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Ethics and Human Rights Guidelines for Big Data for Development Research
This is a four-part review of guideline documents for ethics and human rights in big data for development research. This research was produced as part of the Big Data for Development network supported by International Development Research Centre, Canada
A Compilation of Research on the Gig Economy
Over the past year, researchers at CIS have been studying gig economies and gig workers in India. Their work has involved consultative discussions with domestic workers, food delivery workers, taxi drivers, trade union leaders, and government representatives to document the state of gig work in India, and highlight the concerns of gig workers. The imposition of a severe lockdown in India in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 has left gig workers in precarious positions. Without the privilege of social distancing, these workers are having to contend with a drastic reduction in income, while also placing themselves at heightened health risks.
From Health and Harassment to Income Security and Loans, India's Gig Workers Need Support
Deemed an 'essential service' by most state governments, and thereby exempt from temporary suspension during the COVID-19 lockdown, food, groceries and other essential commodities have continued to be delivered by e-commerce companies and on-demand services. Actions to protect workers, who are taking on significant risks, have been far less forthcoming than those for customers. Zothan Mawii (Tandem Research), Aayush Rathi (CIS) and Ambika Tandon (CIS) spoke with the leaders of four workers' unions and labour researchers to identify recommended actions that public agencies and private companies may undertake to better support the urgent needs of gig workers in India.
COVID-19 Charter Of Recommendations on Gig Work
Tandem Research and the Centre for Internet and Society organised a webinar on 9 April 2020, with unions representing gig workers and researchers studying labour rights and gig work, to uncover the experiences of gig workers during the lockdown. Based on the discussion, the participants of the webinar have drafted a set of recommendations for government agencies and platform companies to safeguard workers’ well being. Here are excerpts from this charter of recommendation shared with multiple central and state government agencies and platforms companies.
Rumours, Misinformation and Self-Verification of Facts in the Age of COVID-19
Efforts taken by the government or social media platforms can only be realised if an individual asks herself -- 'what can I do to verify this piece of information'?
Zothan Mawii - COVID-19 and Relief Measures for Gig Workers in India
CIS is cohosted a webinar with Tandem Research on the impact of the COVID-19 response on the gig economy on 9 April 2020. It was a closed door discussion between representatives of workers' unions, labour activists, and researchers working on gig economy and workers' rights to highlight the demands of workers' groups in the transport, food delivery and care work sectors. We saw this as an urgent intervention in light of the disruption to the gig economy caused by the nationwide lockdown to limit proliferation of COVID-19. This is a summary of the discussions that took place in the webinar authored by Zothan Mawii, a Research Fellow at Tandem Research.
Why should we care about takedown timeframes?
The issue of content takedown timeframe - the time period an intermediary is allotted to respond to a legal takedown order - has received considerably less attention in conversations about intermediary liability. This article examines the importance of framing an appropriate timeframe towards ensuring that speech online is not over-censored, and frames recommendations towards the same.
CIS Comments on 'Pre Draft' of the Report of the UN Open Ended Working Group
CIS submitted comments on the 'pre draft' report of the United Nations Open Ended Working Group on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security.
CIS Comments on NODE Consultation Paper
CIS submitted comments in response to MEITY's Consultation Paper on National Open Digital Ecosystems (NODEs) The comments were authored by Aman Nair, Elonnai Hickok and Arindrajit Basu with inputs from Gurshabad Grover.
Announcing In Flux, the CIS Podcast
In Flux is a podcast on technology, law, policy, politics and more brought to you by the Centre for Internet and Society, India. Our episodes will explore questions around contemporary issues, and provide multidisciplinary perspectives, centred around research done by CIS. True to its name, In Flux will engage with the quickly changing and dynamic space at the intersection of technology and law. This podcast is one of our many steps to make our research more accessible to both academic and non-academic audiences.
Indian Wikimedian Communities and the Gender Gap - A Space of Change, Negotiation, and Growth
This blog post covers key findings of the Wikipedia Gender Gap research completed by Ting-Yi Chang in April 2018. The paper was titled “Examining Female Editors’ Identity and Agency Negotiation Process within Indian Wikimedia Projects and Communities”. Here Ting-Yi brings us several observations on how the contributions by women editors' impacts Indian Wikimedia. This research focuses on participation of the women in Wikimedia activities with an emphasis on creating safe spaces and encouraging skill development.
‘Future of Work’ in India’s IT/IT-es Sector
The Centre for Internet and Society has recently undertaken research into the impact of Industry 4.0 on work in India. Industry 4.0, for the purposes of the research, is conceptualised as the technical integration of cyber physical systems (CPS) into production and logistics and the use of the ‘internet of things’ (connection between everyday objects) and services in (industrial) processes. By undertaking this research, CIS seeks to complement and contribute to the discourse and debates in India around the impact of Industry 4.0. In furtherance of the same, this report seeks to explore several key themes underpinning the impact of Industry 4.0 specifically in the IT/IT-es sector and broadly on the nature of work itself.
RBI Ban on Cryptocurrencies not backed by any data or statistics
In March 2020, the Supreme Court of India quashed the RBI order passed in 2018 that banned financial services firms from trading in virtual currency or cryptocurrency. Keeping this policy window in mind, the Centre for Internet & Society will be releasing a series of blog posts and policy briefs on cryptocurrency regulation in India
Cryptocurrency Regulation in India – A brief history
In March 2020, the Supreme Court of India quashed the RBI order passed in 2018 that banned financial services firms from trading in virtual currency or cryptocurrency. Keeping this policy window in mind, the Centre for Internet & Society will be releasing a series of blog posts and policy briefs on cryptocurrency regulation in India
A Compilation of Research on the PDP Bill
The most recent step in India’s initiative to create an effective and comprehensive Data Protection regime was the call for comments to the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, which closed last month. Leading up to the comments, CIS has published numerous research pieces with the goal of providing a comprehensive overview of how this legislation would place India within the global scheme, and how the local situation has developed, as well as analysing its impacts on citizens’ rights.
