All Blogs
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.
Digitisation, Wikimedia Commons and Wikisource Orientation Workshop at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, Pune District
A digitization workshop was held at Vigyan Ashram, following the success of the introductory workshop in February.
Digital native: You can check out, you can never leave
Aadhaar is not something you define and opt into, it is something that defines you.
Analysis of Key Provisions of the Aadhaar Act Regulations
In exercise of their powers under of the powers conferred by Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, (Aadhaar Act) the UIDAI has come out with a set of five regulations in late 2016 last year. In this policy brief, we look at the five regulations, their key provisions and highlight point out the unresolved, issues, unaddressed, and created issues as result of these regulations.
How Aadhaar compromises privacy? And how to fix it?
Aadhaar is mass surveillance technology. Unlike targeted surveillance which is a good thing, and essential for national security and public order – mass surveillance undermines security. And while biometrics is appropriate for targeted surveillance by the state – it is wholly inappropriate for everyday transactions between the state and law abiding citizens.
Exploring Big Data for Development: An Electricity Sector Case Study from India
This working paper by Ritam Sengupta, Dr. Richard Heeks, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, and Dr. Christopher Foster draws from the field study undertaken by Ritam Sengupta, and is published by the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. The field study was commissioned by the CIS, with support from the University of Manchester and the University of Sheffield.
Comments on the draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules
The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) submitted comments on the draft Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules for the consideration of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Government of India.
Wikisource:Internship Project at New Law College, Pune
This Wiki - internship project is being conducted for New Law College (Pune),under the guidance of Prof.Dr.Mukund Sarda, Dean and Principal of NLC by CIS A2K as part of this project at en wikisource; teams of students will acomplish proof reading, validation, compilation annotation etc. of Indian Laws and to begin with Copyright laws and Intellectual property laws at Portal:Copyright law/Copyright law of India.
Evaluating Safety Buttons on Mobile Devices: Preview
Much technological innovation for women is aimed at addressing violence against women. One such ubiquitous intervention is mobile device-based safety applications, also known as emergency applications. Several police departments in India, public transport services, and commercial services such as taxi-hailing apps deploy a mobile device-based “panic button” for the safety of citizens or customers, especially women. However, the proliferation of safety apps through both public and private players raises several concerns, which will be studied through this study by Rohini Lakshané of the CIS and Chinmayi S.K. of The Bachchao Project. Research assistance for this report was provided by CIS intern Harish R.S.K. Visualisations by Saumyaa Naidu.
State of Digital Rights in India (Delhi, March 24)
The Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi and the Internet Freedom Foundation, in association with Access Now, are hosting a discussion on The State of Digital Rights in India on March 24, 2017 (Friday) from 6.00 pm onwards at Lecture Room-I, India International Centre- Annexe, New Delhi. Japreet Grewal and Sumandro Chattapadhyay will participate in the panel discussions.
Benefits, Harms, Rights and Regulation: A Survey of Literature on Big Data
This survey draws upon a range of literature including news articles, academic articles, and presentations and seeks to disaggregate the potential benefits and harms of big data, organising them into several broad categories that reflect the existing scholarly literature. The survey also recognises the non-technical big data regulatory options which are in place as well as those which have been proposed by various governments, civil society groups and academics.
Comments on Information Technology (Security of Prepaid Payment Instruments) Rules, 2017
The Centre for Internet and Society submitted comments on the Information Technology (Security of Prepaid Payment Instruments) Rules, 2017. The comments were prepared by Udbhav Tiwari, Pranesh Prakash, Abhay Rana, Amber Sinha and Sunil Abraham.
Sambad 100 Women Edit-a-thon
A two-day 100 Women Edit-a-thon was held on March 18 and 19, 2017 in collaboration with Odisha’s biggest newspaper publisher Sambad. The event was inspired by BBC’s 100 Women series and edit-a-thons with the same name in December 2016. More than 20 female journalists participated and registered as new Odia Wikipedians. The event served as a highlight of the Women’s History Month in Indian language Wikipedias as well as in the global movement.
Digital native: Lie Me a River
The sea of social media around us often drowns the truth, exchanging misinformation for facts.
Women’s History Month: Sambad collaborates with Odia Wikipedia for a Two Day Edit-a-thon
Sambad's 100 Women Edit-a-thon: Two day edit-a-thon to increase quantity and quality of women-related articles on Odia Wikipedia
