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                                      Blocked websites: Where India flawed
                                    
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Prasad Krishna
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Aug 27, 2012
                                            
                                            
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                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Aug 27, 2012 03:00 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Social media,
                                          
                                          
                                            Freedom of Speech and Expression,
                                          
                                          
                                            Public Accountability,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance,
                                          
                                          
                                            Censorship
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      Apart from not giving 48 hours response time, the Indian government has blocked some websites which don't exist or don't have web addresses, says an analyst. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  News & Media
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                                       Breaking Down Section 66A of the IT Act Breaking Down Section 66A of the IT Act
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Pranesh Prakash
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Nov 25, 2012
                                            
                                            
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                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Dec 14, 2012 09:51 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Freedom of Speech and Expression,
                                          
                                          
                                            Public Accountability,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance,
                                          
                                          
                                            Featured,
                                          
                                          
                                            Homepage
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      Section 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. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                       CIS Para-wise Comments  on Intermediary Due Diligence Rules, 2011 CIS Para-wise Comments  on Intermediary Due Diligence Rules, 2011
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Pranesh Prakash
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Feb 25, 2011
                                            
                                            
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                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Jul 11, 2012 10:27 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            Freedom of Speech and Expression,
                                          
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Intermediary Liability
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      On 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. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                       CIS Para-wise Comments on Cyber Café Rules, 2011 CIS Para-wise Comments on Cyber Café Rules, 2011
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Prashant Iyengar
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Feb 25, 2011
                                            
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Dec 14, 2012 10:32 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      On 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. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                       CIS Para-wise Comments on Draft Reasonable Security Practices Rules, 2011 CIS Para-wise Comments on Draft Reasonable Security Practices Rules, 2011
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Prashant Iyengar
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Feb 24, 2011
                                            
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Dec 14, 2012 10:32 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                          —
                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      On 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. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                       CIS Welcomes Standing Committee Report on IT Rules CIS Welcomes Standing Committee Report on IT Rules
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Pranesh Prakash
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Mar 27, 2013
                                            
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Apr 03, 2013 10:54 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Privacy,
                                          
                                          
                                            Freedom of Speech and Expression,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance,
                                          
                                          
                                            Featured,
                                          
                                          
                                            Censorship,
                                          
                                          
                                            Homepage
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      The 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. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                       Civil Liberties and the amended Information Technology Act, 2000 Civil Liberties and the amended Information Technology Act, 2000
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Malavika Jayaram
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
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                                                published
                                              
                                              Aug 05, 2010
                                            
                                            
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                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Mar 21, 2012 10:13 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      This 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.  Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                      Clarify and define terms in IT rules, panel tells govt.
                                    
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Prasad Krishna
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Apr 01, 2013
                                            
                                            
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                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Apr 03, 2013 10:02 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                          —
                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      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.  Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  News & Media
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                                       Comments on the Draft Rules under the Information Technology Act Comments on the Draft Rules under the Information Technology Act
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Pranesh Prakash
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Jul 28, 2009
                                            
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                last modified
                                              
                                              Sep 21, 2011 06:13 AM
                                            
                                        
                                        
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                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            IT Act,
                                          
                                          
                                            Encryption,
                                          
                                          
                                            Intellectual Property Rights,
                                          
                                          
                                            Intermediary Liability,
                                          
                                          
                                            Publications,
                                          
                                          
                                            Censorship
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      The 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. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog
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                                       Comments to the proposed amendments to The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 Comments to the proposed amendments to The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021
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                                        by
                                            
                                              Divyansha Sehgal and Torsha Sarkar
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                            
                                              —
                                              
                                                published
                                              
                                              Feb 07, 2023
                                            
                                            
                                        
                                        
                                          —
                                          filed under:
                                          
                                            Digital Media,
                                          
                                          
                                            Internet Governance,
                                          
                                          
                                            Information Technology,
                                          
                                          
                                            IT Act
                                          
                                        
                                      
                                      This note presents comments by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), India, on the proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (“proposed amendments”). We thank Isha Suri for her review of this submission. Located in
                                          
                                          
                                              
                                                  Internet Governance
                                                  
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                                                  Blog