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Call for Researchers: Welfare, Gender, and Surveillance
We are inviting applications for two researchers. Each researcher is expected to write a narrative essay that interrogates the modes of surveillance that people of LGBTHIAQ+ and gender non-conforming identities and sexual orientations are put under as they seek sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in India. The researchers are expected to undertake field research in the location they are based in, and reflect on lived experiences gathered through field research as well as their own experiences of doing field research. Please read the sections below for more details about the work involved, the timeline for the same, and the application process for this call.
Automated Facial Recognition Systems and the Mosaic Theory of Privacy: The Way Forward
Arindrajit Basu and Siddharth Sonkar have co-written this blog as the third of their three-part blog series on AI Policy Exchange under the parent title: Is there a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy from Data Aggregation by Automated Facial Recognition Systems?
Automated Facial Recognition Systems (AFRS): Responding to Related Privacy Concerns
Arindrajit Basu and Siddharth Sonkar have co-written this blog as the second of their three-part blog series on AI Policy Exchange under the parent title: Is there a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy from Data Aggregation by Automated Facial Recognition Systems?
Decrypting Automated Facial Recognition Systems (AFRS) and Delineating Related Privacy Concerns
Arindrajit Basu and Siddharth Sonkar have co-written this blog as the first of their three-part blog series on AI Policy Exchange under the parent title: Is there a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy from Data Aggregation by Automated Facial Recognition Systems?
Pegasus snoopgate, an opportune moment to revisit legal framework governing state surveillance framework
Revelations of hacking call for a relook at India’s surveillance regime
Anushree Gupta - Ladies ‘Log’: Women’s Safety and Risk Transfer in Ridehailing
Working in the gig-economy has been associated with economic vulnerabilities. However, there are also moral and affective vulnerabilities as workers find their worth measured everyday by their performance of—and at—work and in every interaction and movement. This essay by Anushree Gupta is the third among a series of writings by researchers associated with the 'Mapping Digital Labour in India' project at the CIS, supported by the Azim Premji University, that were published on the Platypus blog of the Committee on the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing (CASTAC). The essay is edited by Noopur Raval, who co-led the project concerned.
Extra-Territorial Surveillance and the Incapacitation of Human Rights
This paper was published in Volume 12 (2) of the NUJS Law Review.
Is India's Digital Health System Foolproof?
This contribution by Aayush Rathi builds on "Data Infrastructures and Inequities: Why Does Reproductive Health Surveillance in India Need Our Urgent Attention?" (by Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon, EPW Engage, Vol. 54, Issue No. 6, 09 Feb, 2019) and seeks to understand the role that state-run reproductive health portals such as the Mother and Child Tracking System (MCTS) and the Reproductive and Child Health will play going forward. The article critically outlines the overall digitised health information ecosystem being envisioned by the Indian state.
Wikiorientation at Dr.GR Damodaran College of Science
An orientation session on Wikimedia projects was held on 6-7 December 2019 at Dr. GR Damodaran College of Science. This talk was part of the “Hour of Code” event, which is an International event celebrated across the globe to encourage students to develop their knowledge on Computer Science. This event was supported by Open Knowledge movements like Wikimedia, Mozilla, etc.which would help students to share their knowledge in the form of volunteerships and contributions. The highlights of gender gap research and women based projects such as Women in Red were covered as part of a focussed group discussion.
Wikiorientation at Dr.GR Damodaran College of Science
An orientation session on Wikimedia projects was held on 6-7 December 2019 at Dr. GR Damodaran College of Science. This talk was part of the “Hour of Code” event, which is an International event celebrated across the globe to encourage students to develop their knowledge on Computer Science. This event was supported by Open Knowledge movements like Wikimedia, Mozilla, etc.which would help students to share their knowledge in the form of volunteerships and contributions. The highlights of gender gap research and women based projects such as Women in Red were covered as part of a focussed group discussion.
Sarah Zia - Not knowing as pedagogy: Ride-hailing drivers in Delhi
Working in the gig-economy has been associated with economic vulnerabilities. However, there are also moral and affective vulnerabilities as workers find their worth measured everyday by their performance of—and at—work and in every interaction and movement. This essay by Sarah Zia is the second among a series of writings by researchers associated with the 'Mapping Digital Labour in India' project at the CIS, supported by the Azim Premji University, that were published on the Platypus blog of the Committee on the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing (CASTAC). The essay is edited by Noopur Raval, who co-led the project.
Digital Humanities and New Contexts of Digital Archival Practice in India
Puthiya Purayil Sneha attended and presented at a conference on 'The Arts, Knowledge, and Critique in the Digital Age in India: Addressing Challenges in the Digital Humanities' organised by Sahapedia and Department of Liberal Arts, Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad on November 28-29, 2019.
ICANN takes one step forward in its human rights and accountability commitments
Akriti Bopanna and Ephraim Percy Kenyanito take a look at ICANN's Implementation Assessment Report for the Workstream 2 recommendations and break down the key human rights considerations in it. Akriti chairs the Cross Community Working Party on Human Rights at ICANN and Ephraim works on Human Rights and Business for Article 19, leading their ICANN engagement.
Call for Comments: Model Security Standards for the Indian Fintech Industry
The Centre for Internet and Society is pleased to make available the Draft document of Model Security Standards for the Indian Fintech Industry, for feedback and comments from all stakeholders. The objective of this document which was first published in November 2019, is to ensure that the data of users is dealt with in a secure and safe manner by the Fintech Industry, and that smaller businesses in the Fintech industry have a specific standard to look at in order to limit their liabilities for any future breaches.
We invite any parties interested in the field of technology policy, including but not limited to lawyers, policy researchers, and engineers, to send in your feedback/comments on the draft document by the 16th of January 2020. We intend to publish our final draft by the end of January 2020. We look forward to receiving your contributions to make this document more comprehensive and effective. Please find a copy of the draft document here.
The Telecom Crisis is an NPA Problem
After interim relief for telecom, structural reforms must follow.
In Twitter India’s Arbitrary Suspensions, a Question of What Constitutes a Public Space
A discussion is underway about the way social media platforms may have to operate within the tenets of constitutional protections of free speech.
RTI Application to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on content code violations by radio stations
Background
In 1995, the Supreme Court of India, in the case of The Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting v Cricket Association of Bengal, declared airwaves to be public property. The judgment formed the stepping stones to liberalizing the broadcasting media, and freeing up the sector from government monopoly.
Despite the fact that more than two decades have passed since the judgment, community and private FM channels continue to face a government embargo from curating and broadcasting news and content on current affairs. The Phase III FM Policy and the Grant of Permission Agreement (GoPA) for community radios broadly restrict these radio channels from broadcasting news, with two exceptions. FM and community radio stations can still broadcast updates on a few categories of content that the regulations classify as “non-news”, such as sports, …, etc. Additionally, they can rebroadcast the All India Radio (AIR) news bulletin verbatim.
Application under the Right to Information Act
To further our research, we sought information on the extent of radio stations’ compliance with the content code and the use of Government’s oversight mechanism (examination of recordings of their broadcasts). On October 23rd, I filed an RTI with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MI&B) asking for information regarding instances where these channels had violated the content restrictions placed on them.
The text of the application is reproduced below:
To:
Shri Yogendra Trehan
Central Public Information Officer (RTI)
Dy. Director (FM)
Director (DS II), Room No 116, A Wing,
Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi, 110001
Sir,
Subject: Information on private FM radio licenses and violations
This is to request you to provide the following information under the Right to Information 2005.
Period of information requested: 10 years (2010 to 2019)
1. Number of instances where an FM radio channel was suspended from broadcasting due to violation of conditions 11.1, 11.2 or 12.1 of the Phase 3 FM Policy (i.e content related violations)
2. Number of instances where an FM radio channel permission was revoked due to violation of conditions 11.1, 11.2 or 12.1 of the Phase 3 FM Policy (i.e content related violations).
3. Number of instances where the 5 year or 10 year license renewal application of an FM radio channel was rejected due to content related violations.
4. Number of examinations of the recordings of content broadcast on FM radio stations.
[...]
To the best of my belief, the details sought for fall within your authority. Further, as provided under section 6(3) of the Right to Information Act (RTI Act), in case this application does not fall within your authority, I request you to transfer the same in the designated time (5 days) to the concerned authority and inform me of the same immediately.
To the best of my knowledge, the information sought does not fall within the restrictions contained in sections 8 and 9 of the RTI Act, and any provision protecting such information in any other law for the time being in force is inapplicable due to section 22 of the RTI Act.
Please provide me this information in electronic form, via the e-mail address provided above. This to certify that I, Torsha Sarkar, am a citizen of India.
Date: 23rd October, 2019
Place: Bengaluru, Karnataka
The FM Cell of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) responded to the application on November 21st with information regarding the same. Their response is reproduced below:
In so far as FM Cell of this Ministry is concerned, it is stated that,no channel was suspended from broadcasting or permission was revoked due to violation of conditions 11.1, 11.2 or 12.1 of the Phase -lll FM policy. No instances ln so far as FM Cell of this Ministry is concerned, it is stated where the 5 year or 10 year license renewal application of an FM radio channel or 12.1 of the Phase -lll FM policy. 17 instances of complaints regarding violation of content code by private FM radio stations were received and suitable action in terms of the Grant of Permission Agreement has been taken by the Government after examination of the recordings of broadcast.
Conclusion
As the MIB’s records show, there are nearly 380 private FM channels and 185 community FM channels in India as of August 2019. In the face of such numbers, there have been mere seventeen instances of the private FM channels violating the content code in the last ten years, and none of these were serious enough for their broadcasting licenses to be revoked or them to face suspension.
The low number of complaints against radio stations can be interpreted in a number of ways: However, coupled with the fact there is an onerous process of obtaining a license and permissions for broadcasting, one interpretation can be that the numbers are generally indicative of the fact that radio station operators are generally compliant with the content code.
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The text of the RTI Application was drafted by Raouf Kundil Peedikayil, who interned with CIS. This blogpost was edited by Gurshabad Grover and Elonnai Hickok.
Making Voices Heard: Privacy, Inclusivity, and Accessibility of Voice Interfaces in India
We believe that voice interfaces have the potential to democratise the use of internet by addressing barriers such as accessibility concerns, lack of abilities of reading and writing on digital text interfaces, and lack of options for people to interact with digital devices in their own languages. Through the Making Voice Heard Project supported by Mozilla Corporation, we will examine the current landscape of voice interfaces in India.
Simiran Lalvani - Workers’ Fictive Kinship Relations in Mumbai App-based Food Delivery
Working in the gig-economy has been associated with economic vulnerabilities. However, there are also moral and affective vulnerabilities as workers find their worth measured everyday by their performance of—and at—work and in every interaction and movement. This essay by Simiran Lalvani is the first among a series of writings by researchers associated with the 'Mapping Digital Labour in India' project at the CIS, supported by the Azim Premji University, that were published on the Platypus blog of the Committee on the Anthropology of Science, Technology, and Computing (CASTAC). The essay is edited by Noopur Raval, who co-led the project concerned.
A Deep Dive into Content Takedown Timeframes
Since the 1990s, internet usage has seen a massive growth, facilitated in part, by growing importance of intermediaries, that act as gateways to the internet. Intermediaries such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs), web-hosting providers, social-media platforms and search engines provide key services which propel social, economic and political development. However, these developments are also offset by instances of users engaging with the platforms in an unlawful manner. The scale and openness of the internet makes regulating such behaviour challenging, and in turn pose several interrelated policy questions.
