Internet Governance News & Media
CIS anniversary
The Centre for Internet and Society will celebrate five years of its existence with an exhibition showcasing its works and accomplishments.
Is free speech an Indian value?
Is freedom of speech and expression deeply accepted in Indian society? Or is it merely a European cultural import that made its way along with the English language and appeared in the Constitution because of the founding fathers' genius? Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya reviews Freedom Song, a film and connects the dots.
CIS in GNI Annual Report
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) joined the Global Network Intiative (GNI) in March 2012. Recently, GNI brought out its Annual Report. Sunil Abraham is quoted in it.
Untangling the web of India's 'ungovernable' Net
India sells itself as a tech hub, outsourcing IT experts to the world. At home, it dreams of "equity on the Net." But millions remain unconnected and digital surveillance is on the rise.
Regulating Social Media: Unrealistic, Impossible, Necessary?
The Press Council of India Chairperson Justice Markandey Katju calls for regulating social media, saying it will prevent offensive material coming into the public domain. But is it really necessary to regulate the social media? If yes, is it possible to do it?
Vote: Will Social Media Impact the Election?
As India enters election mode, social media has become one of many platforms where possible prime ministerial candidates are being scrutinized.
Social media may influence 160 LS seats in 2014
Social media is likely to influence politics and elections in 160 of India’s 543 Parliament constituencies, making Facebook and Twitter users the nation’s newest voting bloc, a new study suggests.
India takes its first serious step toward privacy regulation – but it may be misguided
The world’s second-most populous nation may be on the cusp of embracing privacy legislation. After several false starts the Indian government appears ready to accept the need for some form of regulation.
Clarify and define terms in IT rules, panel tells govt.
In the wake of concerns that the government is increasingly using ambiguously-phrased terms in legal codes to crack down on online speech, the Parliament’s Committee on Subordinate Legislation has asked for greater clarity and definition on terms which can serve as grounds for restrictions.
What if the Net shut down for a few days
When spammers attacked Spamhaus, a European spam-fighting group in what was billed as the "biggest cyber attack in history", they managed to temporarily slow down the internet. But what if dedicated attackers succeeded in shutting down the internet for a longer time, maybe a few days? What would be the potential impact of such a scenario in a world where crucial data is stored on emails, most financial transactions have shifted online and an entire generation has grown up not realising what life without the web could be like?
Parliament panel blasts govt over ambiguous internet laws
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Subordinate Legislation has come out with a report in which it has lambasted the government and asked it to make changes to IT rules that govern internet-related cases in India.
Future of Privacy in India
DSCI and ICOMP are organizing a meet on Privacy at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi on April 5, 2013. Sunil Abraham will be participating in this event as a speaker.
Press controls ‘send wrong message to rest of world’
Britain could trigger an international media crackdown if the Government goes ahead with plans for a Royal Charter to introduce a new Press regulator, free speech campaigners warned yesterday.
India’s Civil Liberties Crisis: Of Bans, Blocks, Bullying and Biometrics
Malavika Jayaram will be a speaker at this event which is organized by the Center for Global Communication Studies and will be held at Annenberg School of Communication, University of Pennslyvania, Philadelphia, on March 28, 2013, from 12 p.m. to 1.30 p.m.
Internet Censorship, Surveillance, and Corporate Transparency
Google’s Dorothy Chou will be in conversation with international experts Annenberg School of Communication, St., Philadelphia, on April 3, 2013, from 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m. Malavika Jayaram is participating in the event as a panelist. The event is organised by Center for Global Communication Studies and Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania.
DML 2013 – Fourth Annual Conference
The fourth annual conference – DML2013 – was organized around the theme “Democratic Futures: Mobilizing Voices, and Remixing Youth Participation” and was held between March 14-16, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. The Centre for Internet and Society was one of the sponsors for this event.
Namaste, Mr. Eric Schmidt
An article by R. Jai Krishna published in the Wall Street Journal on March 20, 2013 quotes Sunil Abraham.
Global Partners Meeting @ London
Privacy International is organizing the Global Partners Meeting in London from March 22 to 25, 2013. The workshop will be held at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Sunil Abraham and Malavika Jayaram will be participating in this event.
Indian police set up lab to monitor social media
Mumbai police have set up India's first "social media lab" to monitor Facebook, Twitter and other networking sites, sparking concerns about freedom of speech online.
New $1 Billion RIC Project Casts Doubts on Aadhaar
The Indian Government is going ahead with a new project dubbed RIC that will effectively undermine the existing UIDAI – Unique Identification Authority of India project and will cost a whopping $1 billion.