Centre for Internet & Society

Ranking Digital Rights in India

by Divij Joshi and Aditya Chawla

This report is a study of five Indian telecommunication companies (Tata Communications Ltd., Reliance Communications Limited, Aircel Limited, Vodafone India Private Limited and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited) and three Indian online service providers (Hike Messenger, Shaadi.com and Rediff.com). The report is an attempt to evaluate the practices and policies of companies which provide internet infrastructure or internet services, and are integral intermediaries to the everyday experience of the internet in India.

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Survey on Data Protection Regime

by Aditi Chaturvedi and Elonnai Hickok

We request you to take part in this survey aimed at understanding how various organisations view the changes in the Data Protection Regime in the European Union. Recently the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 was passed, which shall replace the present Data Protection Directive DPD 95/46/EC. This step is likely to impact the way of working for many organisations. We are grateful for your voluntary contribution to our research, and all information shared by you will be used for the purpose of research only. Questions that personally identify you are not mandatory and will be kept strictly confidential.

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Comparison of General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Directive

by Aditi Chaturvedi and Edited by Leilah Elmokadem

Recently, the General Data Protection Regulation (REGULATION (EU) 2016/679) was passed. It shall replace the present Data Protection Directive (DPD 95/46/EC), which is a step that is likely to impact the workings of many organizations. This document intends to offer a clear comparison between the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) a the Data Protection Direction (DPD).

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Privacy after Big Data - Workshop Report

by Amber Sinha

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) and the Sarai programme, CSDS, organised a workshop on 'Privacy after Big Data: What Changes? What should Change?' on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies in New Delhi.

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The Design & Technology behind India’s Surveillance Programmes

by Udbhav Tiwari

There has been an exponential growth in the pervasive presence of technology in the daily lives of an average Indian citizen over the past few years. While leading to manifold increase in convenience and connectivity, these technologies also allow for far greater potential for surveillance by state actors.

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Social Media Monitoring

by Amber Sinha

We see a trend of social media and communication monitoring and surveillance initiatives in India which have the potential to create a chilling effect on free speech online and raises question about the privacy of individuals. In this paper, Amber Sinha looks at social media monitoring as a tool for surveillance, the current state of social media surveillance in India, and evaluate how the existing regulatory framework in India may deal with such practices in future.

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Comments on the Proposed ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Policy

by Padma Venkataraman, Rohini Lakshané, Sampada Nayak and Vidushi Marda

ICANN sought community input on the Proposed ICANN Community Anti-Harassment Policy on 7 November 2016. In response to this the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) submitted its comments.

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Comments on the Report of the Committee on Digital Payments (December 2016)

by Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Amber Sinha

The Committee on Digital Payments constituted by the Ministry of Finance and chaired by Ratan P. Watal, Principal Advisor, NITI Aayog, submitted its report on the "Medium Term Recommendations to Strengthen Digital Payments Ecosystem" on December 09, 2016. The report was made public on December 27, and comments were sought from the general public. Here are the comments submitted by the Centre for Internet and Society.

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Mapping of Sections in India’s MLAT Agreements

by Leilah Elmokadem and Saumyaa Naidu

This set of infographics by Leilah Elmokadem and Saumyaa Naidu maps out and compares the various sections that exist in the 39 MLATs (mutual legal assistance treaty) between India and other countries. An MLAT is an agreement between two or more countries, drafted for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information in an effort to enforce public or criminal laws.

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Mapping of India’s Cyber Security-Related Bilateral Agreements

by Leilah Elmokadem and Saumyaa Naidu

With the rapid spread of cloud computing and the growth of cyber spaces, large masses of information are now easily transmittable transnationally, necessitating the ratification of new agreements and cooperation efforts amongst states in order to secure cyber spaces and regulate exchanges of information. In an attempt to understand the nature and extent of current international collaborative efforts in cyber security, we have compiled the following data regarding India’s cyber security-related bilateral agreements. The intention of this exercise is to offer a dynamic visualization that demonstrates which countries India has collaborated with on cyber security efforts and initiatives. This is an ongoing map that we will be updating as our research continues.

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