All Blogs
Copyright Madness
Prompted by courts and piracy-fearing businesses, Indian ISPs have taken down popular, legitimate websites. This Op-ed by Lawrence Liang and Achal Prabhala was published in the Indian Express on May 22, 2012.
Open letter to Kolaveri Di makers: How Dare You!
When it comes to piracy, you are sure to have an opinion. You might either make a virtue out of it, talking about cultural commons and collaborative conditions of production. Or you might vilify it as the social fault-line that is destroying the very pillars of commerce and cultural negotiations.
Analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012
There are some welcome provisions in the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012, and some worrisome provisions. Pranesh Prakash examines five positive changes, four negative ones, and notes the several missed opportunities. The larger concern, though, is that many important issues have not been addressed by these amendments, and how copyright policy is made without evidence and often out of touch with contemporary realities of the digital era.
Cancel the Subscription
It has been a slow but steady move to make scholarship freely available, writes Prof. Arunachalam in an article published by the Indian Express on May 8, 2012.
2012 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest: Call for Participation and Save the Date
The Second Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest will take place in FGV Law School, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil from December 15 to 17, 2012. The theme for this year’s Congress will be “Setting the positive agenda in motion.” We invite applications to attend the Congress, including proposals to chair workshops or deliver a paper or presentation related to the Congress’s theme.
China 3: Build Comprehensive Ecosystems
Failures in electricity, transport and broadband have common strands. China's approach offers a possible alternative. Shyam Ponappa's column was published in the Business Standard on April 5, 2012.
Arduino Introductory Workshop at CIS
The Centre for Internet & Society organised a hands-on-free Arduino workshop in its office on March 3, 2012. Video is now online!
ITU Tutorial on Audiovisual Media Accessibility
The fourth meeting of the ITU-T Focus Group on Audio Visual Media Accessibility (FG AVA) took place at the India International Centre, New Delhi on March 13, 2012. The meeting was held in furtherance to an invitation of the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS), in cooperation with the ITU-APT Foundation of India. A two-day tutorial on Audio-Visual Media Accessibility followed the meeting on March 14 and 15, 2012 at the same venue. A total of 20 people participated in this event.
Chilling Effects and Frozen Words
What if the real danger is not that we lose our freedom of speech and expression but our sense of humour as a nation? Lawrence Liang's op-ed was published in the Hindu on April 30, 2012.
Intermediary Liability in India: Chilling Effects on Free Expression on the Internet
The Centre for Internet & Society in partnership with Google India conducted the Google Policy Fellowship 2011. This was offered for the first time in Asia Pacific as well as in India. Rishabh Dara was selected as a Fellow and researched upon issues relating to freedom of expression. The results of the paper demonstrate that the ‘Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011’ notified by the Government of India on April 11, 2011 have a chilling effect on free expression.
India's Broken Internet Laws Need a Shot of Multi-stakeholderism
Cyber-laws in India are severely flawed, with neither lawyers nor technologists being able to understand them, and the Cyber-Law Group in DEIT being incapable of framing fair, just, and informed laws and policies. Pranesh Prakash suggests they learn from the DEIT's Internet Governance Division, and Brazil, and adopt multi-stakeholderism as a core principle of Internet policy-making.
Non human intelligence is closer than you think!
In one of the research projects that I have been involved in, I was recently a part of a jury, for a contest which required on-line voting. It sounded like a fun thing, giving the participants a chance to bring in their inherited networks and also expanding the reach of the contest entries.
The Centre for Internet & Society Joins the Global Network Initiative
The Global Network Initiative (GNI) is pleased to announce its newest member, the Centre for Internet & Society based in Bangalore, India. A technology policy research institute, CIS brings to GNI in-depth expertise on global Internet governance as well as online freedom of expression and privacy in India.
The All India Privacy Symposium: Conference Report
Privacy India, the Centre for Internet and Society and Society in Action Group, with support from the International Development Research Centre, Privacy International and Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative had organised the All India Privacy Symposium at the India International Centre in New Delhi, on February 4, 2012. Natasha Vaz reports about the event.
The High Level Privacy Conclave — Conference Report
Privacy India, the Centre for Internet and Society and the Society in Action Group, with support from IDRC and Privacy International, have spent 18 months studying the state of privacy in India, and conducting consultations across India in Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Chennai, and Mumbai. On February 3, 2012, a high-level conclave was held in New Delhi with representatives from government, industry, media, and civil society participating in the event. At the conclave the discussions were focused on Internet Privacy, National Security & Privacy, and the future of Privacy in India.
Two Tales of Transparency!
In a single week, two global Internet giants announce transparency efforts that have direct implications for privacy and free speech.
Sharing in the time of Facebook, or Why I’m not a Pirate
It is now over a month that my favourite network has been dead. Library.nu the rare space for sharing of academic resources to a free and open community has succumbed to the pressures of publishing industry stalwarts who, in their quest for promoting the knowledge industry, are killing sources through which knowledge survives.
The Idea of the Book
Its future lies in a trans-media format that is ever evolving, writes Nishant Shah in an article which was published in the Indian Express on April 8, 2012.
Intermediary Liability in India: Chilling Effects on Free Expression on the Internet 2011
Intermediaries are widely recognised as essential cogs in the wheel of exercising the right to freedom of expression on the Internet. Most major jurisdictions around the world have introduced legislations for limiting intermediary liability in order to ensure that this wheel does not stop spinning. With the 2008 amendment of the Information Technology Act 2000, India joined the bandwagon and established a ‘notice and takedown’ regime for limiting intermediary liability.
Hejje — Together with Kannada & Technology
To discover the place of Kannada in the field of information technology, Sanchaya.net organized Hejje in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Vishwakannada.com and Chanda Pustaka on January 22, 2012 in Bangalore. The event marked the first step to bring everyone working in Kannada in the IT field to brainstorm the ideas for future steps, and create a space for technological collaboration in Kannada.
