Internet Governance
The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summitt on the Information Society has defined internet governance as the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles of shared principles, norms, rules, decision making procedures and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.
As part of Internet governance work, we promote freedom of expression on the Internet, while ensuring that the right to privacy is safeguarded as well. This work has sometimes required us to go beyond the confines of the Internet to investigate and promote these rights more generally as well.
CIS's free speech advocacy is focussed primarily around the Information Technology Act, and issues of liability of intermediaries for unlawful speech. We have worked with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, and helped him in the preparation of his 2011 report on freedom of speech on the Internet by organizing South Asia-wide consultations.
CIS, in partnership with Privacy International and Society in Action Group, has produced outputs around privacy in banking, telecommunications, consumer rights, media law and sexual minorities. We also submitted seven open letters to the Parliamentary Finance Committee on the UID and gave feedback on NIA Bill and IT Rules.
Key Research
- Our partnership with Privacy International, UK and Society in Action Group, Gurgaon for a two-year research project on Privacy in Asia has produced outputs in these areas:
Banking, Telecommunications, Consumer Protection, IT Act, Limitations, Copyright, Internet Protocol, Media, Sexual Minorities, UID - Submitted seven open letters to the Parliamentary Finance Committee on the UID covering the following aspects:
SCOSTA standard, Centralized Database, Biometrics, Budget, Operational Design, Transactions, Deduplication - Government of India through its various departments sought feedback on the policies listed below. We sent our feedback:
Privacy Approach Paper (22 November 2010), NIA Bill, (13 July 2010), IT Act (28 July 2009), National Policy on Electronics (1 November 2011), Cyber Café Rules (25 February 2011), Security Practices Rules (25 February 2011), Intermediary Due Diligence Rules (25 February 2011). - Peer reviewed essays by Nishant Shah:
Material Cyborgs; Asserted Boundaries (European Journal of English Studies, Volume 12, Issue 2, 2008), Internet and Society in Asia: Challenges and Next Steps (Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Volume 11, Number 1, March 2010)