Centre for Internet & Society

2014 showed the power of Twitter, now every Indian politician wants a handle

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 20, 2016 02:33 AM

Twitter is fast turning into an effective political tool. As political parties fight another round of electoral battles, a new survey on the 2014 general elections states that those who tweeted well, fared well.

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PMO’s no to smart cards, insists on Aadhaar

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 20, 2016 02:19 AM

The government has decided to stop issuing new smart cards to beneficiaries of government schemes as Aadhaar is now backed by a law.

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Why is the UIDAI cracking down on individuals that hoard Aadhaar data?

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 17, 2016 04:16 PM

Private firms' offer to print Aadhaar details on plastic card a breach of law.

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Daunting task ahead for investigative agencies with WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 09, 2016 09:45 AM

Messaging service WhatsApp's decision to roll out end-to-end encryption for over 1 billion subscribers has been hailed as a positive step by users across the world, although things are set to get tougher for law enforcement and investigative agencies in India seeking to track terrorists.

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India's biometric database crosses billion-member mark

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 07, 2016 02:54 AM

India's biometric database notched up one billion members on Monday, as the government sought to allay concerns about privacy breaches in the world's biggest such scheme.

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The Panama Papers and the question of privacy

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 24, 2016 02:03 PM

This statement was originally published on privacyinternational.org on 4 April 2016.

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RightsCon Silicon Valley 2016

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 06, 2016 03:10 PM

RightsCon is the world’s leading event convened around the issues of the internet and human rights. The annual conference convenes business leaders, visionaries, technologists, legal experts, civil society members, activists, and government representatives from across the globe on issues at the intersection of tech and human rights. The event was organized by RightsCon.

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Woman Alleges Harassment at Major International Conference

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 30, 2016 05:06 PM

A prospective lawyer's name tag was flipped, and she was asked rude questions by a CEO at a conference, where, ironically enough, she was invited to devise sexual harassment policies.

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ICANN 55

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 30, 2016 02:41 PM

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held its 55th meeting in Marrakech, Morocco from March 5 to 10, 2016. Padmini Baruah and Vidushi Marda attended the event organized by Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Consular and Social Affairs.

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On Google Maps, JNU top result in search for 'anti-national'

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 29, 2016 01:37 AM

"Anti-national" is not a location. But Google Maps seems to have an address for it - Jawaharlal Nehru University in the capital. On Friday, Google Maps pinned other such "locations" in the same place. It yielded the same result for other search terms such as "sedition," "freedom of expression," and "patriotism."

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Securing the internet’s future

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 28, 2016 02:24 AM

Mike Godwin, who proposed the eponymous law about online discussion threads, speaks about net neutrality, differential pricing and why no government is likely to oppose stricter surveillance measures.

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ICANN Sexual Harassment Case Highlights Lack of Procedure at Global Internet Body

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 01, 2016 03:42 PM

Alleged perpetrator files counter-complaint with ombudsman’s office after being publicly identified.

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Making Aadhaar Mandatory: Gamechanger For Governance?

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 24, 2016 06:50 AM

Why a programme that both the Congress and the BJP have hailed as transformational has divided Parliament this week? The Aadhaar Bill which was passed this week aims at facilitating government benefits and subsidies to citizens said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

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Seven reasons why Parliament should debate the Aadhaar bill (and not pass it in a rush)

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 24, 2016 02:25 AM

Critics say the Aadhaar Bill does not address concerns over privacy, even as government is rushing the Bill without adequate parliamentary scrutiny.

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Debate: Five Aadhaar Myths that Don’t Stand Up to Scrutiny

by Prasad Krishna last modified Apr 01, 2016 03:48 PM

We need to reboot the Aadhaar debate by asking why we want to create a centralised biometric database of Indian residents in the first place.

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In India, Biometric Data Storage Sparks Demands for Privacy Laws

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 23, 2016 02:27 AM

In India, calls for strict privacy laws are growing after this week's passage of a measure that allows federal agencies access to biometric data of the nation's citizens, the world's largest such repository.

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Dead and Clicking

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 23, 2016 01:42 AM

A look at the phenomenon of digital memorials; repositories and time capsules of a life even after it's ended in the real world.

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Hard to broad ban!

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 22, 2016 05:00 PM

The provisions under the Telegraph Act are wispy and can’t be convincingly invoked to exercise a jurisdiction on the internet world.

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Aadhaar: Govt will not compromise on national security

by Prasad Krishna last modified Mar 22, 2016 03:51 PM

The government is confident that the Aadhaar Bill will be passed.

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