Internet Governance Blog
Workshop on the Unique Identity Number (UID), the National Population Register (NPR) and Governance: What will happen to our data?
On March 2nd, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society and the Say No to UID campaign organized a workshop to discuss the present state of the UID and NPR schemes. Some of the questions which were addressed included ´How do the UID and NPR impact citizenship´, ´Why and how is national security linked to UID/NPR´, and ´What is the relationship between UID and Big Data´.
Hacking without borders: The future of artificial intelligence and surveillance
In this post, Maria Xynou looks at some of DARPA´s artificial intelligence surveillance technologies in regards to the right to privacy and their potential future use in India.
A Comparison of the Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012
In this post, Maria Xynou gives us a comparison of the Draft DNA Profiling Bill 2007 and the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012.
Summary of the CIS workshop on the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012
On March 1st, 2013, the Centre for Internet and Society organized a workshop which analysed the April 2012 draft Human DNA Profiling Bill and its potential implications on human rights in India.
Unique Identification Scheme (UID) & National Population Register (NPR), and Governance
This post examines the UID, NPR and Governance as it exists in India. The background note gives a summary of what is the NPR, the legal grounding of NPR, its objectives, and the information which could be collected under the NPR. The post also throws light on the UID, its objectives, process of enrollment in UID, how UID is being adopted by different states in India, and finally the differences and controversies in UID and NPR.
Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill (April 2012): High Level Concerns
In 2007 the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill was piloted by the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, with the objective of regulating the use of DNA for forensic and other purposes. In February 2012 another draft of the Bill was leaked. The February 2012 Bill was drafted by the Department of Biotechnology. Another working draft of the Bill was created in April 2012. The most recent version of the Bill seeks to create DNA databases at the state, regional, and national level.
An Introduction to Bitfilm & Bitcoin in Bangalore, India
An event at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) was organized on January 23, 2013. The all star team at CIS was awesome at organizing this event for Bitcoin. Live streaming, mainstream newspaper coverage and Twitter based Q&A made this the first Bitcoin event in India that leveraged these mediums of information transfer.
Don’t SLAPP free speech
IIPM is proving adept at the tactical use of lawsuits to stifle criticism, despite safeguards. THE DEPARTMENT of Telecommunications, on 14 February, issued orders to block certain web pages critical of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM).
Women in the IT Industry: Request for Data
For CIS's research on indicators of female economic empowerment in the IT industry in India, we have sent formal request for participation in a short survey to the six largest IT companies based in India. A copy of the letter of request and survey as well as some details of the request for data can be found in this post.
Research Initiative: Women in India's IT Industry
CIS has begun a brief research project which will examine indicators of female economic empowerment in the IT industry in India. Though the gathering of quantitative and qualitative data from the six largest publicly-traded Indian software companies, we hope to provide insight into state of female employment in one of the most important and rapidly growing economic sectors in the country.
BigDog is Watching You! The Sci-fi Future of Animal and Insect Drones
Do you think robotic aeroplanes monitoring us are scary enough? Wait until you read about DARPA´s new innovative and subtle way to keep us all under the microscope! This blog post presents a new reality of drones which is depicted in none other than animal and insect-like robots, equipped with cameras and other surveillance technologies.
Surveillance Camp IV: Disproportionate State Surveillance - A Violation of Privacy
This is the fourth in a series of posts mapping global surveillance challenges discussed at EFF's State Surveillance and Human Rights Camp in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This article has been co-written with Elonnai Hickok — Centre for Internet and Society India, and a speaker at EFF's Camp.
The Omnishambles of UID, shrouded in its RTI opacity
The Centre for Internet & Society sponsored Colonel Mathew Thomas to hold a workshop at the fourth National Right to Information (RTI) organized by the National Campaign for People's Right to Information, held in Hyderabad from February 15 to 18, 2013.
Freedom of Expression Gagged
The use of law to bully people into silence, called ‘heckler’s veto’, is not unique to India, writes Chinmayi Arun in this op-ed published in Business Line on February 15, 2013.
Analyzing the Latest List of Blocked URLs by Department of Telecommunications (IIPM Edition)
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in its order dated February 14, 2013 has issued directions to the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block seventy eight URLs. The block order has been issued as a result of a court order. Snehashish Ghosh does a preliminary analysis of the list of websites blocked as per the DoT order.
2012: Privacy Highlights in India
In this blog post, Elonnai Hickok summarizes the top privacy moments of 2012 in India. In doing so she lists out the major ones like the Report of Group of Experts on Privacy, the RIM Standoff, the Nira Radia controversy, the Centralized Monitoring System, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, NATGRID, CCTNS, the growth of CCTVs, the leaked DNA Profiling Bill, and the UID project.
A Comparison of Indian Legislation to Draft International Principles on Surveillance of Communications
This blog post is a comparison of the relevant Indian legislations allowing governmental access to communications and the Draft International Principles on Surveillance of Communications. The principles, first drafted in October 2012 and developed subsequently seeks to establish an international standard for surveillance of communications in the context of human rights.
Data Retention in India
As part of its privacy research, the Centre for Internet and Society has been researching upon data retention mandates from the Government of India and data retention practices by service providers. Globally, data retention has become a contested practice with regards to privacy, as many governments require service providers to retain more data for extensive time periods, for security purposes. Many argue that the scope of the retention is becoming disproportional to the purpose of investigating crimes.
Five Frequently Asked Questions about the Amended ITRs
This piece discusses the five major questions that have been the subject of debate after the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT). The politics surrounding the WCIT are not discussed here but it must be kept in mind that they have played a significant role in the outcome of the conference and in some of the debates about it.
TV versus Social Media: The Rights and Wrongs
For most ordinary Netizens, everyday speech on social media has as much impact as graffiti in a toilet, and therefore employing the 'principle of equivalence' will result in overregulation of new media.
