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Recommendations for EU cyber diplomacy
Written statement by Arindrajit Basu delivered at the EU Cyber Direct Civil Society Forum 2020
IFAT and ITF - Locking Down the Impact of Covid-19
This report, by Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) and International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), New Delhi office, explores the responses to the outbreak of Covid-19 by digital platform based companies, trade unions, and governments to help out workers for digital platform based companies hereafter app based workers during the lockdown. The research work in this article is a characterization of the struggles of app based workers during the global pandemic and how it has affected and changed the world of work for them. The surveys were conducted amongst the workforce working for app based companies like Ola, Uber, Swiggy, Zomato etc. This study is partially supported by CIS as part of the Feminist Internet Research Network led by the Association for Progressive Communications.
CIS Internship Programme (October 2020)
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) provides opportunities for students and professionals to undertake remote internships. Please continue to read through for more information about the process.
Regulatory Road for Cryptocurrencies: Comments on the Report of the Inter-ministerial Committee on Virtual Currencies
On 22nd July 2019, the Inter ministerial committee that was constituted to study the issues related to virtual currencies submitted its report. It is important to analyze the various aspects of cryptocurrencies that have been considered to evaluate the Committee’s proposed next steps.
Comments on NITI AAYOG Working Document: Towards Responsible #AIforAll
The NITI Aayog Working Document on Responsible AI for All released on 21st July 2020 serves as a significant statement of intent from NITI Aayog, acknowledging the need to ensure that any conception of “Responsible AI” must fulfill constitutional responsibilities, incorporated through workable principles. However, as it is a draft document for discussion, it is important to highlight next steps for research and policy levers to build upon this report.
Raina Roy and Abhiraj Bag - Kolkata’s trans community has been locked out of healthcare and livelihood
Over six months into the outbreak of Covid-19 in India, it has become clear that the pandemic does not affect everybody equally. It has amplified the sufferings of the already-marginalised trans community. Raina Roy spoke to 10 trans persons and trans rights activists in Kolkata over the course of the past few months to better understand the situation. The piece was transcribed by Abhiraj Bag and edited by Kaarika Das and Srravya C, researchers at the Centre for Internet and Society, India. This work is part of a project at CIS on gender, welfare and surveillance, supported by Privacy International, United Kingdom.
The 5G Factor:A Primer
Despite the seemingly unending challenges, the task of acting against Huawei and China presents even more complex problems, and it seems writing off Huawei from the future of 5G, may be a premature call.
The State of Secure Messaging
A look at the protections provided by and threats posed to secure communication online.
Engaging with the Covid-19 Crisis
In the last six months, COVID-19 has had a far-reaching impact on the world, including on the digital sphere, how people interact with it, and its mediation of social and economic exchanges. Researchers and practitioners at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) have responded to this dynamic landscape from different lenses.
Use of mobile phones by vulnerable communities: A survey of sex workers and gay men in Karnataka
This report has been authored by Megha Malnad, Parimala, Nagina, and Tasneem Mewa, and edited by Ambika Tandon, Gurshabad Grover and Rajesh Srinivas.
Social Entitlements for the Transgender Community
This report has been authored by Deepa Krishnappa and Tasneem Mewa, and edited by Ambika Tandon, Gurshabad Grover and Rajesh Srinivas.
Event Report: How Safe is Your Harbour? Discussions on Intermediary Liability and User Rights
This report provides an overview of the proceedings and outcomes of the panel discussions on intermediary liability, organised at The Energy Research Institute’s (TERI) in Bangalore, on 20 January 2020.
Investigating TLS blocking in India
A study into Transport Layer Security (TLS)-based blocking by three popular Indian ISPs: ACT Fibernet, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.
Towards Algorithmic Transparency
This policy brief examines the issue of transparency as a key ethical component in the development, deployment, and use of Artificial Intelligence.
Response to the ‘Call for Comments’ on The Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability
The Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability, proposed in 2018, provided a robust framework of transparency reporting for online companies dealing with user-generated content. In 2020, the framework underwent a period of consultation "to determine whether the Santa Clara Principles should be updated for the ever-changing content moderation landscape." In lieu of this, we presented our responses, which are in-line with our previous research and findings on transparency reporting of online companies, especially in context of the Indian digital space.
Brindaalakshmi.K - Gendering of Development Data in India: Beyond the Binary
This report by Brindaalakshmi.K seeks to understand the gendering of development data in India: collection of data and issuance of government (foundational and functional) identity documents to persons identifying outside the cis/binary genders of female and male, and the data misrepresentations, barriers to accessing public and private services, and informational exclusions that still remain. Sumandro Chattapadhyay edited the report and Puthiya Purayil Sneha offered additional editorial support. This work was undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development network supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
Remove misinformation, but be transparent please!
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen an extensive proliferation of misinformation and misleading information on the internet - which in turn has highlighted a heightened need for online intermediaries to promptly and effectively deploy its content removal mechanisms. This blogpost examines how this necessity may affect the best practices of transparency reporting and obligations of accountability that these online intermediaries owe to their users, and formulates recommendations to allow preservation of information regarding Covid-19 related content removal, for future research.
