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International Cyber Law Toolkit scenario: Internet blockage
Arindrajit Basu and Gurshabad Grover’s scenario and international law analysis Internet Blockage was published as part of the NATO Co-operative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence’s Cyber Law Toolkit as part of its September 2021 annual update.
#CultureForAll Conference on Cultural Mapping
Sahapedia is organising the #CultureForAll Conference on Cultural Mapping, digitally on September 28 and 29, 2021. The conference will take place in collaboration with the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, Azim Premji University, the Centre for Internet and Society, and the Re-Centring Afro Asia project at the University of Cape Town.
Facial Recognition Technology in India
The Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project, University of Essex, UK and the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) have jointly published a research paper on facial recognition technology. Authors, Elonnai Hickok, Pallavi Bedi, Aman Nair and Amber Sinha, examine technological tools such as CCTV and FRT which are increasingly being deployed by the government.
Wikimedia Wikimeet India 2021/Report
In March 2020, the whole world came to a standstill. What many deemed as a regular ‘flu’ turned out to be the pandemic that brought everyone to their knees. The things that we always did, we could no longer do them. We were all confined to our homes with no choice but to work online. Hanging out with friends, attending weddings, and being a part of the conferences and seminars suddenly became a part of the past. We started using the word unprecedented a lot.
Techno-solutionist Responses to COVID-19
The Indian state has increasingly adopted a digital approach to service delivery over the past decade, with vaccination being the latest area to be subsumed by this strategy. In the context of the need for universal vaccination, the limitations of the government’s vaccination platform Co-WIN need to be analysed.
Do We Really Need an App for That? Examining the Utility and Privacy Implications of India’s Digital Vaccine Certificates
We examine the purported benefits of digital vaccine certificates over regular paper-based ones and analyse the privacy implications of their use.
Finding Needles in Haystacks - Discussing the Role of Automated Filtering in the New Indian Intermediary Liability Rules
On the 25th of February this year The Government of India notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The new Rules broaden the scope of which entities can be considered as intermediaries to now include curated-content platforms (Netflix) as well as digital news publications. This blogpost analyzes the rule on automated filtering, in the context of the growing use of automated content moderation.
Standing Committee's recommendations are at odds with Access to Knowledge
The Indian Parliamentary Committee's report weighs on several aspects of the Indian IPR system and issues of protection and enforcement. This blog post summarily notes the observations and recommendations of the Committee on the Copyright Act, 1957 which stand to impact access to knowledge. The primary issue dealt with was the claim that copyright exceptions were affecting the publishing industry and authors. The recommendations include narrowing of copyright exceptions, barring digital storage and copying, promotion of libraries, and adopting the Berne Convention as the benchmark on limitations and exceptions.
Health IDs: Voluntary or Mandatory?
On August 15, 2020, the prime minister launched the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) with the objective of improving and streamlining the Indian healthcare system. In December 2020, the Central Government, notified the National Digital Health Mission: Health Data Management Policy (Health Data Policy) seeking to create a digital health ecosystem under the NDHM. A core pillar of the Health Data Policy is to create a unique health identity (UHID) for every Indian citizen.
The Ministry And The Trace: Subverting End-To-End Encryption
A legal and technical analysis of the 'traceability' rule and its impact on messaging privacy.
WIPO SCCR 41: Notes from Day 3 and Day 4
Day 3 and 4 saw the presentation of four studies conducted by external experts on music markets in various regions in the world and one study on rights of stage directors of theatrical productions. Day 4 saw member states sharing their positions on a proposal for creation of two rights 1) rights of stage directors of stage productions and 2) public lending right. The Chair also presented the draft summary of the session upon its conclusion, on Day 4. This blog post shares the specific text under the broadcasting and limitations and exceptions agenda items, relevant from an access to knowledge perspective.
WIPO SCCR 41: Notes from Day 2
Member states delivered opening statements and deliberated on the scope, direction, and progress of work on the limitations and exceptions agenda. This blog post summarises positions and contentions around: 1) Information Session on impact COVID 2) Creating a binding limitations and exceptions international instrument 3) Work Plan under the L&E agenda 4) Conducting regional consultations as per the report on regional seminars and international conference on limitations and exceptions.
State of Consumer Digital Security in India
This report attempts to identify the existing state of digital safety in India, with a mapping of digital threats, which will aid stakeholders in identifying and addressing digital security problems in the country. This project was funded by the Asia Foundation.
Comments on the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021
In this submission, we examine the constitutionality and legality of the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2021, which was released by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Right to Exclusion, Government Spaces, and Speech
The conclusion of the litigation surrounding Trump blocking its critiques on Twitter brings to forefront two less-discussed aspects of intermediary liability: a) if social media platforms could be compelled to ‘carry’ speech under any established legal principles, thereby limiting their right to exclude users or speech, and b) whether users have a constitutional right to access social media spaces of elected officials. This essay analyzes these issues under the American law, as well as draws parallel for India, in light of the ongoing litigation around the suspension of advocate Sanjay Hegde’s Twitter account.
At the Heart of Crypto Investing, There is Tether. But Will its Promise Pan Out?
The $18.5 million fine levied by the New York attorney general’s office earlier this year to settle a legal dispute, raises more questions than answers.
Submission to the Facebook Oversight Board in Case 2021-008-FB-FBR: Brazil, Health Misinformation and Lockdowns
In this note, we answer questions set out by the Board, pursuant to case 2021-008-FB-FBR, which concerned a post made by a Brazilian sub-national health official, and raised questions on health misinformation and enforcement of Facebook's community standards.
WIPO SCCR 41: Statement by CIS on Limitations and Exceptions Agenda Item
Anubha Sinha delivered a statement on behalf of CIS, on day 2 of the 41st WIPO SCCR session, on the limitations and exceptions agenda item.
