Internet Governance Blog
Indian Intermediary Liability Regime: Compliance with the Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability
This report assesses the compliance of the Indian intermediary liability framework with the Manila Principles on Intermediary Liability, and recommends substantive legislative changes to bring the legal framework in line with the Manila Principles.
India's Data Protection Framework Will Need to Treat Privacy as a Social and Not Just an Individual Good
The idea that technological innovations may compete with privacy of individuals assumes that there is social and/or economic good in allowing unrestricted access to data. However, it must be remembered that data is potentially a toxic asset, if it is not collected, processed, secured and shared in the appropriate way.
Internet Shutdown Stories
The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) has published a collection of stories of the impact of internet shutdowns on people's lives in the country. This book seeks to give a glimpse into the lives of those directly affected by these internet shutdown experiments. When seen in a larger context, we hope that the stories in this book also demonstrate that access to the internet and freedom of speech is not just about an individual’s rights, but are also required for the collective good. This is a project funded by Facebook and MacArthur Foundation, and the stories were provided by 101 Reporters. Case studies from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Telangana, West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, and Uttar Pradesh have been highlighted in this compilation.
AI in the Banking and Finance Industry in India
This is a draft report that seeks to map the present state of use of AI in the banking and financial sector in India.
DIDP Request #29 - Revenue breakdown by source for FY 2017
We requested ICANN for financial information they have not yet provided for the period ending June 2017.
Revenge Porn Laws across the World
The following is a compilation of laws dealing with revenge porn if and how they exist across multiple countries and jurisdictions.
What’s up with WhatsApp?
In 2016, WhatsApp Inc announced it was rolling out end-to-end encryption, but is the company doing what it claims to be doing?
Comments on the Draft Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act
The Centre for Internet & Society submitted comments to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India on the draft Digital Information Security in Healthcare Act on April 21, 2018.
A look at two problematic provisions of the draft Anti-trafficking bill
This post examines two badly drafted provisions of the new Anti-Trafficking bill that have the potential to severely impinge upon the Freedom of Expression, including through a misunderstanding of intermediary liability.
Artificial Intelligence in Governance: A Report of the Roundtable held in New Delhi
This Report provides an overview of the proceedings of the Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Governance, conducted at the Indian Islamic Cultural Centre, in New Delhi on March 16, 2018. The main purpose of the Roundtable was to discuss the deployment and implementation of AI in various aspects of governance within the Indian context. This report summarises the discussions on the development and implementation of AI in various aspects of governance in India. The event was attended by participants from academia, civil society, the legal sector, the finance sector, and the government.
Government gives free publicity worth 40k to Twitter and Facebook
We conducted a 2 week survey of newspapers for links between government advertisement to social media giants. As citizens, we should be worried about the close nexus between the Indian government and digital behemoths such as Facebook, Google and Twitter. It has become apparent to us after a 2 week print media analysis that our Government has been providing free publicity worth Rs 40,000 to these entities. There are multiple issues with this as this article attempts at pointing out.
Digital Native: Delete Facebook?
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave.
Cambridge Analytica scandal: How India can save democracy from Facebook
Hegemonic incumbents like Google and Facebook need to be tackled with regulation; govt should use procurement power to fund open source alternatives.
Analysis of ICANN revenue shows ambiguity in their records
We, The Centre for Internet and Society, have been instrumental in having ICANN become transparent about their revenue with our persistent requests for their sources of revenue.
People Driven and Tech Enabled – How AI and ML are Changing the Future of Cyber Security in India
On the 27th of February, Peter Sparkes the Senior Director, Cyber Security Services, Symantec conducted a webinar on the ‘5 Essentials of Every Next-Gen SOC’. In this webinar, he evaluated the problems that Security Operations Centers (SOCs) are currently facing, and explored possible solutions to these problems. The webinar also put emphasis on AI and ML as tools to improve cyber security. This blog draws key insights from the webinar, and explains how AI and ML can improve the cyber security process of Indian enterprises.
A Series of Op-eds on Data Protection
I wrote a short series of three op-eds for Asia Times this week.
The Fundamental Right to Privacy - A Visual Guide
Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. This visual guide to the story of privacy law in India and the recent judgement of the Puttaswamy v. Union of India case is developed by Amber Sinha (research and content) and Pooja Saxena (design and conceptualisation).
Unpacking Data Protection Law: A Visual Representation
This visual explainer unpacking data protection law was developed by Amber Sinha (research) and Pooja Saxena (design), and published as part of the Data Privacy Week celebrations on the Privacy International blog. Join the conversation on Twitter using #dataprivacyweek.
AI and Manufacturing and Services in India: Looking Forward
This Report provides an overview of the proceedings of the Roundtable on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Manufacturing and Services: Looking Forward (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Roundtable’), conducted at The Energy Resource Institute (TERI), in Bangalore on January 19, 2018.
CIS Submission to the Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India
This submission presents comments by the Centre for Internet and Society, India (“CIS”) on the ‘White Paper of the Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India’ (“White Paper”) released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The White paper was drafted by a Committee of Expert (“Committee”) constituted by the Ministry. CIS has conducted research on the issues of privacy, data protection and data security since 2010 and is thankful for the opportunity to put forth its views. The submission was made on January 31, 2018.
