All Blogs
A Review of the Functioning of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal and Adjudicatory Officers under the IT Act
Tribunals and quasi-judicial bodies are a regular feature of the Indian judicial system, as they provide for easier and less onerous methods for dispute resolution, especially disputes which relate to technical areas and often require technical knowledge and familiarity with specialised factual scenarios.
Content Removal on Facebook — A Case of Privatised Censorship?
Any activity on Facebook, be it creating an account, posting a picture or status update or creating a group or page, is bound by Facebook’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. These contain a list of content that is prohibited from being published on Facebook which ranges from hate speech to pornography to violation of privacy.
Twitter weekly Curation WeAreWikipedia brings one Wikipedian Every Week
WeAreWikipedia is an initiative to bring in voices of Wikipedia contributors (known as Wikipedians). One Wikipedian curates the Twitter based handle for a week and tells interesting stories from his/her communities that are unheard to the rest of the globe. Started as a personal project by our program officer Subhashish Panigrahi it has brought 18 Wikipedians across the globe including 6 Indic language communities.
Not a Goodbye; More a ‘Come Again’: Thoughts on being Research Director at a moment of transition
As I slowly make the news of my transition from being the Research Director at the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, to taking up a professorship at the Leuphana University, Lueneburg, Germany, there is a question that I am often asked: “Are you going to start a new research centre?” And the answer, for the most part, is “No.”
Free Speech and Contempt of Courts – II: Article 19(1)(a) and Indian Law
Gautam Bhatia continues his examination of free speech implications of the law of contempt: the power that equips courts to "protect the dignity of the Bench".
Comments to ICANN Supporting the DNS Industry in Underserved Regions
Towards exploring ideas and strategies to help promote the domain name industry in regions that have typically been underserved, ICANN published a call for public comments on May 14, 2014. In particular, ICANN sought comments related to existing barriers to Registrar Accreditation and operation and suggestions on how these challenges might be mitigated. CIS contributed to the comments on this report, which will be used to determine next steps to support the domain name industry in underserved regions.
CIS Comments: Enhancing ICANN Accountability
On May 6, 2014, ICANN published a call for public comments on "Enhancing ICANN Accountability". This comes in the wake of the IANA stewardship transition spearheaded by ICANN and related concerns of ICANN's external and internal accountability mechanisms. Centre for Internet and Society contributed to the call for comments.
Mapping Institutions of Intellectual Property (Part A): India's National Programme on Intellectual Property Management
This blog post discusses India’s National Program on Intellectual Property Management, including the establishment of a National Institute of Intellectual Property Rights.
Free Speech and Contempt of Court – I: Overview
Gautam Bhatia explores an under-theorised aspect of India's free speech jurisprudence: the contempt power that equips courts to "protect the dignity of the Bench". In this introductory post, he examines jurisprudence from the US and England to inform our analysis of Indian law.
FOEX Live: June 1-7, 2014
A weekly selection of news on online freedom of expression and digital technology from across India (and some parts of the world).
A Great Start (for the Modi government)
The National Democratic Alliance government has made a terrific start. Time will tell how this plays out, but it has begun decisively and set a sure tone.
CIS Cybersecurity Series (Part 14) – Menaka Guruswamy
CIS interviews Menaka Guruswamy, lawyer at the Supreme Court of India, as part of the Cybersecurity Series.
WSIS +10 High Level Event: Open Consultation Process Multistakeholder Preparatory Platform: Phase Six: Fifth Physical Meeting
The fifth physical meeting of the Multistakeholder Preparatory Platform (MPP-WSIS+10), was held from 28-31 May 2014 in Geneva as part as part of the sixth phase of the WSIS +10 High Level Event Open Consultation process. The meeting was aimed at developing draft agreed texts for the WSIS+10 Statement on Implementation on WSIS Outcomes and the Vision Beyond 2015.
Search and Seizure and the Right to Privacy in the Digital Age: A Comparison of US and India
The development of information technology has transformed the way in which individuals make everyday transactions and communicate with the world around us. These interactions and transactions are recorded and stored – constantly available for access by the individual and the company through which the service was used.
Two Arguments Against the Constitutionality of Section 66A
Gautam Bhatia explores the constitutionality of Section 66A in light of recent events.
Comments on the Open Licensing Policy Guidelines of the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology
The Centre for Internet and Society submitted its comments on the Open Licensing Policy Guidelines to the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology (NMEICT), Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, on May 28, 2014. The comments were prepared by Sunil Abraham and Nehaa Chaudhari.
FOEX Live: May 28-29, 2014
A selection of news from across India with a bearing on online freedom of expression and use of digital technology
Indic Language Wikipedias as Open Educational Resources
The Open Education Working Group sees supporting multilingual activities such as translation to and from languages which are not often used as one of its key future roles. Subhashish Panigrahi’s post while dwelling upon the growth of Indic Wikimedia communities critically examines Wikipedia as an educational resource.
FOEX Live: May 26-27, 2014
A selection of news from across India implicating online freedom of expression and use of digital technology
CIS Signs MoU with Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College
The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara (SDM) College on April 21, 2014. On behalf of CIS, Dr. U.B.Pavanaja signed the MoU.
