Centre for Internet & Society

Comments to the Code on Social Security, 2019

by Aayush Rathi , Amruta Mahuli and Ambika Tandon

This submission presents a response by researchers at the Centre for Internet & Society, India (CIS) to the draft Code on Social Security, 2019 (hereinafter “ Draft Code ”) prepared by the Government of India’s Ministry of Labour and Employment.

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“Politics by other means”: Fostering positive contestation and charting ‘red lines’ through global governance in cyberspace

by Arindrajit Basu

The past year has been a busy one for the fermentation of global governance efforts in cyberspace with multiple actors-states, industry, and civil society spearheading a variety of initiatives. Given the multiplicity of actors, ideologies, and vested interests at play in this ecosystem, any governance initiative will be, by default, political, and desirably so.

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The Mother and Child Tracking System - understanding data trail in the Indian healthcare systems

by Ambika Tandon

Reproductive health programmes in India have been digitising extensive data about pregnant women for over a decade, as part of multiple health information systems. These can be seen as precursors to current conceptions of big data systems within health informatics. In this article, published by Privacy International, Ambika Tandon presents some findings from a recently concluded case study of the MCTS as an example of public data-driven initiatives in reproductive health in India.

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Farming the Future: Deployment of Artificial Intelligence in the agricultural sector in India

by Elonnai Hickok, Arindrajit Basu, Siddharth Sonkar and Pranav M B

This case study was published as a chapter in the joint UNESCAP-Google publication titled Artificial Intelligence in Public Service Delivery. The chapter in its final form would not have been possible without the efforts and very useful interventions by our colleagues at Digital Asia Hub,Google, and UNESCAP.

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Setting International Norms of Cyber Conflict is Hard, But that Doesn't Mean that We Should Stop Trying

by Arindrajit Basu and Karan Saini

Last month, cyber-defense analyst and geostrategist Pukhraj Singh penned a stinging epitaph, published by MWI, for global norms-formulation processes that are attempting to foster cyber stability and regulate cyber conflict—specifically, the Tallinn Manual.

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We need a better AI vision

by Arindrajit Basu

Artificial intelligence conjures up a wondrous world of autonomous processes but dystopia is inevitable unless rights and privacy are protected.

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AI for Good

by Shweta Mohandas and Saumyaa Naidu

CIS organised a workshop titled ‘AI for Good’ at the Unbox Festival in Bangalore from 15th to 17th February, 2019. The workshop was led by Shweta Mohandas and Saumyaa Naidu. In the hour long workshop, the participants were asked to imagine an AI based product to bring forward the idea of ‘AI for social good’.

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Designing a Human Rights Impact Assessment for ICANN’s Policy Development Processes

by Collin Kure, Akriti Bopanna and Austin Ruckstuhl

As co-chairs of Cross Community Working Party on Human Rights (CCWP-HR) at International Corporation of Names and Numbers (ICANN), Akriti Bopanna and Collin Kurre executed a Human Rights Impact Assessment for ICANN's processes. It was the first time such an experiment was conducted, and unique because of being a multi-stakeholder attempt.

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Comparison of the Manila Principles to Draft of The Information Technology [Intermediary Guidelines(Amendment) Rules], 2018

by Akriti Bopanna and Gayatri Puthran

This paper looks at the Manila Principles intermediary liability framework in comparison to the amended draft Information Technology [Intermediaries Guidelines (Amendment)] Rules, 2018 introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in December, 2018.

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Examining the Constitutionality of the Ban on Broadcast of News by Private FM and Community Radio Stations

by Gurshabad Grover, Torsha Sarkar, Rajashri Seal and Neil Trivedi

Gurshabad Grover and Torsha Sarkar along with Rajashri Seal and Neil Trivedi co-authored a paper that examined the constitutionality of the government prohibition on the broadcast of news against private and community FM channels.

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