All Blogs
Re-licensing Sessions with Authors and Organisations
In collaboration with Marathi community, CIS-A2K is getting connected with various authors and organisations willing to re-license their content under CC-By-SA. A2K is facilitating the OTRS process Commons for re-licensing as well as digitisation of the content. The team of trained Wikimedians at Vigyan Ashram, Pabal, District Pune has taken the responsibility of digitising the books and further uploads in Wikimedia projects.
Fix Problems Before Complete Failure
We need some real solutions on the ground. Examples - Jet Airways post mortem findings applied as the way forward for difficult NPAs; and a radical change of course a
Why I’m not going to tell you about the dangers of apps like FaceApp
Concerns about privacy, aimed solely at users, are better directed at owners of digital infrastructure.
The worrying survival of moon landing conspiracy theorists
The moon landing deniers were the original fake news propagandists. Only, they didn’t have the internet.
In India, Privacy Policies of Fintech Companies Pay Lip Service to User Rights
A study of the privacy policies of 48 fintech companies that operate in India shows that none comply with even the basic requirements of the IT Rules, 2011.
Wikimedia Workshop on Rivers under Project Jalbodh
The Indian National Trust for Art & Heritage Pune Chapter is working with various organisations to preserve the natural heritage places like rivers in Pune district of Maharashtra, India. After the presentation of 'Project Jalbodh' by CIS-A2K in River Dialogue organised by INTACH in April 2018, several organisations shown keen interest in collaboration.
The Digital Identification Parade
NCRB’s proposed Automated Facial Recognition System impinges on right to privacy, is likely to target certain groups.
India is falling down the facial recognition rabbit hole
Its use as an effective law enforcement tool is overstated, while the underlying technology is deeply flawed.
What is the problem with ‘Ethical AI’? An Indian Perspective
On 22 May 2019, the OECD member countries adopted the OECD Council Recommendation on Artificial Intelligence. The Principles, meant to provide an “ethical framework” for governing Artificial Intelligence (AI), were the first set of guidelines signed by multiple governments, including non-OECD members: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Romania.
Old Isn't Always Gold: FaceApp and Its Privacy Policies
Leaving aside the Red Scare for a moment, FaceApp's own rebuttal of privacy worries are highly problematic in nature.
Orientation programme, Wikipedia workshop & Action Plan meeting in PAH Solapur University
CIS-A2K representatives visited PAH Solapur University, Solapur (PAHSUS) to finalise the action plan and MoU for the year 2019-20.
Call for Essays — #List
The researchers@work programme at CIS invites abstracts for essays that explore social, economic, cultural, political, infrastructural, or aesthetic dimensions of the ‘list’. We have selected 4 abstracts among those received before August 31, 2019, and are now accepting and evaluating further submissions on a rolling basis.
You auto-complete me: romancing the bot
This is an excerpt from an essay by Maya Indira Ganesh, written for and published as part of the Bodies of Evidence collection of Deep Dives. The Bodies of Evidence collection, edited by Bishakha Datta and Richa Kaul Padte, is a collaboration between Point of View and the Centre for Internet and Society, undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development Network supported by International Development Research Centre, Canada.
Comments on the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019 concerning Statutory Licensing
The Centre for Internet & Society gave its comments on the proposed rules 29,30,31 of the Draft Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2019. The comments were made in response to Notification G.S.R 393(E) published in the Gazette of India on May 30, 2019.
DIDP #34 On granular detail on ICANN's budget for policy development process
ICANN has Advisory Committees which help guide the policy recommendations that the ICANN community develops while its Supporting Organizations are charged with developing policy recommendations for a particular aspect of ICANN's operations. Supporting Organizations are composed of volunteers from the community. ICANN publishes a combined budget for all these bodies under the head of policy development and CIS inquired about the financial resources allocated to each of them specifically.
Fostering Strategic Convergence in US-India Tech Relations: 5G and Beyond
The 2019 G-20 summit underscores the importance of fostering strategic convergence in U.S.-India tech relations.
The Impact of Consolidation in the Internet Economy on the Evolution of the Internet
The Centre for Internet and Society in partnership with the Internet Society organized an event on the impact of consolidation in the Internet economy. It was divided into two roundtable discussions, the first one focusing on the policies and regulation while the latter dealt with the technical evolution of the Internet. This report contributed to the Internet Society’s 2019 Global Internet Report on Consolidation in the Internet Economy.
Joining the Dots in India's Big-Ticket Mobile Phone SEP Litigation
Rohini Lakshané and Shweta Mohandas have published their last update to this paper that chronicles mobile device SEP litigation in India. All developments in the lawsuits filed in the Delhi High Court and complaints made to the CCI that were published in reliable sources till 20 September 2018 are mentioned in this paper. The paper was an output under the Pervasive Technologies project.
Facebook sees its salvation with its cryptocurrency Libra
Facebook’s Libra is designed to take control of our digital lives.
SVG translation workshop Kannada
The Centre for Internet & Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) organized a SVG translation workshop for Kannada Wiki community on 23-24 February 2019 in Bengaluru. The workshop was a part of SVG Translation Campaign 2019 in India. Total 10 Wikipedians participated in the workshop and contributed to Wikimedia Commons.
