CIS Research Digest - 2024

2024 saw several incidents and developments that can be used to further global and domestic discourse focused on rights-based policy making. At the Centre for Internet & Society, we analysed some of these developments through our research on important contemporary issues, while also attempting to connect with relevant stakeholders and build communities that can utilise our research impactfully. From platform economy research examining women’s work on digital labour platforms, to research comparing data governance trends between India and the EU, and an in-depth analysis of AI audit practices and the data supply chain for AI in Indian healthcare, this is a synopsis of the in-depth research and analysis published by CIS in 2024. 

Research Reports, Papers and Case Studies:

1. Subodh Kulkarni explores opportunities within the Wikimedia movement and projects to help revitalise small and underrepresented languages in India and provide recommendations in furthering this effort. [link]

2. Soni Wadhwa identifies broad patterns that have materialized in the Open Movement in the country in the last decade, and reflects on the nature of the Open and the need to envision it differently from what it currently is. [link]

3. In partnership with the Tilburg Institute of Law, Technology and Society, Netherlands, the Centre for Communication Governance at the National Law University Delhi, India, Arindrajit Basu and Isha Suri compare data governance trends between the EU and India. [link]

4. Puthiya Purayil Sneha and Saumyaa Naidu explored the growth and interpretations of feminist infrastructures, through research on feminist publishing, content creation and curation spaces and how they have informed the contemporary discourse on feminism, gender, and sexuality in India. Some key learnings from this report were also the subject of a panel discussion in partnership with Khabar Lahariya. [link] [link]

5. Divyansha Sehgal and Lakshmi T. Nambiar looked at how short-form video platforms in India address online gender based violence by analysing their terms of service, community guidelines, and reporting workflows. [link]

6. In collaboration with The Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Arindrajit Basu and Isha Suri conducted an in-depth study of technical standards that govern Artificial Intelligence (AI), technical standards and diplomacy. [link]

7. Soni Wadhwa, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, Garima Agrawal, and Nishant Shankar summarise discussions from the “Future of the Commons” Conference in Pune, which focused on AI, Indian Languages, and Archives. The three day conference focused on framing AI and Indian languages in the context of achievable goals, navigating digital inclusion roadblocks, and digitisation and archiving in India [link]

8. To gain insights on the effectiveness of union structures, priority of union demands, and workers’ interest in joining cooperative societies, the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers’ Union conducted a survey with app-based platform companies’ workers. Chetna V M, Nishkala Sekhar, Chiara Furtado, and Shaik Salauddin’s report highlights these insights and findings. [link]

9. Ashwini Lele delves into the role of 'Open Knowledge' players within the framework of the NEP 2020, and provides insights and recommendations for effective implementation with a focus on Wikimedia’s ‘Open Knowledge’ platform. [link]

10. Aayush Rathi, Abhishek Sekharan, Ambika Tandon, Chetna VM, Chiara Furtado, Nishkala Sekhar, and Sriharsha Devulapalli conducted quantitative surveys with over 800 workers employed in the app-based taxi and delivery sectors across 4 Indian cities. The data briefs following this survey form a foundational evidence base for labour rights policy, social protection, and urban inclusion in platform work. [link]

11. Amrita Sengupta, Shweta Mohandas, Abhineet Nayyar, Chetna VM, Puthiya Purayil Sneha, and Yatharth study the prevalence and use of AI auditing practices in the healthcare sector, and unpack how AI systems are developed and deployed to achieve healthcare outcomes, and how AI audits are perceived and implemented by key stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem. [link]

12. Yesha Tshering Paul and Amrita Sengupta examine the emotional and technological underpinnings of gender-based violence faced by women in politics in India, and how gender-based violence is weaponised to diminish the political participation and influence of women in the public eye. [link]

Public Consultations:

CIS has consistently participated in policy consultation processes, both in the form of public consultation events, and written submissions to draft policies that invite public comments.

1. Chiara Furtado and Nishkala Shankar contributed to the joint submission of comments to the draft Karnataka Platform based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill, 2024, in partnership with Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, and the Indian Federation of App Based Transport Workers. [link]

2. Garima Agrawal’s comments to the “Draft Circular on Digital Lending: Transparency in Aggregation of Loan Products from Multiple Lenders” to the Reserve Bank of India focus on reducing information asymmetry, enhancing market fairness, and issues of data privacy and security in the fintech ecosystem. [link]

3. Abhineet Nayyar, Isha Suri, and Pallavi Bedi submitted comments on the draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024, focusing on the transition from an ex-post to an ex-ante approach for digital competition regulation, alongside other issues and gaps in the new Bill. [link]

Explainer Series:

In an attempt to make our research more accessible to diverse audiences, we have also begun the Explainer series, which summarizes key socio-legal concepts underlying commonly used technologies, using visual explainers.

1. The first issue of Explainer delves deeper into 'Tying and Bundling', one of the nine Anti-Competitive Practices in the draft Digital Competition Bill, 2024, which has seen little discussion, usually featuring heavy jargon and limited accessibility. [link]

2. The second issue of Explainer focuses on ‘Predatory Pricing’, another Anti-Competitive Practice that the draft bill relies on, which has seen very limited discussion. [link]