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Millions of Indians Slam Facebook's ‘Free Basics’ App
It has been less than two months since the nationwide launch of the Free Basics app in India. The smart phone application (formerly known as Internet.org) offers free access to Facebook, Facebook-owned products like WhatsApp, and a select suite of other websites for users who do not pay for mobile data plans.
Benefits and Harms of "Big Data"
Today the quantity of data being generated is expanding at an exponential rate. From smartphones and televisions, trains and airplanes, sensor-equipped buildings and even the infrastructures of our cities, data now streams constantly from almost every sector and function of daily life.
The Free Basics debate: Trai has a point in imposing temporary ban on net neutrality
The argument against net neutrality in India is simple. Regulation cannot be based on dogma – evidence of harm must be provided before you can advocate for rules for ISPs and telecom operators.
Facebook Shares 10 Key Facts about Free Basics. Here's What's Wrong with All 10 of Them.
Shweta Sengar of Catch News spoke to Sunil Abraham about the recent advertisement by Facebook titled "What Net Neutrality Activists won't Tell You or, the Top 10 Facts about Free Basics". Sunil argued against the validity of all the 'top 10 facts'.
4th Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest: Statement of Conclusion for the IP and Development track
The 4th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was held from December 15 to 17, 2015 in New Delhi. This post provides a summary of the event.
Ground Zero Summit
The Ground Zero Summit which claims to be the largest collaborative platform in Asia for cyber-security was held in New Delhi from 5th to 8th November. The conference was organised by the Indian Infosec Consortium (IIC), a not for profit organisation backed by the Government of India. Cyber security experts, hackers, senior officials from the government and defence establishments, senior professionals from the industry and policymakers attended the event.
Guidelines for Examination of Computer Related Inventions in abeyance
The CRI Guidelines were heavily criticised for their failure to address the ambiguities created by Section 3(k) and for expanding the scope of software patent eligibile subject-matter, inter alia. Following several representations and submissions by interested stakeholders, the Controller General has moved the Guidelines into abeyance, until discussions with stakeholders are complete and contentious issues are resolved, and is a welcome step.
Smart Cities in India: An Overview
The Government of India is in the process of developing 100 smart cities in India which it sees as the key to the country's economic and social growth. This blog post gives an overview of the Smart Cities project currently underway in India. The smart cities mission in India is at a nascent stage and an evolving area for research. The Centre for Internet and Society will continue work in this area.
GCIP15 Day 2: Fixing the problems in Trade Negotiations
This post documents the interesting discussions that took place in the Trade Negotiations Panel at day 2 of the GCIP 2015.
GCIP Day 1 Session 3: Challenges in Re-Articulating Public Interest
At the third plenary session of GCIP15, the discussion revolved around challenges in re-articulating ‘public interest’ dimension in IP law and policy.
GCIP 15 Day 2: Discussions on Health Technology, Innovation and Access
The Global Congress is a confluence of academics, policy advocates and activists working in the sphere of IP and Public Interest.
GCIP2015: Notes from the Inaugural Session
The 2015 Global Congress on IP and the Public Interest kicked off with its inaugural plenary session, on 14th December, 2015. With over 400 registered participants, ranging from established academics to activists to students gathered in the auditorium in National Law University, Delhi, Phet Sayo, a Senior Fellow at IDRC and a panelist at the session rightly observed that if a bomb were to go off at this venue, "there goes IP activism".
Press Release: Users’ rights and interests should be balanced with those of IP rights-holders: Global Congress
The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and Public Interest is being held at the National Law University, Delhi, on 15-17 December 2015. The global event is jointly organized by CIS, NLU Delhi, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University. Below is the Press Release from Day 2 of the Global Congress.
Press Release: Medicines should not bankrupt patients or public health systems: Access to medicines at the Global Congress
The Global Congress on Intellectual Property and Public Interest is being held at the National Law University, Delhi, on 15-17 December 2015. The global event is jointly organized by CIS, NLU Delhi, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University. Below is the Press Release from Day 1 of the Global Congress.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Jayashree Watal
The fifth discussion in our pre-GCIP discussion series is with Jayashree Watal.
Kannada Wikipedia edit-a-thon in St. Agnes College, Mangaluru to bridge gender gap in Wikipedia
As part of a series of workshops to mark the 13th anniversary, Kannada Wikipedia, a Kannada Wikipedia edit-a-thon was organised during this 10th-12th in St. Agnes College, Mangaluru to address the issue of gender gap in Wikipedia.
Press Release: India to Host 4th Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is happy to announce that 4th edition of the Global Congress will be held at the National Law University, New Delhi (NLU-D) on 15-17 December 2015. The Congress is jointly organised by CIS, NLU-D, Open A.I.R., CREATe, Columbia University and American University.
Living in the Archival Moment
An extended survey of digital initiatives in arts and humanities practices in India was undertaken during the last year. Provocatively called 'mapping digital humanities in India', this enquiry began with the term 'digital humanities' itself, as a 'found' name for which one needs to excavate some meaning, context, and location in India at the present moment. Instead of importing this term to describe practices taking place in this country - especially when the term itself is relatively unstable and undefined even in the Anglo-American context - what I chose to do was to take a few steps back, and outline a few questions/conflicts that the digital practitioners in arts and humanities disciplines are grappling with. The final report of this study will be published serially. This is the fifth among seven sections.
Leading Up To The GCIP: A Chat With Shamnad Basheer
The next discussion in our pre-GCIP discussion series is with Prof. Shamnad Basheer.
IRC16 - Proposed Session - #PoliticsOnSocialMedia
This is a session proposed for the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) 2016 by Dr. Rinku Lamba and Dr. Rajarshi Dasgupta, with Dr. Mohinder Singh, Professor Valerian Rodrigues and Professor Shefali Jha as co-members.
