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SoI’s Open Series Maps Fails to Implement Public Sharing of Govt Data
Although it has made the topographic maps or the Open Series Maps available to general public, Survey of India’s (SoI) Nakshe portal will have to go through a variety of litmus test, as the initiative fails to implement the mandates of public sharing of government data using open standards and open license as put forward by the NMP 2005 and NDSAP 2012, says Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Research Director, The Centre for Internet and Society. This interview was published by Geospatial World on May 02, 2017.
Aadhaar Case: Beyond Privacy, An Issue of Bodily Integrity
The insertion of Section 139AA in the Income Tax Act has been challenged and is being heard by a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court.
Comments on the Statistical Disclosure Control Report
This submission presents comments by the Centre for Internet and Society, India (“CIS”) on the Statistical Disclosure Control Report published on March 30th by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
(Updated) Information Security Practices of Aadhaar (or lack thereof): A documentation of public availability of Aadhaar Numbers with sensitive personal financial information
Since its inception in 2009, the Aadhaar project has been shrouded in controversy due to various questions raised about privacy, technological issues, welfare exclusion, and security concerns. In this study, we document numerous instances of publicly available Aadhaar Numbers along with other personally identifiable information (PII) of individuals on government websites. This report highlights four government projects run by various government departments that have made sensitive personal financial information and Aadhaar numbers public on the project websites.
Marathi Wikipedia Symposium at Gokhale Institute Of Politics & Economics
A strategic symposium on Marathi Wikipedia and its sister projects was conducted on 29 April, 2017
Internet Shutdowns in 2016
An internet shutdown is an intentional disruption of internet or electronic communications, rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable, for a specific population or within a location, often to exert control over the flow of information.
Comments on the Right to Information Rules, 2017
On March 31st, 2017, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training released a Circular framing rules under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (“RTI Rules”). The Ministry invited comments on on the RTI Rules. CIS submitted its comments on April 25, 2017.
Killing of Yameen Rasheed Reveals Worsening Human Rights Situation in the Maldives
A courageous liberal blogger in the Maldives was murdered for his words. The international community needs to act.
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in India: Opportunities for Advocacy in Intellectual Property
Centre for Internet & Society worked on a three part case study. The first case study on digital protection of traditional knowledge was published by GIS Watch in December 2016. The other two case studies along with the synthesis overview has also been published.
Regulating Bitcoin in India
The article discusses the possible contours of future bitcoin regulation in India. Bitcoin, often considered a ‘notorious’ virtual currency limited only to techies or speculators, is currently fighting a battle to become a bona fide mainstream means of exchange.
Continuing community engagement: Communities of interest and Quarrying
In telling the stories of Indian Wikipedians, we bring to you the story of Dr. Diptanshu Das, a doctor and avid Wikipedian, working with WikiProject Medicine who recently approached CIS-A2K with a technical request.
Digital native: Are You Still Having Fun?
Before you accept a fun app into your digital ecosystem, prepare yourself for the data you will be giving away.
Brainstorming Session on the Global Conference on Cyberspace (GCCS 2017)
I attended a brainstorming session on the Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017 on April 12, 2017 at Electronics Niketan that was organised by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. The Global Conference on Cyber Space was first held in London in 2011. Thereafter, it was held in Budapest (2012), Seoul (2013) and the Hague (2015).
Marathi Wikipedia Edit-a-thon at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal, Aurangabad
A Marathi Wikipedia edit-a-thon was conducted at Savitribai Phule Mahila Ekatma Samaj Mandal in Aurangabad
Mobile Accessibility Practices
Over the past few months the Centre for Internet & Society along with some like minded organizations had been working on framing a feasible accessibility guidelines for mobile apps which they could recommend to the Government of India, since there is no single standard in existence at the moment.
Privacy in the Age of Big Data
Personal data is freely accessible, shared and even sold, and those to whom this information belongs have little control over its flow.
Right to be Forgotten: A Tale of Two Judgements
In the last few months, there have been contrasting judgments from two Indian high courts, Karnataka and Gujarat, on matters relating to the right to be forgotten. The two high courts heard pleas on issues to do the right of individuals to have either personal information redacted from the text of judgments available online or removal of such judgment from publically available sources.
Aadhaar marks a fundamental shift in citizen-state relations: From ‘We the People’ to ‘We the Government’
Your fingerprints, iris scans, details of where you shop. Compulsory Aadhaar means all this data is out there. And it’s still not clear who can view or use it.
Organisational Hurdles in Telecom
The mobile telephony sector has not just plateaued but begun a downward spiral, with revenues dropping for the first time in a decade after Reliance Jio’s entry, by about 20 per cent. Considering the staggering government collections of around Rs 3,00,000 crore by way of charges and taxes over the past decade from investments of about Rs 2,00,000 crore, it would appear that the sector has paid too dearly.
