Centre for Internet & Society

CIS Seminar Series

by Cheshta Arora

The CIS seminar series will be a venue for researchers to share works-in-progress, exchange ideas, identify avenues for collaboration, and curate research. We also seek to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on research exchange, and foster collaborations among researchers and academics from diverse geographies. Every quarter we will be hosting a remote seminar with presentations, discussions and debate on a thematic area.

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Pandemic Technology takes its Toll on Data Privacy

by Aman Nair and Pallavi Bedi

The absence of any legal framework has meant these tools are now being used for purposes beyond managing the pandemic.

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The Geopolitics of Cyberspace: A Compendium of CIS Research

by Arindrajit Basu

Cyberspace is undoubtedly shaping and disrupting commerce, defence and human relationships all over the world. Opportunities such as improved access to knowledge, connectivity, and innovative business models have been equally met with nefarious risks including cyber-attacks, disinformation campaigns, government driven digital repression, and rabid profit-making by ‘Big Tech.’ Governments have scrambled to create and update global rules that can regulate the fair and equitable uses of technology while preserving their own strategic interests.

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A Guide to Drafting Privacy Policy under the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019

by Shweta Reddy

The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, (PDP Bill) which is currently being deliberated by the Joint Parliamentary Committee, is likely to be tabled in the Parliament during the winter session of 2021.

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Media Market Risk Ratings: India

by Torsha Sarkar, Pranav M Bidare, and Gurshabad Grover

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) are launching a study into the risk of disinformation on digital news platforms in India, creating an index that is intended to serve donors and brands with a neutral assessment of news sites that they can utilise to defund disinformation.

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Beyond the PDP Bill: Governance Choices for the DPA

by Trishi Jindal and S.Vivek

This article examines the specific governance choices the Data Protection Authority (DPA) in India must deliberate on vis-à-vis its standard-setting function, which are distinct from those it will encounter as part of its enforcement and supervision functions.

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Big Tech’s privacy promise to consumers could be good news — and also bad news

by Rajat Kathuria and Isha Suri

Rajat Kathuria, Isha Suri write: Its use as a tool for market development must balance consumer protection, innovation, and competition.

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UN Questionnaire on Digital Innovation, Technologies and Right to Health

by Pahlavi and Shweta Mohandas

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) contributed to the questionnaire put out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on digital innovation, technologies and the right to health. The responses were authored by Pahlavi and Shweta Mohandas, and edited by Indumathi Manohar.

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The PDP Bill 2019 Through the Lens of Privacy by Design

by Saumyaa Naidu, Akash Sheshadri, Shweta Mohandas, and Pranav M Bidare; Edited by Arindrajit Basu, Shweta Reddy; With inputs from Amber Sinha

This paper evaluates the PDP Bill based on the Privacy by Design approach. It examines the implications of Bill in terms of the data ecosystem it may lead to, and the visual interface design in digital platforms. This paper focuses on the notice and consent communication suggested by the Bill, and the role and accountability of design in its interpretation.

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The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: Demanding your Data

by Rekha Jain

The increasing digitalization of the economy and ubiquity of the Internet, coupled with developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has given rise to transformational business models across several sectors.

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