All Blogs
The National Privacy Principles
In this infographic, we try to break down the National Privacy Principles developed by the Group of Experts on Privacy led by the Former Chief Justice A.P. Shah in 2012.
Aadhaar Bill 2016 Evaluated against the National Privacy Principles
In this infographic, we evaluate the privacy provisions of the Aadhaar Bill 2016 against the national privacy principles developed by the Group of Experts on Privacy led by the Former Chief Justice A.P. Shah in 2012. The infographic is based on Vipul Kharbanda’s article 'Analysis of Aadhaar Act in the Context of A.P. Shah Committee Principles,' and is designed by Pooja Saxena, with inputs from Amber Sinha.
Vulnerabilities in the UIDAI Implementation Not Addressed by the Aadhaar Bill, 2016
In this infographic, we document the various issues in the Aadhaar enrolment process implemented by the UIDAI, and highlight the vulnerabilities that the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 does not address. The infographic is based on Vidushi Marda’s article 'Data Flow in the Unique Identification Scheme of India,' and is designed by Pooja Saxena, with inputs from Amber Sinha.
Salient Points in the Aadhaar Bill and Concerns
Since the release of the Aadhaar Bill, the Centre for Internet and Society has been writing a number of posts analyzing the Bill and calling out problematic areas and the implications of the same. This post is meant to contribute to this growing body of writing and call out our major concerns with the Bill.
Adoption of Standards in Smart Cities - Way Forward for India
With a paradigm shift towards the concept of “Smart Cities’ globally, as well as India, such cities have been defined by several international standardization bodies and countries, however, there is no uniform definition adopted globally. The glue that allows infrastructures to link and operate efficiently is standards as they make technologies interoperable and efficient.
Sexual Harassment at ICANN
Padmini Baruah represented the Centre for Internet & Society at ICANN in the month of March 2016. In a submission to ICANN she is calling upon the ICANN board for implementing a system for investigating cases related to sexual harassments.
Analysis of Aadhaar Act in the Context of A.P. Shah Committee Principles
Whilst there are a number of controversies relating to the Aadhaar Act including the fact that it was introduced in a manner so as to circumvent the majority of the opposition in the upper house of the Parliament and that it was rushed through the Lok Sabha in a mere eight days, in this paper we shall discuss the substantial aspects of the Act in relation to privacy concerns which have been raised by a number of experts. In October 2012, the Group of Experts on Privacy constituted by the Planning Commission under the chairmanship of Justice AP Shah Committee submitted its report which listed nine principles of privacy which all legislations, especially those dealing with personal should adhere to. In this paper, we shall discuss how the Aadhaar Act fares vis-à-vis these nine principles.
Privacy Concerns Overshadow Monetary Benefits of Aadhaar Scheme
Since its inception in 2009, the Aadhaar system has been shrouded in controversy over issues of privacy, security and viability. It has been implemented without a legislative mandate and has resulted in a PIL in the Supreme Court, which referred it to a Constitution bench. On Friday, it kicked up more dust when the Lok Sabha passed a Bill to give statutory backing to the unique identity number scheme.
Studying Digital Creative Industries in India: Initial Questions
This brief overview of the discourse around creative industries is an attempt to explore some ways of identifying what could be digital creative industries in India, and the questions they raise and problematize for us in terms of cultural expression, knowledge production, creativity and labour. The term ‘creative industries’ has been around for a while now, but with the advent of the digital, and with interest from different sectors, especially with a focus on policy and economic development, it would be essential to critically examine the discourse around the term, and see where it may be changing to open up new possibilities, particularly for the arts, humanities and design.
Fueling the Affordable Smartphone Revolution in India
Smartphones have emerged as the exemplar of mankind's quest for shrinking technologies. They embody the realization of a simple premise – that computing devices would do more and cost less. This realization has been responsible for modern society's profound transformations in communication, governance, and knowledge distribution.
List of Recommendations on the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 - Letter Submitted to the Members of Parliament
On Friday, March 11, the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. The Bill was introduced as a money bill and there was no public consultation to evaluate the provisions therein even though there are very serious ramifications for the Right to Privacy and the Right to Association and Assembly. Based on these concerns, and numerous others, we submitted an initial list of recommendations to the Members of Parliaments to highlight the aspects of the Bill that require immediate attention.
Press Release, March 15, 2016: The New Bill Makes Aadhaar Compulsory!
We published and circulated the following press release on March 15, 2016, to highlight the fact that the Section 7 of the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 states that authentication of the person using her/his Aadhaar number can be made mandatory for the purpose of disbursement of government subsidies, benefits, and services; and in case the person does not have an Aadhaar number, s/he will have to apply for Aadhaar enrolment.
Press Release, March 11, 2016: The Law cannot Fix what Technology has Broken!
We published and circulated the following press release on March 11, 2016, as the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. This Bill was proposed by finance minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley to give legislative backing to Aadhaar, being implemented by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
An Urgent Need for the Right to Privacy
Along with a group of individuals and organisations from academia and civil society, we have drafted and are signatories to an open letter addressed to the Union government and urging the same to "urgently take steps to uphold the constitutional basis to the right to privacy and fulfil it’s constitutional and international obligations." Here we publish the text of the open letter. Please follow the link below to support it by joining the signatories.
Critique of the Aadhaar Bill 2016
The Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 on March 11, 2016, to give legislative basis to the Aadhaar number assigning being done by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The Bill was introduced, by Finance Minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley, as a money bill, and there was no public consultation to evaluate the provisions therein even though there are very serious ramifications for the Right to Privacy and the Right to Association and Assembly. Since its inception in 2009, the UIDAI project has been shrouded in controversy due to various questions raised about privacy, technological limitations, security concerns, and legal basis. We have documented various concerns with the Aadhaar Bill 2016, as well as with the project at large.
ಅಂತರ್ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಹಿಳಾ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆ ೨೦೧೬, ಕ್ರೈಸ್ಟ್ ವಿಶ್ವವಿದ್ಯಾಲಯ
ಮಾರ್ಚ್ ೮ ನ್ನು ವಿಶ್ವಾದ್ಯಂತ ಅಂತಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಹಿಳಾ ದಿನ ಎಂದು ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಶ್ವದ ಹಲವು ಕಡೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಹಮ್ಮಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಒಂದು ತಿಂಗಳ ಪೂರ್ತಿ ನಡೆಯುವ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನಾಗಿ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲೂ ಈ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ಬೇರೆ ಬೇರೆ ಭಾಷೆಯ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆಸಲಾಗುತ್ತಿದೆ. ಕನ್ನಡ ವಿಕಿಪೀಡಿಯವೂ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆ.
The New Aadhaar Bill in Plain English
We have put together a plain English version of the The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016.
Are we Losing the Right to Privacy and Freedom of Speech on Indian Internet?
The article was published in DNA on March 10, 2016.