All Blogs
Mapping the Legal and Regulatory Frameworks of the Ad-Tech Ecosystem in India
The main purpose of regulations in any sector is essentially twofold, one is to ensure that the interests of the general public or consumers are protected, and the other is to ensure that the sector itself flourishes and grows. Too much regulation may possibly stifle the commercial potential of any sector, whereas too little regulation runs the risk of leaving consumers vulnerable to harmful practices.
Emotional Contagion: Theorising the Role of Affect in COVID-19 Information Disorder
In this paper, we investigate the underexplored emotional drivers of information disorder, with a particular focus on how it manifested in COVID-19 misinformation in India. While "fake news" has received considerable attention for its impact on elections, marginalized communities, and public health, mainstream information disorder research does not sufficiently prioritise the underlying psychological factors that influence information trust.
Whose Technology is it Anyway? An exploratory essay on the political economy of India's digital revolution
The story of India's digital journey has become an oft-cited tale of economic success across the globe, inspiring similar experiments in other nations in the Global Majority world - most prominently across sub-Saharan Africa. At home, however, this tale has been used to rapidly normalise the deployment of digital technologies. In this process, these innovations have not just bolstered the state's control over individuals and their actions, but have also enabled the tech elite to extract more value from workers, small businesses, and even consumers.
Emotional Contagion: Theorising the Role of Affect in COVID-19 Information Disorder
In this paper, we investigate the underexplored emotional drivers of information disorder, with a particular focus on how it manifested in COVID-19 misinformation in India. While "fake news" has received considerable attention for its impact on elections, marginalized communities, and public health, mainstream information disorder research does not sufficiently prioritise the underlying psychological factors that influence information trust.
Emotional Contagion: Theorising the Role of Affect in COVID-19 Information Disorder
In this paper, we investigate the underexplored emotional drivers of information disorder, with a particular focus on how it manifested in COVID-19 misinformation in India. While "fake news" has received considerable attention for its impact on elections, marginalized communities, and public health, mainstream information disorder research does not sufficiently prioritise the underlying psychological factors that influence information trust.
Navigating the Digitalisation of Finance: User experiences of risks and harms
Our study unpacks the experiences of marginalised users navigating the digitalisation of finance. Through a survey of 3,784 users, 18 interviews and 7 focus group discussions, our study’s findings highlight user experiences of risks and harms while accessing digital financial services, unpacking experiences specifically of persons with disabilities, transgender persons, gender and sexual minorities, elderly persons, women, regional language-first users, and persons facing digital and economic vulnerabilities.
The Cost of Free Basics in India: Does Facebook's 'walled garden' reduce or reinforce digital inequalities?
In this essay—written in April 2016 soon after India's Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) upheld net neutrality and effectively banned Free Basics in India— the author uses development theories to study the Free Basics programme. The author explored three key paradigms: 1) Construction of knowledge, power structures and virtual colonization in the Free Basics Programme, (2) A sub-internet of the marginalized and (3) the Capabilities Approach and explored how the programme reinforces levels of digital inequalities as opposed to reducing it. This essay was written in 2016 and there have been various shifts in the digital and tech landscape. Further a lot of numbers and statistics are from 2016 and not all ideas held here may be transferable today. This should be read as such. This is being published now, on account of 10 years since the Free Basics project was set to be implemented in India.
State of Openness in India's E-Governance Applications
Open source software (OSS), also commonly known as free and open source software (FOSS) or free libre open source software (FLOSS), is software that is made available with its source code. It is licensed liberally, granting users access to study, use, modify, improve, or redistribute it. This work was sponsored by Mozilla Foundation.
Education, Epistemologies and AI: Understanding the role of Generative AI in Education
As generative AI becomes more deeply embedded in educational contexts, it raises critical questions about trust, epistemic reliability, and the nature of knowledge production. While AI offers significant opportunities for enhancing pedagogical methodologies, facilitating personalised learning, and augmenting research, it also raises concerns regarding cognitive offloading, the erosion of critical thinking skills, and the perpetuation of biases inherent in training data. This essay examines how higher education institutions navigate these complexities, focusing on institutional adaptation, ethical considerations, and policy responses. Central to this inquiry is an analysis of key theoretical frameworks in education and epistemology to understand how these impact the discourse around generative AI in the classroom. This essay looks at existing educational theory to understand the role of AI in the classroom. Furthermore, the study assesses existing institutional and national AI policies, evaluating their efficacy in addressing governance challenges, and offers future-looking questions and recommendations to guide the responsible integration of generative AI in education.
The Centre for Internet and Society’s comments and feedback to the: Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025
The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) submitted its comments and feedback to the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025 initiated by the Indian government.
The Centre for Internet and Society’s comments and recommendations to the: Report on AI Governance Guidelines Development
The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) submitted its comments and recommendations on the Report on AI Governance Guidelines Development.
She Leads Bootcamp 2025
CIS-A2K is committed to bridging the gender gap within Indian Wikimedia communities, and to further this goal, last year we launched the impactful She Leads program. This initiative is designed to empower female Wikimedians to take on leadership roles within their language communities, promoting diversity and inclusivity.
Submission to IGF 2025 Call for Thematic Inputs
Below are CIS's inputs submitted in response to the IGF 2025 Call for Thematic Inputs. They will inform the MAG’s discussions and assist them in determining the thematic priorities of the IGF 2025 programme.
Do We Need a Separate Health Data Law in India?
This report discusses the current definitions of health data including international efforts, the report then proceeds to share some key themes that were discussed at three roundtables we conducted in May, August, and October 2024. Participants included experts from diverse stakeholder groups, including civil society organisations, lawyers, medical professionals, and academicians. In this report, we collate the various responses to two main aspects, which were the focus of the roundtables:
Bahujan Digital Publishing Infrastructures
In this study, we look at alternative Bahujan digital publishing as sites where Bahujans can claim media representation and how a vision of an anti-caste internet is emerging through these publishing practices.
Privacy Policy Framework for Indian Mental Health Apps
This report analyses the privacy policies of mental health apps in India and provides recommendations for making the policies not only legally compliant but also user-centric
CIS Research Digest - 2024
Read ahead for a summary of the in-depth research and analysis published by CIS in 2024.
Explainer | Predatory Pricing
Who doesn't love discounts? After all, that is what got so many of us on the internet for the first time. And yet, earlier this year, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, in its draft Digital Competition Bill, mentioned 'Pricing/Deep Discounting' as one of the Anti-Competitive Practices, or ACPs, that the draft Bill relies on. Does this mean that discounting or pricing can be anti-competitive? If so, how do we identify this form of predatory pricing?
Technology-facilitated Gender-based Violence and Women’s Political Participation in India: A Position Paper
Read the full paper here.
Political participation of women is fundamental to democratic processes and promotes building of more equitable and just futures. Rapid adoption of technology has created avenues for women to access the virtual public sphere, where they may have traditionally struggled to access the physical public spaces, due to patriarchal norms and violence in the physical sphere. While technology has provided tools for political participation, information seeking, and mobilization, it has also created unsafe online spaces for women, thus often limiting their ability to actively engage online.
This essay examines the emotional and technological underpinnings of gender-based violence faced by women in politics. It further explores how gender-based violence is weaponised to diminish the political participation and influence of women in the public eye. Through real-life examples of gendered disinformation and sexist hate speech targeting women in politics in India, we identify affective patterns in the strategies deployed to adversely impact public opinion and democratic processes. We highlight the emotional triggers that play a role in exacerbating online gendered harms, particularly for women in public life. We also examine the critical role of technology and online platforms in this ecosystem – both in perpetuating and amplifying this violence as well as attempting to combat it.
We argue that it is critical to investigate and understand the affective structures in place, and the operation of patriarchal hegemony that continues to create unsafe access to public spheres, both online and offline, for women. We also advocate for understanding technology design and identifying tools that can actually aid in combating TFGBV. Further, we point to the continued need for greater accountability from platforms, to mainstream gender related harms and combat it through diversified approaches.
AI for Healthcare: Understanding Data Supply Chain and Auditability in India
This report aims to understand the prevalence and use of AI auditing practices in the healthcare sector. By mapping the data supply chain underlying AI technologies, the study aims to unpack i) how AI systems are developed and deployed to achieve healthcare outcomes and, ii) how AI audits are perceived and implemented by key stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem.
