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Steps towards Integrated Open Water Data
Multiplicity of data collection agencies, formats, and disclosure practices and conditionalities make it very difficult to access interoperable and open data about water resources and systems in India. Barriers to accessing water data impede not only academic and applied research on related topics but also public consumption of information and critical decision making. DataMeet and CIS are proud to collaborate on identifying and addressing the challenges to open up and integrate data and information in the water sector. Supported by a generous grant from Arghyam, we are undertaking an initial study of open water data resources in India and taking first steps towards developing a Free and Open Source data portal for water resources information in India. Here is an initial note about the project. The key leaders and contributors of this project are Craig Dsouza, Namita Bhatawdekar, Riddhi Munde, and Jinda Sandbhor, all of whom are members of the Pune Chapter of DataMeet.
Why Presumption of Renewal is Unsuitable for the Current Registry Market Structure
With the recent and much protested renewal of the .net legacy Top-Level-Domain (TLD), the question of the appropriate method of renewal has again come to the forefront. While this seems relatively uncontroversial to most, Padma Venkataraman, a law student and intern at CIS looks at presumptive renewal through a critical lens.
CIS’ Efforts Towards Greater Financial Disclosure by ICANN
CIS has been working towards enhancing transparency and accountability at ICANN since 2014. While initial efforts have resulted in ICANN revealing its sources of income in a granular fashion in 2015, we are yet to see this level of transparency become a default approach within ICANN. Here, Padma Venkataraman chronologically maps CIS’ efforts at enhancing financial transparency and accountability at ICANN, while providing an outline of what remains to be done.
Discussion on Creation of Social Media Guidelines & Strategy for Telugu Wikimedia
Between 1 to 16 September, an online discussion took place on the creation of social media guidelines and strategy for Telugu Wikimedia handles online.
Orientation Program at Kannada University, Hampi
A Kannada Wikipedia Orientation Program was conducted at Kannada University Hampi on 31 August and 1 September 2017.
Marathi Wikipedia Workshop at MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Aurangabad
A Marathi Wikipedia Workshop was recently held at the MGM Trust's College of Journalism and Mass Communication on 11 August 2017.
Wikimedia Workshop at Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College, Satara
A Wikimedia Workshop was on 4 August 2017 at the Ismailsaheb Mulla Law College in Satara to introduce the Wikipedia and its sister projects to the students.
ICANN’s Problems with Accountability and the .WEB Controversy
The Post-Transition IANA promised enhanced transparency and accountability to the global multistakeholder community. The series of events surrounding the .WEB auction earlier this year has stirred up issues relating to the lack of transparency and accountability of ICANN. This post examines the .WEB auction as a case study to better understand exact gaps in accountability.
Digital Native: Finger on the buzzer
Which Hogwarts House are you? No, you don’t really want to know.
GDPR and India: A Comparative Analysis
At present, companies world over are in the process of assessing the impact that EU General Data Protection Regulations (“GDPR”) will have on their businesses.
Digital Native: There is no spoon, There is no privacy
It should be common knowledge by now, in our lived experiences of big data, that digital privacy is a battle ground.
Revisiting Per Se vs Rule of Reason in Light of the Intel Conditional Rebate Case
Recent developments in the European Union (EU) regarding the antitrust case against Intel have brought back into focus two rules of competition law analysis- the per se rule and the rule of reason. In light of the decision by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the matter, this Note examines the application of the two rules to the case in detail. Additionally, it analyzes the statutory and judicial basis for the rules in the context of the EU and Indian competition law regimes, and concludes by identifying some areas in which these concepts would be relevant.
Comments on Mobile Accessibility Guidelines
The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) submitted its comments on mobile accessibility guidelines to the Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt. of India.
The Fundamental Right to Privacy: An Analysis
Last month’s judgment by the nine judge referral bench was an emphatic endorsement of the the constitutional right to privacy. In the course of a 547 page judgment, the bench affirmed the fundamental nature of the right to privacy reading it into the values of dignity and liberty. In the course of a few short papers, we will dissect the various aspects of the right to privacy as put forth by the nine judge constitutional bench in the Puttaswamy matter. The papers will focus on the sources, structure, scope, breadth, and future of privacy. Here are the first three papers, authored by Amber Sinha and edited by Elonnai Hickok.
Internet Researchers' Conference 2018 (IRC18): Offline - Call for Sessions
Does being offline necessarily mean being disconnected? Beyond anxieties such as FOMO, being offline is also seen as disengagement from a certain milieu of the digital (read: capital), an impediment to the way life is organised by and around technologies in general. However, being offline is not the exception, as examples of internet shutdown and acts on online censorship illustrate the persistence and often alarming regularity of the offline even for the ‘connected’ sections of the population. The *offline* is the theme of the third Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC18). We invite teams of two or more members to submit sessions proposals by Sunday, November 19 (final deadline). The session selection process is described below. The Conference will be hosted by the Sambhaavnaa Institute of Public Policy and Politics (Kandbari, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh) on February 22-24, 2018.
