art on October 14, 2011. The event was organized by the Centre for Knowledge Societies in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society, the Centre for Law and Policy Research, Mint, and others. The conclave brought together industry experts, scholars, and activists to create a dialogue about design and innovation in the public interest. This blog post captures the developments as it happened on this day.
SCOSTA and UID Comparison not Valid, says Finance Committee
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Nov 23, 2011 12:37 AMThe Standing Committee on Finance Branch, Lok Sabha Secretariat has responded to the suggestions offered by CIS on the National Identification Authority of India, Bill 2010 and has requested it to mail its views by 14 October 2011.
Seventh Open Letter to the Finance Committee: A Note on the Deduplication of Unique Identifiers
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Nov 22, 2011 03:28 PMSahana Sarkar on behalf of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) had sent in a Right to Information application on 30 June 2011 to Ashish Kumar, Central Public Information Officer, UIDAI. The UIDAI sent in its reply. Through the seventh open letter, Hans attempts to characterize in an abstract way the replies that CIS managed to elicit and makes some elementary observations.
UID: Questions without Answers – A Talk by Usha Ramanathan
— by Natasha Vaz — last modified Nov 24, 2011 12:41 PMUID enrolment is in full swing, providing an official identification to millions of Indians, yet there are numerous unanswered questions. A public talk on UID was held at the Institute of Science, Bangalore on September 6, 2011. Usha Ramanathan, an independent law researcher on jurisprudence, poverty and rights, discussed the questions that plague the UID project and the veil of silence enveloping the answers.
Whole Body Imaging and Privacy Concerns that Follow
— by Srishti Goyal — last modified Sep 29, 2011 01:38 PMLaw student at the National University of Juridical Sciences, and intern for Privacy India, Srishti Goyal compares, contrasts, and critiques the Whole Body Imaging practices found in the US, the UK, and Australia, and makes recommendations for an Indian regime.
CCTV in Universities
— by Merlin Oommen — last modified Sep 01, 2011 05:50 PMBasic Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) Infrastructure is used to observe movements from a central room, and consists of one or more video cameras that transmit video and audio images to a set of monitors or video recorders.
Re-thinking Key Escrow
— by Natasha Vaz — last modified Aug 22, 2011 07:44 PMWould you make duplicates of your house keys and hand them over to the local police authority? And if so, would you feel safe? Naturally, one would protest this invasion of privacy. Similarly, would it be justified for the government to have a copy of the private key to intercept and decrypt communications? This is the idea behind key escrow; it enables government ‘wiretapping’.
UID: Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Fear?
— by Shilpa Narani — last modified Sep 28, 2011 07:44 PMIsn’t it interesting that authorities ask you about your identity and you end up showing your proof of existence! Isn’t this breaching into one’s personal life? Why so much transparency only from the public side? Why can’t the government be equally transparent to the public?, asks Shilpa Narani.
An Overview of DNA Labs in India
— by Shilpa Narani — last modified Aug 12, 2012 05:13 PMDNA fingerprinting has become the most precise and technologically advanced method for identifying crimes such as murder, kidnapping, robbery and rape. Police and judicial authorities and in some cases even private parties retain this in their records, writes Shilpa in this blog post.
Consumer Privacy in e-Commerce
— by Sahana Sarkar — last modified Mar 28, 2012 12:53 PMLooking at the larger picture of national security versus consumer privacy, Sahana Sarkar says that though consumer privacy is important in the world of digital technology, individuals must put aside some of their civil liberties when it comes to the question of national security, as it is necessary to prevent societal damage.
Video Surveillance and Its Impact on the Right to Privacy
— by Vaishnavi Chillakuru — last modified Sep 29, 2011 01:35 PMThe need for video surveillance has grown in this technologically driven era as a mode of law enforcement. Video Surveillance is very useful to governments and law enforcement to maintain social control, recognize and monitor threats, and prevent/investigate criminal activity. In this regard it is pertinent to highlight that not only are governments using this system, but residential communities in certain areas are also using this system to create a safer environment.
Privacy Matters, Guwahati — Event Report
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 26, 2011 06:31 PMOn June 23, a public seminar on “Privacy Matters” was held at the Don Bosco Institute in Karhulli, Guwahati. It was organised by IDRC, Society in Action Group, IDEA Chirang, an NGO initiative working with grassroots initiatives in Assam, Privacy India and CIS and was attended by RTI activists and grass roots NGO representatives from across the North Eastern region: Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Nagaland, Assam and Sikkim. The event focused on the challenges and concerns of privacy in India.
Right to Privacy Bill 2010 — A Few Comments
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 02:26 PMEarlier this year, in February 2011, Rajeev Chandrasekhar introduced the Right to Privacy Bill, 2010 in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is meant to “provide protection to the privacy of persons including those who are in public life”. Though the Bill states that its objective is to protect individuals’ fundamental right to privacy, the focus of the Bill is on the protection against the use of electronic/digital recording devices in public spaces without consent and for the purpose of blackmail or commercial use.
Privacy & Media Law
— by Sonal Makhija — last modified Dec 14, 2012 06:26 PMIn her research, Sonal Makhija, a Bangalore-based lawyer, tries to delineate the emerging privacy concerns in India and the existing media norms and guidelines on the right to privacy. The research examines the existing media norms (governed by Press Council of India, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and the Code of Ethics drafted by the News Broadcasting Standard Authority), the constitutional protection guaranteed to an individual’s right to privacy upheld by the courts, and the reasons the State employs to justify the invasion of privacy. The paper further records, both domestic and international, inclusions and exceptions with respect to the infringement of privacy.
When Data Means Privacy, What Traces Are You Leaving Behind?
— by Noopur Raval — last modified Nov 24, 2011 05:24 PMHow do you know yourself to be different from others? What defines the daily life that you live and the knowledge you produce in the span of this life? Is all that information yours or are you a mere stakeholder on behalf of the State whose subject you are? What does privacy really mean? In a society that is increasingly relying on information to identify people, collecting and archiving ‘personal’ details of your lives, your name, age, passport details, ration card number, call records etc, how private is your tweet, status update, text message or simply, your restaurant bill?
My Experiment with Scam Baiting
— by Sahana Sarkar — last modified Mar 13, 2012 06:43 PMToday, as I am sure many of you have experienced, Internet scams are widespread and very deceptive. As part of my research into privacy and the Internet, I decided to follow a scam and attempt to fully understand how Internet scams work, and what privacy implications they have for Internet users. Though there are many different types of scams that take place over the Internet —identity scams, housing scams, banking scams— just to name a few. I decided to look in depth at the lottery scam.
RTI and Third Party Information: What Constitutes the Private and Public?
— by Noopur Raval — last modified Nov 24, 2011 05:21 PMThe passing of the Right to Information Act, 2005 was seen as giving an empowering tool in the hands of the citizens of India, six years post its implementation, loopholes have surfaced with misuse of the many fundamental concepts, which have yet not been defined to allow for a consistent pattern of decisions. Among many problems that emerge with the Act, a major problem is defining the extent to which an individual has access to other people’s information. While most of us tend to think that asking for other people’s phone numbers, personal details like passport number or IT returns are private and would be kept so, under the RTI Act and as seen in the Central Information Commission (CIC) decisions, all of these details can be availed of by someone who doesn’t know you at all!
Privacy and Security Can Co-exist
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:05 PMThe blanket surveillance the Centre seeks is not going to make India more secure, writes Sunil Abraham in this article published in Mail Today on June 21, 2011.
Copyright Enforcement and Privacy in India
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Dec 14, 2012 06:27 PMCopyright can function contradictorily, as both the vehicle for the preservation of privacy as well as its abuse, writes Prashant Iyengar. The research examines the various ways in which privacy has been implicated in the shifting terrain of copyright enforcement in India and concludes by examining the notion of the private that emerges from a tapestry view of the relevant sections of Copyright Act.
Snooping Can Lead to Data Abuse
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:39 PMTHE NATGRID, aiming to link databases of 21 departments and ministries for better counter-terror measures, adopts blunt policy approach, subjecting every citizen to the same level of blanket surveillance, instead of a targeted approach that intelligently focuses on geographic or demographic areas that are currently important, writes Sunil Abraham in this article published by Mail Today on June 9, 2011.
The New Right to Privacy Bill 2011 — A Blind Man's View of the Elephunt
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Feb 29, 2012 01:45 PMOver the past few days various newspapers have reported the imminent introduction in Parliament, during the upcoming Monsoon session, of a Right to Privacy Bill. Since the text of this bill has not yet been made accessible to the public, this post attempts to grope its way – through guesswork – towards a picture of what the Bill might look like from a combined reading of all the newspaper accounts, writes Prashant Iyengar in this blog post which was posted on the Privacy India website on June 8, 2011.
Do You Want to be Watched?
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:11 PMThe new rules under the IT Act are an assault on our freedom, says Sunil Abraham in this article published in Pragati on June 8, 2011.
The Digital is Political
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:14 PMTechnologies are not just agents of politics, there is politics in their design, writes Nishant Shah in this article published in Down to Earth in the Issue of June 15, 2011.
Say 'Password' in Hindi
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:18 PMEnglish might be the language of the online world, but it’s time other languages had their say, writes Nishant Shah. The article was published in the Indian Express on June 5, 2011.
A Street View of Private and the Public
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:34 PMPrashant Iyengar on how in the eyes of the law, the internet giant is like the homeless in India. This article was published by Tehelka on June 4, 2011.
Bloggers' Rights Subordinated to Rights of Expression: Cyber Law Expert
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:35 PMVijayashankar, an eminent cyber law expert answers Elonnai Hickok’s questions on bloggers' rights, freedom of expression and privacy in this e-mail interview conducted on May 19, 2011.
Big Brother is Watching You
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:32 PMThe government is massively expanding its surveillance power over law-abiding citizens and businesses, says Sunil Abraham in this article published by the Deccan Herald on June 1, 2011.
The Present — and Future — Dangers of India's Draconian New Internet Regulations
— by Anja Kovacs — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:22 PMThe uproar surrounding India's Internet Control Rules makes clear that in the Internet age, as before, the active chilling of freedom of expression by the state is unacceptable in a democracy. Yet if India's old censorship regimes are to be maintained in this new context, the state will have little choice but to do just that. Are we ready to rethink the ways in which we deal with free speech and censorship as a society? Asks Anja Kovacs in this article, published in Caravan, 1 June 2011.
Killing the Internet Softly with Its Rules
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 20, 2011 08:51 PMWhile regulation of the Internet is a necessity, the Department of IT, through recent Rules under the IT Act, is guilty of over-regulation. This over-regulation is not only a bad idea, but is unconstitutional, and gravely endangers freedom of speech and privacy online.
Power to the People
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:35 PMThe digital revolution has helped make NGOs and civil society more influential, independent and transparent, writes Nishant Shah in this article published in the Indian Express on Sunday, May 15, 2011.
Rebuttal of DIT's Misleading Statements on New Internet Rules
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 11, 2012 09:18 PMThe press statement issued on May 11 by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) on the furore over the newly-issued rules on 'intermediary due diligence' is misleading and is, in places, plainly false. We are presenting a point-by-point rebuttal of the DIT's claims.
Limits to Privacy
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Dec 14, 2012 06:28 PMIn his research article, Prashant Iyengar examines the limits to privacy for individuals in light of the provisions of the Constitution of India, public interest, security of state and maintenance of law and order. The article attempts to build a catalogue of all these justifications and arrive at a classification of all such frequently used terms invoked in statutes and upheld by courts to deprive persons of their privacy.
Privacy By Design — Conference Report
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 22, 2011 08:03 PMHow do we imagine privacy? How is privacy being built into technological systems? On April 16th,The Center for Internet and Society hosted Privacy by Design, an Open Space meant to answer these questions and more around the topic of privacy. Below is a summary of the conversations and dialogs from the event.
CDT Provides Answers to Questions on Internet Neutrality
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jun 04, 2012 01:56 PMPranesh Prakash of CIS asked David Sohn of CDT a few pointed questions on the emerging hot topic of 'Internet neutrality', and received very useful responses. Those questions and Mr. Sohn's responses are documented in this blog post.
The DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and Privacy
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:40 PMIn 2007 a bill known as the Draft DNA Profiling Bill was piloted by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, an autonomous organization funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The below is a background to DNA collection/analysis in India, and a critique of the Bill a from a privacy perspective.
An Interview with Activist Shubha Chacko: Privacy and Sex Workers
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 28, 2012 02:26 PMOn February 20th I had the opportunity to speak with Shubha Chacko on privacy and sex workers. Ms. Chacko is an activist who works for Aneka, an NGO based in Bangalore, which fights for the human rights of sexual minorities. In my interview with Ms. Chacko I tried to understand how privacy impacts the lives of sex workers in India. The below is an account of our conversation.
We are anonymous, we are legion
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:38 PMOnline anonymity is vital for creativity and entrepreneurship on the Web, writes Sunil Abraham. The article was published in the Hindu on April 18, 2011.
You Have the Right to Remain Silent
— by Anja Kovacs — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:55 PMIndia has a long history of censorship that it justifies in the name of national security. But new laws governing the Internet are unreasonable and — given the multitude of online voices — poorly thought out, argues Anja Kovacs in this article published in the Sunday Guardian on 17 April 2011.
Iraq Delegation to Visit India for Study of E-Governance in Indian Cities ― Meetings in Bangalore and Delhi
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:13 PMAn Iraqi Government delegation headed by HE Mr. Abdul Kareem Al-Samarai, Minister of Science & Technology, Government of Iraq will be in India on a e-governance tour. The study tour is organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
Privacy and the Information Technology Act — Do we have the Safeguards for Electronic Privacy?
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Dec 14, 2012 06:29 PMHow do the provisions of the Information Technology Act measure up to the challenges of privacy infringement? Does it provide an adequate and useful safeguard for our electronic privacy? Prashant Iyengar gives a comprehensive analysis on whether and how the Act fulfils the challenges and needs through a series of FAQs while drawing upon real life examples.
DIT's Response to RTI on Website Blocking
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:13 PMFor the first time in India, we have a list of websites that are blocked by order of the Indian government. This data was received from the Department of Information Technology in response to an RTI that CIS filed. Pranesh Prakash of CIS analyzes the implications of these blocks, as well as the shortcomings of the DIT's response.
Is Data Protection Enough?
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:28 PMThe following note looks briefly at different sides of the privacy debate, and asks the question whether a Data Protection law is enough privacy protection for India.
Surveillance Technologies
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:40 PMThe following post briefly looks at different surveillance technologies, and the growing use of the them in India.
Encryption Standards and Practices
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:39 PMThe below note looks at different types of encryption, varying practices of encryption in India, and the relationship between encryption, data security, and national security.
'Privacy Matters', Ahmedabad: Conference Report
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Apr 04, 2011 12:45 PMOn 26 March 2011, civil society, lawyers, judges, students and NGO’s, gathered together at the Ahmedabad Management Association to take part in 'Privacy Matters' – a public conference organised by Privacy India in partnership with IDRC and Research Foundation for Governance in India (RFGI) — to discuss the challenges of privacy in India, with an emphasis on national security and privacy. The conference was opened by Prashant Iyengar, head researcher at Privacy India and Kanan Drhu, director of RFGI. Mr. Iyengar explained Privacy India’s mandate to raise awareness of privacy, spark civil action, and promote democratic dialogue around privacy challenges and violations in India. RFGI is a think tank established in 2009 which aims to research, promote, and implement various reforms to improve the legal and political process in Gujarat and across India. ‘Privacy Matters – Ahmedabad’ is the third conference out of the eight that Privacy India will be hosting across India. The next conference will take place in Hyderabad on 9 April 2011. It will focus on human rights and privacy.
News Broadcasting Standards Authority censures TV9 over privacy violations!
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:14 PMWe at PrivacyIndia/CIS are delighted by the recent order issued by the News Broadcasting Standards Authority(NBSA) which slapped a 1 lakh rupee fine on the news channel TV9 for airing an extremely incendiary and invasive programme titled "Gay Culture rampant in Hyderabad".
A Stolen Perspective
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:43 PMThe note below is a perspective piece on biometrics. On March 11th I traveled down to the Philippines, and had a chance to experience the possible convenience of biometric based identification.
The Draft Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011 – Comments by CIS
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:37 PMThe Draft Electronic Delivery of Services Bill, 2011 (“Bill”) is a Bill to provide for delivery of government services manadatorily through electronic means by phasing out manual delivery of services. It is heartening to note that the Bill shifts the approach to electronic delivery of services by Government agencies to one as part of the citizens' right to service delivery through electronic means rather than a luxury or benefit doled out by the Government. The Bill introduces bodies exclusively accountable for ensuring that electronic delivery of services by the Government at the state and central levels. While this is a welcome move on the part of the Government there are a few comments we, at the Centre for Internet and Society, have on the present version of the Bill:
Policy for Government's Presence in Social Media - Recommendations
— by Krithika Dutta Narayana — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:37 PMIn pursuance of the Office Memorandum issued by the DIT dated March 4, 2011, the e-Governance Group of the DIT, convened on March 23, 2011, the first meeting of an exclusive group to propose guidelines for government presence on social networking and social media sites. The Centre for Internet and Society being one of the invitees to the meeting, has submitted its recommendations for a Policy for the Government's presence in social networking and social media sites.
Privacy and Governmental Databases
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:41 PMIn our research we have found that most government databases are incrementally designed in response to developments and improvements that need to be incorporated from time to time. This method of architecting a system leads to a poorly designed database with many privacy risks such as: inaccurate data, incomplete data, inappropriate disclosure of data, inappropriate access to data, and inappropriate security over data. To address these privacy concerns it is important to analyze the problem that is being addressed from the perspective of potential and planned interoperability with other government databases. Below is a list of problems and recommendations concerning privacy, concerning government databases.
RTI Applications on Blocking of Websites
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Dec 21, 2012 02:34 PMIn recent weeks, an increasing number of incidents have come to light on government-ordered blocking of websites. In one case involving Zone-H.org, it is clear who has ordered the block (a Delhi district court judge, as an interim order), even though the block itself is open to constitutional challenge. In all others cases, including the TypePad case, it is unclear who has ordered the block and why. We at CIS have sent in two right to information requests to find out.
CIS Para-wise Comments on Intermediary Due Diligence Rules, 2011
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Jul 11, 2012 06:27 PMOn February 7th 2011, the Department of Information Technology, MCIT published draft rules on its website (The Information Technology (Due diligence observed by intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011) in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 87(2)(zg), read with Section 79(2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Comments were invited from the public before February 25th 2011. Accordingly, Privacy India and Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore have prepared the following para-wise comments for the Ministry’s consideration.
CIS Para-wise Comments on Cyber Café Rules, 2011
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Dec 14, 2012 06:32 PMOn February 7th 2011, the Department of Information Technology, MCIT published draft rules on its website (The Information Technology (Guidelines for Cyber Cafe) Rules, 2011) in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 87(2) (zg), read with Section 79(2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Comments were invited from the public before February 25th 2011. Accordingly, Privacy India and Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore have prepared the following para wise comments for the Ministry’s consideration.
CIS Para-wise Comments on Draft Reasonable Security Practices Rules, 2011
— by Prashant Iyengar — last modified Dec 14, 2012 06:32 PMOn February 7th 2011, the Department of Information Technology, MCIT published draft rules on its website (The Information Technology (Reasonable security practices and procedures and sensitive personal information) Rules, 2011) in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 87(2)(ob), read with Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Comments were invited from the public before February 25th 2011. Accordingly, Privacy India and Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore have prepared the following para-wise comments for the Ministry’s consideration.
Google Policy Fellowship Program: Asia Chapter
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:34 PMFor the ardent followers of free and open Internet and for those who love to debate on technology, media law and Internet-related policy issues, there is some good news. The Centre for Internet and Society, India is conducting a Google Policy Fellowship program this summer!
Open Letter to the Finance Committee: UID and Transactions
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 24, 2011 09:35 PMSince official documentation from the UIDAI is very limited, we assume that data pertaining to transactions would comprise of the Aadhaar number, identifier of the authenticating device, date-time stamp, and approval/rejection/error code. Recording and maintaining of data pertaining to transactions is very important because it increases transparency and accountability through an audit trail. However, storage of such sensitive data creates many privacy risks, because more often than not metadata gives you as much intelligence as raw data.
Open Letter to the Finance Committee: Operational Design
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 17, 2011 06:02 PMThe objective of the UID project is to provide identity infrastructure that is not susceptible to fraud or error. This note highlights parts of the operational design of the project, which are flawed. We plead that each point be taken into consideration and that the design be suitably revised.
Open Letter to the Finance Committee: UID Budget
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 17, 2011 07:18 PMThis note presents the aspects of the UID project, which have not been considered or incorporated into the UID’s budget. The costs include re-enrollment, loss in human time, and the cost of the audit function.
Open Letter to the Finance Committe: Biometrics
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 17, 2011 09:12 PMThis note points out the weaknesses inherent in biometrics and the pitfalls in using them. It recommends procedural safeguards that should be adopted by the UID in order to make the use of biometrics more secure and inclusive.
Open Letter to the Finance Committee: Finance and Security
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 17, 2011 07:57 PMThis note explores the three connections between finance and security and demonstrates the cost implications of operating a centrally designed identity management system as proposed by the UID. In doing so, it shows how the monitoring, storing, and securing of transactional data in a centralized database fall short of meeting the project's objectives of authentication, and thus is an additional cost. Further, it is argued that the blanket monitoring of the transaction database is not an effective method of detecting fraud, and is an expensive component of the project.
Conference Report: 'Privacy Matters' Bangalore
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 08, 2011 01:13 PMOn February 5th the 'Privacy Matters" conference was held at the TERI Regional Center in Bangalore. The event was a full day and centered around issues of privacy including: privacy rights of minorities, privacy and open government data, and privacy and identity.
Analysing the Right to Privacy and Dignity with Respect to the UID
— by Deva Prasad — last modified Mar 21, 2012 05:54 PMIn the below note, Deva Prasad, LLM Candidate at NLSIU, explores the challenges that the UID project faces from a legal perspective.
Privacy Matters — Conference Report
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jan 27, 2011 06:22 PMA one-day conference on Privacy Matters was held on Sunday, 23 January 2011 at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Law School in Kolkata. This was the first of a series of eleven conferences on ‘privacy’ that Privacy India is scheduled to host in different Indian cities from January to June this year. Members of Parliament, Sri Manoj Bhattacharya from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Sri Nilotpal Basu from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) spoke in the conference. Students, the civil society and lawyers also participated in it.
Privacy Matters Conference Agenda
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jan 14, 2011 07:45 PMThe "Privacy Matters" conference is taking place on Sunday January 23rd, at NUJS Law school at 10:30. It is a full day event that will discuss the challenges and concerns of privacy in India. Below is the agenda for the event. We look forward to your participation and attendance.
Jurisdictional Issues in Cyberspace
— by Justice S Muralidhar — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:00 PMThis article by Justice S Muralidhar was published in the Indian Journal of Law and Technology, Volume 6, 2010. It explores in detail the jurisdiction of courts when dealing with disputes arising from commercial transactions on the Internet.
An Open Letter to the Finance Committee: SCOSTA Standards
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Feb 17, 2011 09:15 PMThe UID Bill has been placed to the Finance Committee for review and approval. Through a series of open letters to the Finance Committee, civil society is asking the committee to take into consideration and change certain aspects of the Bill and the project. The below note compares the SCOSTA standard with the Aadhaar biometric standard, and explains why we believe the SCOSTA standard should replace the Aadhaar biometric standard for the authentication process in the UID scheme.
Does the UID Reflect India?
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:45 PMOn December 17th the Campaign for No UID held a press conference and public meeting in Bangalore. Below is a summary and analysis of the events.
The Privacy Rights of Whistleblowers
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:47 PMThe recent disclosures from Wikileaks have shown that the right to information, whistle-blowing, and privacy are interconnected. This note looks at the different ways in which the three are related, as well as looking at the benefits and drawbacks to Wikileaks in terms of privacy.
UID & Privacy - A Call for Papers
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:03 PMPrivacy India is inviting individuals to author short papers focused on Unique Identity (UID) and Privacy. Selected candidates will have their papers published on the CIS website, and their transportation and accommodation provided for the “Privacy Matters” conference being held in Kolkata on 22 January 2010.
Should Ratan Tata be Afforded the Right to Privacy?
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:03 PMThe Ratan Tata case has raised many important questions pertaining to privacy. This note looks at a few of those questions, and the debate that centers around them.
UID Meeting in Bangalore – A Report
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jan 04, 2011 04:14 PMOn 23 November 2010 a public meeting was held for the UID in Bangalore. The speakers included B.K Chandrashekar, former Chairman of the Karnataka Legislature Council, Mr. Vidyashankar, Principal Secretary to Government of e-commerce, Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of Centre for Internet and Society, Jude D’Souza, Technology Specialist and Mathew Thomas, Retired Army Officer.
DSCI Information Security Summit 2010 – A Report
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:04 PMOn 2 and 3 December 2010, the DSCI Information Security Summit 2010 took place in the Trident Hotel, Chennai. The two day summit included a broad spectrum of speakers/panels and topics, ranging from Securing Data & Systems to how to leverage the Cloud. The key speakers were Mr. Gulshan Rai, Director General, CERT-In, DIT, Mr. Rajeev Kapoor, Joint Secretary, DoPT, Govt. of India, Mr. Vakul Sharma, Advocate, Supreme Court of India and Dr. Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO, DSCI. Elonnai Hickok attended the summit.
Public Statement to Final Draft of UID Bill
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:48 PMThe final draft of the UID Bill that will be submitted to the Lok Sabha was made public on 8 November 2010. If the Bill is approved by Parliament, it will become a legal legislation in India. The following note contains Civil Society's response to the final draft of the Bill.
Consumer Privacy - How to Enforce an Effective Protective Regime?
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:06 PMIn a typical sense, when people think of themselves as consumers, they just think about what they purchase, how they purchase and how they use their purchase. But while doing this exercise we are always exchanging personally identifiable information, and thus our privacy is always at risk. In this blog post, Elonnai Hickok and Prashant Iyengar through a series of questions look through the whole concept of consumer privacy at the national and international levels. By placing a special emphasis on Indian context, this post details the potential avenues of consumer privacy in India and states the important elements that should be kept in mind when trying to find at an effective protective regime for consumer privacy.
Privacy and Telecommunications: Do We Have the Safeguards?
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:06 PMAll of you often come across unsolicited and annoying telemarketing calls/ SMS's, prank calls, pestering calls for payment, etc. Do we have any safeguards against them? This blog post takes a look at the various rules and regulations under Indian law to guard our privacy and confidentiality.
Privacy and Banking: Do Indian Banking Standards Provide Enough Privacy Protection?
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:07 PMBanking is one of the most risky sectors as far as privacy is concerned due to the highly sensitive and personal nature of information which is often exchanged, recorded and retained. Although India has RBI guidelines and legislations to protect data, this blog post looks at the extent of those protections, and what are the areas that still need to be addressed.
C.I.S Responds to Privacy Approach Paper
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:08 PMA group of officers was created to develop a framework for a privacy legislation that would balance the need for privacy protection, security, sectoral interests, and respond to the domain legislation on the subject. Shri Rahul Matthan of Tri Legal Services prepared an approach paper for the legal framework for a proposed legislation on privacy. The approach paper is now being circulated for seeking opinions of the group of officers and is also being placed on the website of the Department of Personnel and Training for seeking public views on the subject. The Privacy India team at C.I.S responded to the approach paper and has called for the need for a more detailed study of statutory enforcement models and mechanisms in the creation of a privacy legislation.
American Bar Association Online Privacy Conference: A Report
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:08 PMOn 10 November 2010, I attended an American Bar Association online conference on 'Regulating Privacy Across Borders in the Digital Age: An Emerging Global Consensus or Vive la Difference'. The panalists addressed many important global privacy challenges and spoke about the changes the EU directive is looking to take.
Privacy, Free/Open Source, and the Cloud
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 22, 2012 01:50 PMA look into the questions that arise in concern to privacy and cloud computing, and how open source plays into the picture.
Privacy Concerns in Whole Body Imaging: A Few Questions
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:09 PMSecurity versus Privacy...it is a question that the world is facing today when it comes to using the Whole Body Imaging technology to screen a traveller visually in airports and other places. By giving real life examples from different parts of the world Elonnai Hickok points out that even if the Government of India eventually decides to advocate the tight security measures with some restrictions then such measures need to balanced against concerns raised for personal freedom. She further argues that privacy is not just data protection but something which must be viewed holistically and contextually when assessing new policies.
Moldova Online: An Interview with Victor Diaconu
— by Sudha Rajagopalan — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:10 PMIn this interview for Russian Cyberspace, set up with the help of Sunil Abraham (Executive Director at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, India), computer software professional Victor Diaconu explains the nature of Internet use, state control and the development of blogging and social media platforms in Moldova. Victor works at Computaris in Chisinau. He is Moldova educated, and has travelled to several western countries (including lengthy stays to US, UK) to learn about and understand what there is to be done in Moldova. Sudha Rajagopalan interviewed Victor Diaconu.
Presentation of the UID project by Ashok Dalwai – A Report
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:09 PMOn Tuesday, 7 September 2010, Ashok Dalwai, the Deputy Director General of the Unique Identification of India (UIDAI), gave a lecture at the Indian Institute for Science in Bangalore. Representing the UID Authority, his presentation explained the vision of the project and focused on the challenges involved in demographic and biometric identification, the technology adopted, and the enrolment process. Elonnai Hickok gives a report of his presentation in this blog post.
Beyond Access as Inclusion
— by Anja Kovacs — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:29 PMOn 13 September, the day before the fifth Internet Governance Forum opens, CIS is coorganising in Vilnius a meeting on Internet governance and human rights. One of the main aims of this meeting is to call attention to the crucial, yet in Internet governance often neglected, indivisibility of rights. In this blog post, Anja Kovacs uses this lens to illustrate how it can broaden as well reinvigorate our understanding of what remains one of the most pressing issues in Internet governance in developing countries to this day: that of access to the Internet.
Cybercrime and Privacy
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Sep 14, 2010 09:21 PMElonnai Hickok examines privacy in the context of India’s legal provisions on cybercrime. She picks up the relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act as amended in 2008 dealing with cyber crimes and provides a fair analysis of the pros and cons of the amended Act.
Privacy and the Indian Copyright Act
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jan 04, 2011 04:20 PMIndia's Copyright Act was established in 1957, and is in the process of being placed before the Parliament in 2010. Even though India currently is not a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the provisions in the proposed Bill will work to make the Act WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT) compliant. When looking at privacy in the context of copyright four key questions arise, says Elonnai Hickock as she analyses privacy in the context of the Indian Copyright Act.
Summary of UID Public Meeting, August 25 2010
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:28 PMA summary of the "No UID" public meeting that took place on Aug. 25th at the Constitution Club, New Dehli.
No UID Campaign in New Delhi - A Report
— by Prasad Krishna — last modified Jun 20, 2012 11:51 AMThe Unique Identification (UID) Bill is not pro-citizen. The scheme is deeply undemocratic, expensive and fraught with unforseen consequences. A public meeting on UID was held at the Constitution Club, Rafi Marg in New Delhi on 25 August, 2010. The said Bill came under scrutiny at the meeting which was organised by civil society groups from Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi campaigning under the banner of "No UID". The speakers brought to light many concerns, unanswered questions and problems of the UID scheme.
Wherever you are, whatever you do
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:12 PMFacebook recently launched a location-based service called Places. Privacy advocates are resenting to this new development. Sunil Abraham identifies the three prime reasons for this outcry against Facebook. The article was published in the Indian Express on 23 August, 2010.
Does the Government want to enter our homes?
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:12 PMWhen rogue politicians and bureaucrats are granted unrestricted access to information then the very future of democracy and free media will be in jeopardy. In an article published in the Pune Mirror on 10 August, 2010, Sunil Abraham examines this in light of the BlackBerry-to-BlackBerry messenger service that the Government of India plans to block if its makers do not allow the monitoring of messages. He says that civil society should rather resist and insist on suitable checks and balances like governmental transparency and a fair judicial oversight instead of allowing the government to intrude into the privacy and civil liberties of its citizens.
UID Project in India - Some Possible Ramifications
— by Liliyan — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:13 PMHaving a standard for decentralized ID verification rather than a centralized database that would more often than not be misused by various authorities will solve ID problems, writes Liliyan in this blog entry. These blog posts to be published in a series will voice the expert opinions of researchers and critics on the UID project and present its unique shortcomings to the reader.
Civil Liberties and the amended Information Technology Act, 2000
— by Malavika Jayaram — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:13 PMThis post examines certain limitations of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (as amended in 2008). Malavika Jayaram points out the fact that when most countries of the world are adopting plain English instead of the conventional legal terminology for better understanding, India seems to be stuck in the old-fashioned method thereby, struggling to maintain a balance between clarity and flexibility in drafting its laws. The present Act, she says, is although an improvement over the old Act and seeks to address and improve on certain areas in the right direction but still comes up short in making necessary changes when it comes to fundamental rights and personal liberties. The new Act retains elements from the previous one making it an abnormal document and this could have been averted if there had been some attention to detail.
Feedback to the NIA Bill
— by Elonnai Hickok — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:14 PMMalavika Jayaram and Elonnai Hickok introduce the formal submission of CIS to the proposed National Identification Authority of India (NIA) Bill, 2010, which would give every resident a unique identity. The submissions contain the detailed comments on the draft bill and the high level summary of concerns with the NIA Bill submitted to the UIDAI on 13 July, 2010.
Does the Safe-Harbor Program Adequately Address Third Parties Online?
— by Rebecca Schild — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:19 PMWhile many citizens outside of the US and EU benefit from the data privacy provisions the Safe Harbor Program, it remains unclear how successfully the program can govern privacy practices when third-parties continue to gain more rights over personal data. Using Facebook as a site of analysis, I will attempt to shed light on the deficiencies of the framework for addressing the complexity of data flows in the online ecosystem.
Sense and censorship
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:15 PMSunil Abraham examines Google's crusade against censorship in China in wake of the attacks on its servers in this article published in the Indian Express.
Report on the Fourth Internet Governance Forum for Commonwealth IGF
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Feb 29, 2012 01:42 PMThis report by Pranesh Prakash reflects on the question of how useful the IGF is in the light of meetings on the themes of intellectual property, freedom of speech and privacy.
When Whistle Blowers Unite
— by Sunil Abraham — last modified Mar 21, 2012 06:17 PMLeaking corporate or government information in public interest through popular Web service providers is risky but Wikileaks.org is one option that you could try out.
Address delivered during the IGF Closing Ceremony
— by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:18 PMThis address was delivered by Dr. Anja Kovacs, as a representative of civil society, to the IGF during its closing ceremony.
The Role of ICT in Judicial Reform- An Exploration
— by Rebecca Schild — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:17 PMA seminar held this month by the Communications and Manufacturing Association of India (CMAI) explored the role that information and communication technology can assume in the process of India's judicial reform efforts. The broad consensus among panelists was that “law is not keeping pace with technology”. However, whether technology will be harnessed to actually facilitate much needed transparency and access to the justice system, or be simply used to improve efficiency within the judicial branch still remains unclear.
Information and livelihoods
— by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:18 PMAn article by Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam (Distinguished Fellow, CIS) in GISW 2009 (Global Information Society Watch, 2009)
IPv6 in India: The promises and challenges
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:16 PMNewspapers have been reporting that IPv4 addresses will get over soon, and that we will have to shift to IPv6. In this short piece, Pranesh Prakash gives a layperson's introduction to the IPv6 Internet we will be entering into soon, and what that means for you.
Access Beyond Developmentalism: Technology and the Intellectual Life of the Poor
— by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:16 PMEssay by Lawrence Liang, September 21, 2009 in response to - A Dialogue on ICTs, Human Development, Growth, and Poverty Reduction
Control Shift?
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:22 PMThe USA has ceded control of the Internet over to Icann, but only partially. (This post appeared as an article in Down to Earth, in the issue dated November 15, 2009.)
The ICANN-US DOC 'Affirmation of Commitments' - A Step Forward?
— by Anja Kovacs — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:16 PMOn 30 September 2009, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) signed an Affirmation of Commitments (AoC) with the US Government's Department of Commerce. For those of us who are concerned that the Internet should serve the global public good, is the new arrangement a step forward? An assessment.
ಕೃಷಿ ಸಂಪದ - ಇ-ಮ್ಯಾಗಜೀನ್ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ
— by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:15 PMಪರಿಸರ ಬರಹಗಾರ ನಾಗೇಶ್ ಹೆಗಡೆ ಅವರು ಕಂಪ್ಯೂಟರಿನ ಸ್ವಿಚ್ ಒತ್ತಿ ಪರದೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಡಿಜಿಟಲ್ ಪುಟ ಬೆಳಗಿ "ಕೃಷಿ ಸಂಪದ" ಇ-ಮ್ಯಾಗಜೀನನ್ನು ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್ ಲೋಕಕ್ಕೆ ಅರ್ಪಿಸಿದರು.
Information and Communication Technology For Improving Agriculture and Rural Livelihoods
— by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:15 PMಮೈಕೇಲ್, ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಮತ್ತು ಗ್ರಾಮೀಣ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿ (ಮೈಕೇಲ್ ರಿಗ್ಸ್ ಭಾಷಣ) - ಚಾಮರಾಜ ಸವಡಿ
Value Added Services of Information & Communication Technology- Mobile Telephony for Farmers Benefit
— by Radha Rao — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:15 PMMr. G Raghunatha, State Manager, IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Ltd., Bangalore and Secretary, Institution of Agricultural Technologists, Bangalore has written an article on how ICT - Mobile Technology can be used for the farmers' benefit.
A Comment on the 2009 IGF Draft Programme Paper
— by Anja Kovacs — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:15 PMThe Centre for Internet and Society is part of a broad group of civil society actors that submitted a comment on the Draft Programme Paper of the fourth Internet Governance Forum (IGF), taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2009. The IGF is a forum for multistakeholder policy dialogue on Internet governance issues. The comment decries the complete absence of attention for Internet Rights and Principles in the agenda as it stands as of today, and this despite repeated requests from a wide range of stakeholders to make this theme a central one. All stakeholder groups were invited to submit their comments on the Draft Programme Paper of the 2009 IGF to the IGF Secretariat by 15 August.
IT Act and Commerce
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:41 PMThis is a guest post by Rahul Matthan, partner in the law firm Trilegal, and widely regarded as one of the leading experts on information technology law in India. In this post, Mr. Matthan looks at the provisions in the amended Information Technology Act of interest to commerce, namely electronic signatures and data protection.
Primer on the New IT Act
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:41 PMWith this draft information bulletin, we briefly discuss some of the problems with the Information Technology Act, and invite your comments.
Comments on the Draft Rules under the Information Technology Act
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Sep 21, 2011 02:13 PMThe Centre for Internet and Society commissioned an advocate, Ananth Padmanabhan, to produce a comment on the Draft Rules that have been published by the government under the Information Technology Act. In his comments, Mr. Padmanabhan highlights the problems with each of the rules and presents specific recommendations on how they can be improved. These comments were sent to the Department of Information and Technology.
Letter to ICANN on NCSG
— by Pranesh Prakash — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:41 PMThe Centre for Internet and Society sent the following mail to ICANN regarding their attempt to impose their own charter for a Noncommercial Stakeholder Group (NCSG), instead of accepting the one drafted by the Noncommercial Users Constituency (NCUC).
An Open Letter on Internet Governance to the UN Internet Governance Forum
— by Sanchia de Souza — last modified Aug 02, 2011 03:40 PMThis open letter brings up concerns of democratic deficit in internet governance worldwide, and is addressed to the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF). It is to be delivered at the IGF's 3rd Annual Meeting at Hyderabad, India, from 3rd to 6th December, 2008. The signatories are Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, Delhi Science Forum, New Delhi, Free Software Foundation - India, IT for Change, Bangalore, and Knowledge Commons, New Delhi.
i4D Interview: Social Networking and Internet Access
— by Nishant Shah — last modified Sep 22, 2011 08:51 PMNishant Shah, the Director for Research at CIS, was recently interviewed in i4D in a special section looking at Social Networking and Governance, as a lead up to the Internet Governance Forum in December, in the city of Hyderabad.