The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
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Submission by the Centre for Internet and Society on Revisions to ICANN Expected Standards of Behavior
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/submission-by-the-centre-for-internet-and-society-on-revisions-to-icann-expected-standards-of-behavior
<b>Prepared by Vidushi Marda, with inputs from Dr. Nirmita Narasimhan and Sunil Abraham.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>We at the Centre for Internet and Society (“CIS”) are grateful for the opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions to ICANN’s Expected Standards of Behavior (“Standards”).</p>
<p>Before providing specific comments on the proposed revisions, CIS would like to state for the record our extreme disappointment while noting that there is no indication of the intention to draft and adopt a dedicated anti - harassment policy. We are of the firm opinion that harassment, and particularly sexual harassment, is not only a sensitive topic, but also a deeply complex one. Such a policy should consider scope, procedural questions, redressal and remedies in cases of harassment in general and sexual harassment in particular. A mere change in language to these Standards, however well intentioned, cannot go too far in preventing and dealing with cases of harassment in the absence of a framework within which such instances can be addressed.</p>
<p>Some of the issues that arose at ICANN55 were confusion surrounding the powers and limits of the Ombudsman’s office in dealing with cases of harassment, the exact procedure to be followed for redressal surrounding such incidents, and the appropriate conduct of parties to the matter. There will be no clarity in these respects, even if these proposed changes are to be adopted.</p>
<p>Specifically, the proposed language is problematic and completely inadequate for the following reasons:</p>
<ol><li>
<p><strong>Vague</strong></p>
<p>Terms like “professional conduct” and “appropriate behavior” mean little in the absence of a definition that entails such conduct. These terms could mean vastly different things to each community member and such language will only encourage a misalignment of expectation of conduct between community members. The “general” definition of harassment is at best, an ineffective placeholder, as it does not encompass exactly what kind of behavior would fall under its definition.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Fails to consider important scenarios</strong></p>
<p>The proposed language fails to consider situations where some attempts or advances at communication, sexual or otherwise, occur. For example, consider a situation in which one community member stalks another online, and catalogues his/her every move. This is most certainly foreseeable, but will not be adequately covered by the proposed language. Further, terms like “speech or behavior that is sexually aggressive or intimidates” could or could not include types of speech such as art, music, photography etc, depending on who you ask. It also does not explain the use of the word behavior - physical, emotional, professional, online behavior are all possible, but the scope of this term would depend on the interpretation one chooses to apply. In part 4 below, we will demonstrate how ICANN has applied a far more detailed framework for harassment elsewhere.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Ignores complexity</strong></p>
<p>In discussions surrounding the incident at ICANN55, a number of issues of arose. These included, inter alia, the definition of harassment and sexual harassment, what constituted such conduct, the procedure to be followed in such cases, the appropriate forum to deal with such incidents and the conduct that both parties are expected to maintain. These questions cannot, and have not been answered or addressed in the proposed change to the Standards. CIS emphasizes the need to understand this issue as one that must imbibe differences in culture, expectation, power dynamics, and options for redressal. If ICANN is to truly be a safe space, such issues must be substantively and procedurally fair for both the accused and the victim. This proposed definition is woefully inadequate in this regard.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p><strong>Superficial understanding of harassment, sexual harassment</strong></p>
<p>The proposed changes do not define harassment, and sexual harassment in an adequate fashion. The change currently reads, “Generally, harassment is considered unwelcome hostile or intimidating behavior -- in particular, speech or behavior that is sexually aggressive or intimidates based on attributes such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, age, color, national origin, ancestry, disability or medical condition, sexual orientation, or gender identity.” These are subject to broad interpretation, and we have already highlighted the issues that may arise due to this in 1, above. Here, we would like to point to a far more comprehensive definition.</p>
</li></ol>
<p>ICANN’s own Employment Policy includes within the scope of sexual harassment “verbal, physical and visual conduct that creates an intimidating, offensive or hostile working environment, or interferes with work performance.” The policy also states:</p>
<blockquote>Harassing conduct can take many forms and includes, but is not limited to, the following:<br />
<ol><li>Slurs, jokes, epithets, derogatory comments, statements or gestures;</li>
<li>Assault, impeding or blocking another’s movement or otherwise physically interfering with normal work;</li>
<li>Pictures, posters, drawings or cartoons based upon the characteristics mentioned in the first paragraph of this policy.</li></ol>
Sexually harassing conduct includes all of the above prohibited actions, as well as other unwelcome conduct, such as requests for sexual favors, conversation containing sexual comments, and unwelcome sexual advances.”</blockquote>
<p>This definition is not perfect, it does not comprehensively consider advances or attempts at communication, sexual or otherwise, which are unwelcome by the target. Nonetheless, CIS believes that this is a far more appropriate definition that does not include vague metrics that the proposed changes do. Since it is one ICANN has already adopted, it can act as an important stepping stone towards a comprehensive framework.</p>
<p>Like ICANN, UNESCO’s organisational approach has been to adopt a comprehensive <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/UN_system_policies/(UNESCO)Anti-harassment_Policy.pdf">Anti-Harassment Policy</a> which lays down details of definition, prevention, complaint procedure, investigations, sanctions, managerial responsibility, etc. Acknowledging the cultural sensitivity of harassment particularly in international situations, the policy also recognizes advances or attempts at communication, sexual or otherwise. Most importantly, it states that for conduct to come within the definition of sexual harassment, it “must be unwelcome, i.e. unsolicited and regarded as offensive or undesirable by the victim.”</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>In conclusion, we would like to reiterate the importance of adopting and drafting a dedicated anti-harassment policy and framework. The benefits of safety, certainty and formal redressal mechanisms in cases of harassment cannot be over emphasized.</p>
<p>Importantly, such measures have already been taken elsewhere. The IETF has adopted an <a href="http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7776">instrument</a> to address issues of harassment that occur at meetings, mailing lists and social events. This instrument contemplates in detail, problematic behavior, unacceptable conduct, the scope of the term harassment, etc. It further envisages a framework for redressal of complaints, remediation, and even contemplates issues that may arise with such remediation. It is particularly important to note that while it provides a definition of harassment, it also states that "[a]ny definition of harassment prohibited by an applicable law can be subject to this set of procedures, recognising harassment as a deeply personal and subjective experience, and thus encouraging members to take up issues of harassment as per their cultural norms and national laws, which are then considered as per procedures laid down."</p>
<p>A similar effort within the ICANN community is critical.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/submission-by-the-centre-for-internet-and-society-on-revisions-to-icann-expected-standards-of-behavior'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/submission-by-the-centre-for-internet-and-society-on-revisions-to-icann-expected-standards-of-behavior</a>
</p>
No publishervidushiPublic AccountabilityInternet GovernanceFeaturedICANNIANA TransitionHomepage2016-06-30T06:07:37ZBlog EntryStudying the Emerging Database State in India: Notes for Critical Data Studies (Accepted Abstract)
https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-the-emerging-database-state-in-india-accepted-abstract
<b>"Critical Data Studies (CDS) is a growing field of research that focuses on the unique theoretical, ethical, and epistemological challenges posed by 'Big Data.' Rather than treat Big Data as a scientifically empirical, and therefore largely neutral phenomena, CDS advocates the view that data should be seen as always-already constituted within wider data assemblages." The Big Data and Society journal has provisionally accepted a paper abstract of mine for its upcoming special issue on Critical Data Studies.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Introduction</h2>
<p>Through the last decade, the Government of India has given shape to an digital identification infrastructure, developed and operated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The infrastructure combines the task of assigning unique identification numbers, called Aadhaar numbers, to individuals submitting their biometric and demographic details, and the task of authenticating their identity when provided with an Aadhaar number and associated data (biometric data, One Time Pin sent to the pre-declared mobile number, etc.). The aim of UIDAI is to provide universal authentication-as-a-service for all residents of India who approach any public or private agencies for any kind of service or transaction. Simultaneously, the Aadhaar numbers will function as unique identifiers for joining up databases of different government agencies, and hence allow the Indian government to undertake big data analytics at a governmental scale, and not only at a departmental one.</p>
<p>In this paper, I am primarily motivated by the challenge of finding points and objects to enter into a critical study of such an in-progress data infrastructure. As I proceed with an understanding that data is produced within its specific social and material context, the question then is to read through the data to reflect on its possible social and material context. This is complicated when approaching a big data infrastructure that is meant to produce data for explicitly intra-governmental consumption and circulation. The problem then is not one of reading through available big data, but one of reading through the assemblage and imaginaries of big data to reflect on the kind of data it will give rise to, and thus on the politics of the data assemblage and the database state it enables.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Logic of the Database State</h2>
<p>Application of data to inform governmental acts have taken place at least since government has been understood as responsible for the welfare of the population and the territory. The measurement of the population and the territory – the number of people, their demographic features, amounts and locations of natural resources, and so on – have always been integral to the functioning of the modern nation-state. Database state is used in this paper to identify a particular mode of mobilisation of data within governmental acts, which is fundamentally shaped by the possibilities of big data extraction, appropriation, and analytics pioneered by a range of companies since late 1990s. The reason for not using big data state but database dtate is that big data refers to a body of technologies emerging in response to a set of data management and analysis challenges situated in a certain moment of development of information technologies, whereas database refers to a symbolic form (Manovich 1999): a form in which not only the population is made visible to the government (as a collection of visual, textual, numeric, and other forms of records), but also how the acts of government are made visible to the population (as a collection of performance indicators, budget allocation and utilisation tables, and other data visualised through dashboards, analog and digital).</p>
<p>The data production and management logic of this database state is specifically inspired by the notion of platform introduced by the so-called Web 2.0 companies: providing a common service layer upon which various other applications may also run, but under specific arrangements (including distribution of generated user data) with the original common layer provider. Data assemblages of the database state are expected to enable the government to function as a platform, as an intensely data-driven layer that widely gathers data about population individuals and feeds it back selectively to various providers of public and private services. This transforms the data assemblage from one vertical of governmental activities to a horizontal critical infrastructure for modularisation of governmental activities.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Studying the Emerging Database State in India</h2>
<p>Government of India is presently debating the legal and technical validity of the digital identity infrastructure programme in the Supreme Court, while simultaneously carrying out the enrollment drive for the same, linking up assignment of unique identity numbers with a national drive for population registration, and rolling out citizen-facing services and applications that implement the Aadhaar number as a necessary key to access them. With the enrollment process going on and the integration with various governmental processes (termed seeding by Aadhaar policy literature) just beginning, I enter this study through two key sets of objects reflecting the imaginaries and the technical specifications of the emerging database state in India. The first entry point is through the various official documents of vision, intentions, plans, and reconsiderations, and the second entry point is through the Application Programming Interface (API) documentations published by UIDAI to specify how its identity authentication platform will collaborate with various public and private services.</p>
<p>The first section of the paper provides a brief survey of pre-UIDAI attempts by the Government of India to deploy unique identification numbers and Smart Cards for specific population groups, so as to understand the initial conceptualisation of this data assemblage of a digital identification platform. The second section foregrounds how this platform undertakes a transformation of the components and relations of the pre-existing data assemblage of the Government of India, as articulated in various official documents of promised utility and proposed collaborations. The third section studies the API documentations to track how such imaginaries are materially interpreted and operationalised through the design of protocols of data interactions with various public and private agencies offering services utilising the identity authentication platform.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Notes for Critical Data Studies</h2>
<p>Expanding the early agenda note on Critical Data Studies by Craig Dalton and Jim Thatcher (2014), Rob Kitchin and Tracey P. Lauriault have taken steps towards emphasising the responsibility of this nebulous research strategy to chart and unpack the data assemblages (2014). This is exactly what I propose to do in this paper. While Kitchin and Lauriault provide a detailed list of the components of the apparatus of a data assemblage (2014: 7), I find the concepts of infrastructural components and infrastructural relations very useful in thinking through the emerging infrastructure of authentication. Thus, my approach to these tasks of charting and unpacking is focused on the infrastructural relations that the digital identity infrastructure re-configures, instead of the infrastructural components it mobilises (Bowker et al 2010). This tactical choice of focusing on the infrastructural relations is also necessitated by the practical difficulty in having comprehensive access to the individual components of the data assemblage concerned. Addressing questions of causality and quality becomes difficult when studying the assemblage sans the produced data, and rigorously analysing concerns of security and uncertainty pre-requires an actually existing data assemblage, with a public interface to investigating its leakages, breakages, and internal functioning. In the absence of such points of entry into the data assemblage, which I fear may not be an exceptional case, I attempt an inverted reading. Turning the data infrastructure inside out, in this paper I describe how the digital identity platform is critically reshaping the basis of governmental acts in India, through a specific model of production, extraction and application of big data.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Bibliography</h2>
<p>Bowker, Geoffrey C., Karen Baker, Florence Millerand, & David Ribes. 2010. Toward Information Infrastructure Studies: Ways of Knowing in a Networked Environment. Jeremy Hunsinger, Lisbeth Klastrup, & Matthew Allen (Eds.) International Handbook of Internet Research. Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York. Pp. 97-117.</p>
<p>Dalton, Craig, & Jim Thatcher. 2014. What does a Critical Data Studies Look Like, and Why do We Care? Seven Points for a Critical Approach to ‘Big Data.’ Society and Space. May 19. Accessed on July 08, 2015, from <a href="http://societyandspace.com/material/commentaries/craig-dalton-and-jim-thatcher-what-does-a-critical-data-studies-look-like-and-why-do-we-care-seven-points-for-a-critical-approach-to-big-data/" target="_blank">http://societyandspace.com/material/commentaries/craig-dalton-and-jim-thatcher-what-does-a-critical-data-studies-look-like-and-why-do-we-care-seven-points-for-a-critical-approach-to-big-data/</a>.</p>
<p>Kitchin, Rob, & Tracey P. Lauriault. 2014. Towards Critical Data Studies: Charting and Unpacking Data Assemblages and their Work. The Programmable City Working Paper 2. July 29. National University of Ireland Maynooth, Ireland. Accessed on July 08, 2015 from <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2474112" target="_blank">http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2474112</a>.</p>
<p>Manovich, Lev. 1999. Database as Symbolic Form. Convergence. Volume 5, Number 2. Pp. 80-99.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em>Note: Call for Papers for the special issue can found here: <a href="http://bigdatasoc.blogspot.in/2015/06/call-for-proposals-special-theme-on.html" target="_blank">http://bigdatasoc.blogspot.in/2015/06/call-for-proposals-special-theme-on.html</a>.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-the-emerging-database-state-in-india-accepted-abstract'>https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-the-emerging-database-state-in-india-accepted-abstract</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroBig DataData SystemsResearchFeaturedAadhaarResearchers at WorkE-Governance2015-11-13T05:54:53ZBlog EntryStudying Internet in India: Selected Abstracts
https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-internet-in-india-selected-abstracts
<b>We received thirty five engaging abstracts in response to the call for essays on 'Studying Internet in India.' Here are the ten selected abstracts. The final essays will be published from June onwards.</b>
<p> </p>
<h3>Deva Prasad M - 'Studying the Internet Discourse in India through the Prism of Human Rights'</h3>
<p>Exploring Internet from the perspective of human rights gives rise to the multitude of issues such as right to privacy, freedom of expression, accessibility. Pertinent socio-political and legal issues related to Internet which was widely debated upon in the past one year in India includes lack of freedom of expression on Internet and Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000. The recent net neutrality debate in India has also evoked deliberation about the right of equal accessibility to Internet and to maintain Internet as a democratic space. The repercussions of ‘Right to be Forgotten’ law of European Union also had led to debate of similar rights in Indian context. Interestingly all these issues have an underlying thread of human right perspective connecting them and need pertinent deliberation from human rights perspective.</p>
<p>This paper is an attempt to understand and analyze theses issues from the human rights angle and also how they have contributed in evolving an understanding and perspective amongst the digitally conscious Indian’s to ensure the democratic nature of “Internet” is perceived. Moreover, analysis of these three issues would also help in emphasizing upon the need for a right-based approach in studying Internet in India.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Dibyajyoti Ghosh - 'Indic Scripts and the Internet'</h3>
<p>Whereas the status of the internet in India is similar to the status of the internet in similar economies with low-penetration and a primarily mobile-based future, an alphabetically diverse nation such as India has its added worries. Whereas the 1990s saw an overdomination of English given the linguistic communities which were developing the world of computers and the world of the internet, by 2015, some of the disparity with offline linguistic patterns has been reduced. However, for Indic scripts, much less development has taken place. If one is studying the internet in India, chances are one is studying it in English.</p>
<p>What does this hold for the future of these Indic scripts? Given the multilingual skills of Indian school-goers and the increasing amount of daily reading time of those connected to the internet (which is somewhere between 12% and 20% of the population) being devoted to reading on the internet, chances are reading is increasingly in English. In this essay, I shall attempt to study the effects this has on the internet population of India, some of which are as follows.</p>
<ul>
<li>The kind of mimetic desire it causes</li>
<li>The degneration in spelling skills caused due to transliteration</li>
<li>The effacement of non-digitised Indic verbal texts</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h3>Divij Joshi - 'The Internet in the Indian Judicial Imagination'</h3>
<p>The first mention of the 'Internet' in the vocabulary of Indian judicial system was a fleeting reference to its radical capability to allow access to knowledge. In one of its most recent references, it expounded upon and upheld the idea of the Internet as a radical tool for free expression, announcing its constitutional significance for free speech.</p>
<p>The judicial imagination of the Internet – the understanding of its capabilities and limitations, its actors and constituents, as reflected in the judgements of Indian courts – plays a major role in shaping the Internet in India, both reflecting and defining conceptions of the Internet and its relationship with society, law, and public policy.</p>
<p>This essay is an attempt to use legal and literary theory to study the archives of judicial decisions, tracing the history of the Internet in India through the lens of judicial trends, and also to look at how the judiciary has defined its own role in relation to the Internet. It attempts a vital study of how courts in India have conceptualized and understood the Internet, and how these conceptions have, in turn, impacted the influence of the Internet on Indian society.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Ipsita Sengupta</h3>
<p>The proposed essay will make observations of a specific kind of conversation that takes place on the social media platform of YouTube. The conclusive argument is imagined along questions of high versus low culture, as described below.</p>
<p>Under study are two objects- one, particular YouTube videos which play Rabindra-Sangeet, i.e. songs penned and composed in the late 19- early 20th centuries by the Bengali writer and artist Rabindranath Tagore, the body of work which today has become a genre of Indian music; and the second, comments that these videos receive from users of the site.</p>
<p>Visuals of YouTube song videos of Rabindra-Sangeet are of many kinds. So are renditions, with solitary or duet or band performances, and with varying pace and instrumental accompaniment.</p>
<p>The videos which have visuals from contemporary cinema, like images of urban youth, and the remixed renditions have often been found to receive comments which reflect/ reveal hurt sentiments of people trying to preserve some kind of sanctity of Rabindra-Sangeet, comments which state how the ethics of presenting the genre have been violated, via their notation and design, by either makers of the film in the song’s incorporation, or by the way young pop stars have been placed in particular montages.</p>
<p>Some examples:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1aGwOBgyWTo?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/8_z3blCxCCQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" height="315" width="420"></iframe></p>
<p>In such a scenario, YouTube as medium of user-generated expression becomes interesting to analyse individual and group dynamics- given the space for commenting (below the video), and statistical data such as “Likes”, “Dislikes”, and “Views”. The debate here is that in Tagore’s “Nationalism”, when he himself is seen to have an imagination of the human race beyond patriotic groupings and consequent othering, does this apparent need to avoid “insulting” his compositions by preserving an intangible art form in a particular way, become then a type of jingoism of region or identity? And what is this Benjaminian “aura” of the “original” that listeners look for in their experience of these videos?</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Laird Brown - 'Dharamsala Networked'</h3>
<p>Three hours after regulations governing public access to WiFi in India were changed in 2005 the first router went up in Dharamsala. It was homemade, open source, and eventually, “monkey proof.” Something unimaginable had happened: high-speed Internet access in one of India’s most difficult physical geographies. Dharamsala has also become one of India's interesting information networks and has a burgeoning, unlikely 'tech scene’. But is it so unlikely?</p>
<p>Since 1959 Dharamsala has been home to the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan people and, government in exile. This single, significant incident possibly set in motion a number of factors that made it possible for the mountain-town to become a political, global, communications. However, much like the rest of India, the region struggles for human and environmental rights against fractured ideas of 'development'. This essay will draw on archives and interviews to unpack this microcosmic tale of Internet access, its histories and economics and the factors at play in shaping it - mundane and maverick, familiar and outlier.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Maitrayee Deka - 'WhatsApp Economy'</h3>
<p>Everyone around us is connected to the Internet through some or other electronic devices, phones, laptops, and tablets. However, not everyone use Internet for the same purpose. Through an ethnographic account of the usage of WhatsApp messages by the traders in three electronic bazaars in Delhi, Palika Bazaar, Nehru Place and Lajpat Rai Market, we see how Internet on the phone is used predominantly for business purpose. The paper seeks to examine how Whatsapp messages, which are for most of the users a medium for social communication, for the traders in Delhi, become a mode to establish business contact with their counterparts in China. From sharing of pictures of new tools to quoting prices of different products, Whatsapp messages become the lifeline of what many has termed as ‘globalization from below’. This paper argues what has started as economic exchanges through Whatsapp messages may start a new political alliance of similar mass markets in Asia. With the electronic bazaars in Delhi facing stiff competition from formal business actors both online and offline, the WhatsApp messages that is a space of new innovations and trade alliances could sustain the mass markets in India.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Purbasha Auddy - 'Citizens and their Internet'</h3>
<p>Suddenly it seems internet data package on mobile phones is the reply to the problems in India. As mobile phones remain with us most of the time, it is as if we are ready to face the world if our mobile phones have a data package. Yes, several television commercials in India are gleefully harping on the notes of knowledge, empowerment and freedom. Moreover, internet is being identified as a virtual institution.</p>
<p>The essay proposes to look into those advertisements which talk about the internet to promote data packages, mobile phones or apps. Through this, the essay firstly, would like to construct the idea of the internet using the Indian citizen who is depicted as smart and almost infallible. Secondly, on the other hand, the essay would analyse how an affirmative and constructive view of using the internet in the minds of citizens has been generated by these advertisements, like the virtual world of the internet can save you from any drastic situation.</p>
<p>Advertisements are creative constructs, which have a strong aptitude to entice target consumers. While studying the internet in India, studying the ‘texts’ of Indian advertisements which refer to the act of ‘consuming’ the internet could result in an interesting study.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Sailen Routray - 'The Many Lives and Sites of Internet in Bhubaneswar'</h3>
<p>Those of us who have jumped or meandered across to the wrong (or perhaps the right) side of thirty by now, first came to consume internet in what were called, and are still called, cyber cafes or internet cafes. Their numbers in big Indian cities is dwindling because of the increasing ubiquity of smartphone, and netbooks and data cards. The cyber café seems to be inexorably headed the way of the STD booth in the geography of large Indian cities. The present paper is a preliminary step towards capturing some of the experience of running and using internet cafes. With ethnographic fieldwork with cyber café owners and internet users in these cafes in the Chandrasekharpur area of Bhubaneswar (where the largest section of the computer industry in the state of Odisha is located), this paper tries to capture experiences that lie at the interstices of ‘objects’ and spaces - experiences that are at the same time a history of the internet as well as a personal history of the city.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Sarah McKeever - 'Quantity over Quality: Social Media and the New Class System in India'</h3>
<p>From the humblest mobile phones to the most sophisticated computers, the Internet is everywhere and nowhere in India. The boundaries, the contours of the space remain nebulous and opaque. When engaging with social media in urban India in particular, we are bound to the conventions of corporations which demand quantity over quality creating a new class system of the Internet: those who are “active” – and therefore a “better” user – and those who have seemingly failed to keep up with the demands of the medium, buried in the ever‐growing noise and chaos. The creation of a new class system on the Internet, based on Western corporate desire for data, has shaped who is seen and heard on the Internet in India.</p>
<p>Based on fieldwork in New Delhi which examines the impact of the Internet on offline social movements – including the anti corruption movement in 2011 and the Delhi Rape Case in 2012 – I will argue that the study of the Internet in India can reinforce Western corporate conceptions of how to use the Internet properly among various users involved in the movements. By challenging these preconceptions, this essay will engage with issues of Western corporate notions of Internet use and how we engage with and find participants, how we evaluate what is “good” use of the Internet, and the creation of a new class system on the Internet in India.</p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Smarika Kumar - 'Governing Speech on the Internet: Transforming the Public Sphere through Policymaking'</h3>
<p>In the privatised spaces of the World Wide Web and the internet, how does one make sense of speech? Should speech in such a space be understood as the product of a marketplace of ideas? Or should its role in democratic participation be recognised by contextualising the internet as part of the Habermasian public sphere? These questions have interesting implications for the regulation of speech on the internet, as they employ different principles in understanding speech. Recent scholarship has argued for the benefits of employing the public sphere approach to the internet and thus recognising its democratic potential. But taking into account that all speech is inherently made in private spaces on the internet, the application of this
approach is far from simple.</p>
<p>This creates a tension between the marketplace of ideas and the public sphere approaches to speech on the internet in policymaking. I propose to explore how legal and regulatory mechanisms manage these tensions by
creating governance frameworks for the internet: I argue that through the use of policy and regulation, the private marketplace of the internet is sought to be reined in and reconciled to the public sphere, which is mostly represented through legislations governing the internet. I propose that this less-than-perfect reconciliation then manages to modify the very idea of the public sphere itself in the Indian context, by infusing participation of the "other" on the internet through indirect means.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-internet-in-india-selected-abstracts'>https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-internet-in-india-selected-abstracts</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroResearchers at WorkFeaturedInternet StudiesRAW Blog2015-08-28T06:53:33ZBlog Entry Studying Internet in India (2016): Selected Abstracts
https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-internet-in-india-2016-selected-abstracts
<b>We received some great submissions and decided to select twelve abstracts, and not only ten as we planned earlier. Here are the abstracts.</b>
<p> </p>
<h3><strong>Abhimanyu Roy</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>The Curious Incidents on Matrimonial Websites in India</em></strong></p>
<p>What is love? Philosophers have argued over it, biologists have researched it and in the age of the internet, innovators have disrupted it. In the west, dating websites such as OKCupid and eHarmony use all manner of algorithms to find its users their optimal match. In India’s conservative society though, dating is fast-tracked or skipped altogether in favor of marriage. This gives rise to a plethora of matrimonial sites such as Jeevansathi.com and Shaadi.com. This is where things get tricky.</p>
<p>Matrimonial websites are different from other internet-enabled services. The gravity of the decision and the major impact that it has on the lives of users brings in pressure and a range of emotions that are not there on casual transactions such as an Uber ride or a foodpanda order. From outright fraud to online harassment newspaper back pages are filled with nightmare stories that begin on a matrimonial website. So much so, that in November of last year, the Indian government decided to set up a panel to regulate matrimonial sites in order to curb abuse. The essay will analyze India’s social stand on marriage, the role of matrimonial websites in modern day India, the problems this awkward amalgamation of the internet and love gives rise to and the steps authorities and matrimonial companies are taking to prevent these issues from occurring.</p>
<h3><strong>Anita Gurumurthy, Nandini Chami, and Deepti Bharthur</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>Internet as Sutradhar: The Aesthetics and Politics of Digital Age Counter-power</em></strong></p>
<p>The open Internet is now a feeble, wannabe, digital age meme. The despots have grabbed it and capitalism has colonised it. But the network that engulfs its users is also a multi-headed organism; the predictables have to make peace with the unpredictables, both arising as they do with the unruly affordances of the network. The much celebrated public domain of open government data, usually meant for geeks and software gurus dedicated to the brave new 'codeful' future, has meant little for marginal subjects of India's development project. Data on government websites have been critiqued worldwide for often being too clunky to catalyse civic use or too obscure to pin down government efficacy. However, as an instrument of accountable governance, data in the public domain can help hold the line, fuelling vanguard action to foster democracy. Activists engaged in the right to food movement in India had reason to rejoice recently when the Supreme Court of India pulled up the central government for delay in release of funds under the MGNREGA scheme and violating the food security law. The series of actions leading to this victory enjoins deeper examination of the MGNREGS website, the design principles of the MIS that generates reports based on the data, and the truth claims that arose in the contingent context marking this struggle. <em>What were the ingredients of this happy irony; the deployment of the master's tools to disband the master's house? What aesthetics and principles made for a public data structure that allowed citizens to hack into state impunity? And what do such practices around the digital tell us about the performativity of the Internet - not as a grand, open, phenomenon for the network to access the multitude, but as the inane, local, Sutradhar (alchemist who produces the narrative), who allows truths to be told?</em></p>
<h3><strong>Aishwarya Panicker</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>How Green is the Internet? The Good, the Bad and the Ugly</em></strong></p>
<p>Groceries at your doorstep, data on your fingertips, an Uber at the tap of a button and information overload- human negotiations with the internet have definitely changed drastically in the past few decades. Research in the area, too, has transformed to not just the supply of internet to the masses, but has evolved to include innovative and revolutionary ideas in terms of internet infrastructure and governance. With over 3.2 Billion internet users in the world, and over 400 million of these from India, this is no surprise.</p>
<p>However, while environmental sustainability remains at the forefront of many-a-government, there is little data / debate / analysis / examination of the environmental impact of the internet. This is true especially for India. In 2011, Joel Gombiner wrote an academic paper on the problem of the Internets carbon footprint, with a premise based on the lesser known fact that the ICT industry has been ‘responsible for two to four percent of the global greenhouse gas emissions’- an area that the Climate Group’s Smart 2020 report had focused on back in 2008 as well. Clearly this is a war on the environment that is yet to receive large-scale attention.</p>
<p>How can we move beyond particular fascinations with the internet and engage holistically with the internet? By moving towards a dimension of internet infrastructure studies, that has large policy and implementation benefits. This paper, then, will seek to elucidate four central issue areas: first, as the third highest country in terms of internet use, what is the current environmental impact of internet usage in India? Second, are there any regulatory provisions that give prescriptive measures to data centres and providers? Third, do any global standards
exist in this regard and finally, what future steps can be taken (by the government, civil society
and individuals) to address this?</p>
<h3><strong>Deepak Prince</strong></h3>
<p>One of the most important effects of increasing internet connectivity coupled with universal electronic display screens, multimedia digital objects and supple graphic interfaces, is the proliferation of systems of enunciation. The business letter, typewriter, electric telegraph and radio, each in its own time, transformed how humans make sense in different forms of writing. Some of these survive to this day (forms of address from letters, the abbreviations and ‘cablese’ from telegraph operators etc). Now, we find new spaces of networked sociality emerging at rapid speeds, and everyday, we forget many others that are now outdated, no longer ‘supported’ or desired. How does one study this supple flow of discourse? Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of tracing collective assemblages of enunciation (the structuring structures of discourse) and Gilbert Simondon’s Law of relaxation (where technical elements created by complex ensembles are released into a path of technological evolution where they may or may not crystallize the formation of new ensembles) are two philosophical notions that seek to address this problem. The anthropologist Ilana Gershon suggests that new social media platforms like Facebook have a detrimental effect on sociality because they impose a neo-liberal notion of personhood on its users, through the interface. I take this as my point of departure, and based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at a new media marketing agency, I attempt to draw out how ‘posting’ is modulated on facebook, about how subjectivity is configured within the complex matrix comprising a constant flow of posts, the economy of ‘liking’, algorithmic sorting and affects that do not cross the threshold of the screen.</p>
<h3><strong>Maitrayee Mukerji</strong></h3>
<p>By some latest estimates, around 35% of the population access the Internet in India using multiple devices. As Indians browse, search, transact and interact online, one can observe the increasing intertwining of the Internet in their everyday lives. But, how much do we know about the influence and impact of the Internet on Indian and in India? Advances in big data technologies provide an exciting opportunity for social science researchers to study the Internet. So, trends can be detected, opinions and sentiments can be calibrated, social networks can be discovered by using technologies for collecting and mining data on people online. But are social science researchers in India equipped enough to do a rigorous and detailed study of the India? Leaving aside debates on epistemology, ontology and methodology of researching Internet using big data analytics, the very first challenge is
limited access to data. A cursory scan of the available research would indicate that the data – tweets, trends, comments, memes etc. have generally been collected manually. The bulk of the data is collected by private companies and available either at a price or by writing programs to access them through APIs. The latter allows only limited extraction of data and more often than not has a learning curve. Access to raw data, through institutional repositories or special permission, if available is only to select few. Legal and ethical issues arise if one considers scrapping websites for data. The essay is an attempt to articulate the challenges in accessing data while making attempts to study the Internet using big data analytics.</p>
<h3><strong>Muhammed Afzal P</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>Internet Memes as Effective Means of Social and Political Criticism</em></strong></p>
<p>By looking at the user-generated memes posted from the Malayalam Facebook pages “Troll Malayalam” and “International Chalu Union”, this essay argues that political memes function as effective means of social and political criticism in Kerala. In a society where conversations often tend to feature examples from popular films, memes from these pages use images from popular culture including television to respond to current affairs as well as contemporary social and political questions. Often described mistakenly as 'trolls' by the practitioners themselves, a major portion of the memes have a progressive content in terms of discussing questions related to religion, sexuality, nationalism, etc. It won’t be an exaggeration to state that many Malayalis see these memes as instant 'news analysis' of current affairs. The argument of this essay will be advanced through an analysis of the memes that were produced in relation to contemporary socio-political and cultural questions such as beef ban, the rise of right-wing politics in Kerala, the question of religious conservatism, etc. Through this the essay seeks to investigate how internet memes creatively contribute to social movements and also to see how critical questions in cultural criticism are translated into "the popular.'</p>
<h3><strong>Dr. Ravikant Kisana</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>Archetyping the 'Launda' Humor on the Desi Internet</em></strong></p>
<p>Humor on the internet has proven a massive social unifying force for young, upper class Indian millennials. The humor is not just consumed via Western (mainly US) humor collectives such as 9GAG, Cracked, etc - the proliferation of 'Indian' humor pages on the Facebook and the countless YouTube comedy channels is testament to the localisation of this content. However, the humor which is seen as a unifying force is largely 'launda' aka. 'heteronormative-upper caste-male' in its sensibilities. Comedy collectives like TVF, with its popular channel 'Q-tiyapa' had to create a separate handle 'Girliyapa' to cater to feminist themes. The idea is that humor by default is male, and 'feminist humor' needs a separate space.</p>
<p>This essay seeks to study the 'launda'-cultural attributes of online Indian humor. It will seek to document and wean archetypes of comedy tropes which fit this mode. The area of the documentation will be YouTube comedy channels and Facebook humor pages—however, the same can be extended to Twitter handles and the suchlike.</p>
<h3><strong>Siddharth Rao and Kiran Kumar</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>Chota Recharge and the Chota Internet</em></strong></p>
<p>Uniform and affordable Internet is emerging as one of the fundamental civil rights in developing countries. However in India, the connectivity is far from uniform across the regions, where the disparity is evident in the infrastructure, the cost of access and telecommunication services to provide Internet facilities among different economic classes. In spite of having a large mobile user base, the mobile Internet are still remarkably slower in some of the developing countries. Especially in India, it falls below 50% even in comparison with the performance of its developing counterparts!</p>
<p>This essay presents a study of connectivity and performance trends based on an exploratory analysis of mobile Internet measurement data from India. In order to assess the state of mobile networks and its readiness in adopting the different mobile standards (2G, 3G, and 4G) for commercial use, we discuss the spread, penetration, interoperability and the congestion trends.</p>
<p>Based on our analysis, we argue that the network operators have taken negligible measures to scale the mobile Internet. Affordable Internet is definitely for everyone. But, the affordability of the Internet in terms of cost
does not necessarily imply the rightful access to Internet services. Chota recharge is possibly leading us to chota (shrunken) Internet!</p>
<h3><strong>Smarika Kumar</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>Why Mythologies are Crucial to Understand Governance on the Internet: The Case of Online Maps</em></strong></p>
<p>How does one study internet in India? This essay proposes to provide one possible answer to this question through its central argument that internet, like other technologies, is very much a part of a “mythological” or “fictional” narrative of the history of this country, and without an understanding of these mythologies, the development of internet governance in the country cannot be hoped to be understood. This central argument is traced in the essay through the debates and discussions on law and policymaking around online maps. The essay, in its first part, explores what a “mythological” account of the history of India might mean, and what role technological developments play in it. It does so by tracing the narrative of mapmaking in medieval India and its deep ties with magic, secrecy and mythical stories. It then surveys how modern mapping surveys in the colonial period interacted with the idea of the “native”, and argues that such interactions created a dichotomy between “native” sciences, folklore on the one hand, and colonial achievements, national security on the other. It argues that it is this latter strand of a certain “national security” vision of technology which found dominant voice in the regulation
of maps in India post-independence, yet the sense of the unknown, mystical, or “mythological” in such technological deployment as mapmaking requires, survived. The essay finally uses such evidence to trace how even in online
interactions, and internet governance design in India- this aspect of the mystical and the fear of it often sustains, driven by a (repressed?) memory of mythology, through the use of analogies. And it is within this twilight
zone, within this frontier between “mythology” and nation-building, that a governance design for online maps is being presently constructed in India. The essay then argues that it becomes crucial to understand such mythologies around technology generally and internet specifically and the manner they interact with law and policymaking in order to really get a sense of a 21st century India’s experience of the internet.</p>
<h3><strong>Sujeet George</strong></h3>
<p><strong><em>Understanding Reddit: The Indian Context</em></strong></p>
<p>Even as social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter seek to carve a niche within the Indian social media landscape, the presence and impact of news aggregator website reddit seems relatively unnoticed. Known for its excessive self-referentiality and inability to emerge from a restricted pool of informational flow, reddit nevertheless has come to be a major focal point of convergence of news and public opinion, especially in the United States. The web interface, which allows for users with overlapping interests to converge under a common platform namely the “subreddit,” allows the possibility of understanding questions of user taste and the directions in which information and user attention flow.</p>
<p>This paper seeks to offer a preliminary gesture towards understanding reddit’s usage and breadth in the Indian context. Through an analysis of the “India” subreddit and examining the manner and context in which information and ideas are shared, proposed, and debunked, the paper aspires to formulate a methodology for interrogating sites like reddit that offer the possibilities of social mediation, even as users maintain a limited amount of privacy. At the
same time, to what extent can such news aggregator sites direct the ways in which opinions and news flows change course as a true marker of information generation responding to user inputs.</p>
<h3><strong>Supratim Pal</strong></h3>
<p>India, being a multilingual country, owes a lot to the Internet for adding words to the vocabulary of everyday use in different languages.</p>
<p>This paper would critically examine how Net words like "selfie", "wall", "profile" and others have changed the way Indians write or talk. For example, a word like "nijaswi" was not there in Bengali language five years back but is used across several platforms as a translation of "selfie".</p>
<p>On one hand, computer-mediated communication (CMC) has helped us to express in short messages and on the other, we all have picked up use of punctuation marks like colon or a semicolon to express our emotion - which have got another name, "emoticons".</p>
<p>The paper would be more practical in approach than theoretical. For example, it would feature chat (another example of CMC) conversations 10 years ago when hardly an emoticon was used, and that of today's when we cannot think of a chat without a "smiley" or a "sticker". Even the linguist, David Crystal, probably could not have thought that in 15 years, the language (not just lingua franca, English) would change worldwide since he first tried to theorize Internet language in 2001.</p>
<p>Today, a linguist need not to have a proper publication to introduce a word in any language but Netizens can re-invent words like "troll" or "roast" to criticize one or "superlike" to celebrate an achievement or even "unfriend" someone to just relax.</p>
<h3><strong>Surfatial</strong></h3>
<p>Surfatial is a trans-local collective that operates through the internet. We use conversations to aid learning outside established structures. We are concerned with enabling disinhibition through the internet, for expressing
what may not be feasible in physical reality. What role does partial or complete anonymity play in this process of seeking “safe” zones of expression? Fake profiles on social media offer such zones, while perhaps also operating to propagate, mislead or troll.</p>
<p>Our essay would argue:</p>
<ol><li>That there is a desire to participate in speculative fora in the Indian cultural context and the internet has created space for philosophical questioning among contemporary Indian participants which can develop further, despite common assertions that online spaces are largely uncivil and abusive.</li>
<li>That anonymous and pseudonymous content production offers a method for exploring and expressing with a certain degree of freedom.</li>
<li>Spam-like methods used in sub-cultural outreach efforts on social media have proved effective in puncturing filter bubbles.</li></ol>
<p>Our essay would be drawn from experiments via Surfatial’s online engagement platforms (Surfatial’s Study groups and post_writer project) to examine:</p>
<ol><li>Extent of participation.</li>
<li>Disinhibition facilitation and dialoguing.</li>
<li>Reach.</li>
<li>Emergence and development of ideas.</li>
<li>Creating an archive of internet activity and re-processing it into new forms of presentation.</li></ol>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-internet-in-india-2016-selected-abstracts'>https://cis-india.org/raw/studying-internet-in-india-2016-selected-abstracts</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroResearchers at WorkFeaturedInternet StudiesRAW Blog2016-07-06T06:24:42ZBlog EntryStrategies to Organise Platform Workers
https://cis-india.org/raw/strategies-to-organise-platform-workers-rightscon
<b>In 2022, the Centre for Internet and Society hosted a panel with Akkanut Wantanasombut, Ayoade Ibrahim, Rikta Krishnaswamy, and Sofía Scasserra at RightsCon, an annual summit on technology and human rights. </b>
<p><b><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/raw/strategies-to-organise-platform-workers/at_download/file">Click</a></b> to download the full report</p>
<hr />
<h3>Event Report</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This event report is based on proceedings from a panel hosted at the 2022 edition of RightsCon. Hosted by the labour and digitalisation team at CIS, the panel brought together seasoned labour organisers, activists, and researchers working across Thailand, Nigeria, India, and Argentina. The panellists represented a diverse group of worker organisations, including transnational federations, national unions, and informally organised movements.<br /><br />Their experiences of organising in research and practice infused our discussion with insight into collective action struggles across varied sectors and platform economies in the global south. Collective resistance among platform workers has witnessed a sustained rise in these economies over the past three years, with demands for transparency and accountability from platforms, and for a guarantee of rights and protections from governments.<br /><br />Through this panel, we sought to answer:</p>
<ol>
<li>How have workers’ organisations overcome challenges in sustained collective action?</li>
<li>What have been unique aspects of organising in the global south?</li>
<li>Which strategies have been gaining traction for organising workers and mobilising other stakeholders?</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br />Placing workers’ participation front and centre, the panellists incorporated common threads around campaigning, education, and mobilisation for increasing worker participation, as well as bargaining with the government for legal and social protections. The panellists highlighted that it’s the resilience and resistance led by workers that drive the way for sustained organising. This panel hoped to spotlight steps taken in that direction, where organising efforts strive to form, sustain, and champion worker-led movements.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; ">Contributors</h3>
<p><b>Panellists: </b><br />Akkanut Wantanasombut<br />Ayoade Ibrahim<br />Rikta Krishnawamy <br />Sofía Scasserra</p>
<p><b>Worker organisations in focus:</b><br />Tamsang-Tamsong<br />National Union of Professional App-based Transport Workers<br />International Alliance of App-based Transport Workers<br />All India Gig Workers’ Union <br />Federación Argentina de Empleados de Comercio y Servicios<br />Asociación de Personal de Plataformas</p>
<p><b>Conceptualisation and planning</b>: Ambika Tandon, Chiara Furtado, Aayush Rathi, and Abhishek Sekharan</p>
<p><b>Author</b>: Chiara Furtado<br /><b>Reviewers</b>: Ambika Tandon and Nishkala Sekhar<br /><b>Designer</b>: Annushka Jaliwala<br /><br />This event report is part of research supported by the Internet Society Foundation under the ‘Labour futures’ grant.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/strategies-to-organise-platform-workers-rightscon'>https://cis-india.org/raw/strategies-to-organise-platform-workers-rightscon</a>
</p>
No publisherfurtadoLabour FuturesDigital EconomyResearchers at WorkGig WorkPlatform-WorkFeaturedRAW ResearchHomepage2023-10-22T09:54:52ZBlog EntryState of the Internet's Languages 2020: Announcing selected contributions!
https://cis-india.org/raw/stil-2020-selected-contributions
<b>In response to our call for contributions and reflections on ‘Decolonising the Internet’s Languages’ in August, we are delighted to announce that we received 50 submissions, in over 38 languages! We are so overwhelmed and grateful for the interest and support of our many communities around the world; it demonstrates how critical this effort is for all of us. From all these extraordinary offerings, we have selected nine that we will invite and support the contributors to expand further.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Cross-posted from the Whose Knowledge? website: <a href="https://whoseknowledge.org/selected-contributions/" target="_blank">URL</a></h4>
<p>Call for Contributions and Reflections: <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/stil-2020-call" target="_blank">URL</a></p>
<hr />
<img src="https://whoseknowledge.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/DTI-L-webbanner-1.png" alt="Decolonizing the Internet's Languages" />
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you to all of you who wrote in: we would publish every one of your contributions if we could! Each of you highlighted unique aspects of the problem and possibility of the multilingual internet, and it was extremely difficult to select a few to include in the ‘State of the Internet’s Languages Report’. Whether your submission was selected or not, we hope you will continue to be part of this work with us, and that the report will reflect your thoughtful concerns and interests in a multi-lingual internet.</p>
<p>The nine selected contributions will be a significant aspect of the openly licensed State of the Internet’s Languages report to be published mid-2020. In different formats and languages, they span many kinds of language contexts across the world, from many different communities and perspectives. They will form part of a broader narrative combining data and experience, highlighting how limited the current language capacities of the internet are, and how much opportunity there is for making our knowledges available in our many languages.</p>
<p>A special thank you to the final contributors – we’ll be in touch shortly with more details. We’re looking forward to working with you as you develop your contributions and share your experiences!</p>
<p>The selected contributions are from:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<h4><em>Caddie Brain, Joel Liddle, Leigh Harris, Graham Wilfred</em></h4>
<p>As part of a broader movement to increase inclusion and diversity in emojis, Aboriginal people in Central Australia are creating Indigemoji, the first set of Australian Indigenous emojis delivered via a free app. Caddie, Joel, Leigh and Graham aim to describe how to reflect Aboriginal experiences online, to increase the accessibility of Arrernte language in the broader Australian lexicon, to position Arrernte knowledge on digital platforms for future generations of Arrentre speakers and learners, and to contribute more broadly to the decolonisation of the internet.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Claudia Soria</em></h4>
<p>Claudia will describe “The Digital Language Diversity Project” funded by the European Commission under the Erasmus+ programme. The project has surveyed the digital use and usability of four European minority languages: Basque, Breton, Karelian and Sardinian. It has also developed a number of instruments that can help speakers’ communities drive the digital life of their languages, in the form of a methodology named “digital language planning”.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Donald Flywell Malanga</em></h4>
<p>Donald will share his experiences conducting two panel discussions with elderly and ten young Ndali People in Chisitu Village based in Misuku Hills, Malawi. He aims to hear their stories and make sense of them relating to how Chindali could be spoken/expressed online, examine the barriers they face in sharing/expressing their language online, and unearth possible solutions to address such barriers.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Emna Mizouni</em></h4>
<p>Emna will interview African and Arab content creators and consumers to share their experiences in posting content in their own language and expose their cultures. She will reach out to different ethnicities from Africa to gather data on the reasons they use the “colonial languages” on the internet and the burdens they face, whether technical such as internet connectivity and accessibility, lack of devices, social or cultural barriers, etc.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Ishan Chakraborty</em></h4>
<p>Ishan will explore the experiences of individuals who identify themselves as both disabled and queer, and who are not visible online in Bengali. Online research papers and academic works in Bengali are significantly limited, and even more so in the case of works on marginalities and intersections. One of the most effective ways of making online material accessible to persons with visual disability is through audio material, and Ishan will explore some of these possibilities.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Joaquín Yescas Martínez</em></h4>
<p>Joaquin will be describing the free software, open technology initiatives and the sharing philosophy of “compartencia” in his community of Mixe and Zapotec peoples in Mexico. He will explore initiatives such as Xhidza Penguin School, an app to learn the language online, and learning workshops to look at new methodologies for sharing and using the language. It is not only a means of communication but it also encompasses a different way of understanding the world.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Kelly Foster</em></h4>
<p>Kelly will draw attention to the work being done to revitalise indigenous languages and the struggles to represent the Nation Languages of the Caribbean and its diasporas in structured data and on Wikipedia. She aims to have the native names of the islands, locations and indigenous peoples on Wikidata, labelled with their own language so she can generate a map of the Caribbean with as many native names as possible. But the language of the Taino people of the islands that are now called Jamaican, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Haiti has been labelled as extinct, as are the people, by European researchers. Though a victim of the first European genocide of the Caribbean, they live on in the tongues and blood of people who are more often racialised as Black and Latinx.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Paska Darmawan</em></h4>
<p>As a first-generation college student who did not understand English, Paska had difficulties in finding educational, inspiring content about LGBTQIA issues in their native language, let alone positive content about the local LGBTQIA community. They plan to share a mapping of available Indonesian digital LGBTQIA content, whether it be in the form of Wikipedia articles, websites, social media accounts, or any other online media.</p>
</li>
<li>
<h4><em>Uda Deshpriya</em></h4>
<p>Uda will explore the lack of feminist content on the internet in Sinhala and Tamil. Mainstream human rights discussions take place in English and leaves out the majority of Sri Lankans. Women’s rights discourse remains even more centralized. Despite the fact that all primary criminal and civil courts work in local languages, statutes and decided cases are not available in Sinhala and Tamil, including Sri Lanka’s Constitution and its amendments. This extends to content creation through both text and art, with significant barriers of keyboard and input methods.</p>
</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/stil-2020-selected-contributions'>https://cis-india.org/raw/stil-2020-selected-contributions</a>
</p>
No publishersneha-ppLanguageDigital KnowledgeResearchFeaturedState of the Internet's LanguagesDigital HumanitiesResearchers at WorkDecolonizing the Internet's Languages2019-11-01T18:12:49ZBlog EntrySpy Files 3: WikiLeaks Sheds More Light On The Global Surveillance Industry
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/spy-files-three
<b>In this article, Maria Xynou looks at WikiLeaks' latest Spy Files and examines the legality of India's surveillance technologies, as well as their potential connection with India's Central Monitoring System (CMS) and implications on human rights. </b>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Last month, WikiLeaks released <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html">“</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html">Spy</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html">Files</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html"> 3”</a></span>, a mass exposure of the global surveillance trade and industry. WikiLeaks first released the Spy Files in December 2011, which entail brochures, presentations, marketing videos and technical specifications on the global trade of surveillance technologies. Spy Files 3 supplements this with 294 additional documents from 92 global intelligence contractors.</p>
<h2><b>So what do the latest Spy Files reveal about India?</b></h2>
<p align="JUSTIFY">When we think about India, the first issues that probably come to mind are poverty and corruption, while surveillance appears to be a more “Western” and elitist issue. However, while many other developing countries are excluded from WikiLeaks’ list of surveillance technology companies, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">India</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">is</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">once</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">again</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">on</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">the</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">list</a></span> with some of the most controversial spyware.</p>
<h3><b>ISS World Surveillance Trade Shows</b></h3>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The latest Spy Files include a <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">brochure</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">of</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">the</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">ISS</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">World</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> 2013</a></span> -the so-called “wiretapper’s ball”- which is the world’s largest surveillance trade show. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/">This</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/">years</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/">’ </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/">ISS</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/">World</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_ap/">Asia</a></span> will take place in Malaysia during the first week of December and law enforcement agencies from around the world will have another opportunity to view and purchase the latest surveillance tech. The<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">leaked</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">ISS</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">World</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> 2013 </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">brochure</a></span> entails a list of last years’ global attendees. According to the brochure, 53% of the attendees included law enforcement agencies and individuals from the defense, public safety and interior security sectors, 41% of the attendees were ISS vendors and technology integrators, while only 6% of the attendees were telecom operators and from the private enterprise. The brochure boasts that 4,635 individuals from 110 countries attended the ISS World trade shows last year and that the percentage of attendance is increasing.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The following table lists the <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"><i><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Indian</span></i></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">attendees</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">at</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">last</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">years</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">’ </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">ISS</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">World</a></span>:</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><b>Law Enforcement, Defense and Interior Security Attendees</b></span></span></p>
</th><th>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><b>Telecom Operators and Private Enterprises Attendees</b></span></span></p>
</th><th>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><b>ISS Vendors and Technology Integrators Attendees</b></span></span></p>
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Andhra Pradesh India Police</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY">BT</p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>AGC Networks</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>CBI Academy</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Cogence Investment Bank</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Aqsacom India</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Government of India, Telecom Department</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Reliance Communications</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>ClearTrail Technologies</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Cabinet Secretariat</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Span Telecom Pvt. Ldt. </span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Foundation Technologies</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT)</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Kommlabs</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Chandigarh Police</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Paladion Networks</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Defence Agency</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Polaris Wireless</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India General Police</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Polixel Security Systems</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Intelligence Department</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Pyramid Cyber Security</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India National Institute of Criminology</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Schleicher Group</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India office LOKAYUKTA NCT DELHI</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Span Technologies</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Police Department, A.P.</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>TATA India</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>India Tamil Nadu Police Department</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Tata Consultancy Services</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Indian Police Service, Vigilance</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Telecommunications India</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Indian Telecommunications Authority</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>Vehere Interactive</span></span></span></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>NTRO India</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span><span><span>SAIC Indian Tamil Nadu Police</span></span></span></p>
</td>
<td></td>
<td></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th> 17 4 15<br /></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="JUSTIFY">According to the above table - which is based on data from the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">WikiLeaks</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">’ </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">ISS</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">World</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> 2013 </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">brochure</a></span>- the majority of Indian attendees at last years’ ISS World were from the law enforcement, defense and interior security sectors. 15 Indian companies exhibited and sold their surveillance technologies to law enforcement agencies from around the world and it is notable that India’s popular ISP provider, Reliance Communications, attended the trade show too.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In addition to the ISS World 2013 brochure, the Spy Files 3 entail a detailed brochure of a major Indian surveillance technology company: ClearTrail Technologies.</p>
<h3><b>ClearTrail Technologies</b></h3>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.clear-trail.com/">ClearTrail</a><a href="http://www.clear-trail.com/"> </a><a href="http://www.clear-trail.com/">Technologies</a></span> is an Indian company based in Indore. The document titled <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">“</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Internet</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Monitoring</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Suite</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">”</a></span> from ClearTrail Technologies boasts about the company’s mass monitoring, deep packet inspection, COMINT, SIGINT, tactical Internet monitoring, network recording and lawful interception technologies. ClearTrail’s Internet Monitoring Suite includes the following products:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><b>1. ComTrail: Mass Monitoring of IP and Voice Networks</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ComTrail</span></a> is an integrated product suite for centralized interception and monitoring of voice and data networks. It is equipped with an advanced analysis engine for pro-active analysis of thousands of connections and is integrated with various tools, such as Link Analysis, Voice Recognition and Target Location.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">ComTrail is deployed within a service provider network and its monitoring function correlates voice and data intercepts across diverse networks to provide a comprehensive intelligence picture. ComTrail supports the capture, record and replay of a variety of Voice and IP communications in pretty much any type of communication, including - but not limited to- Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, BlackBerry, ICQ and GSM voice calls.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Additionally, ComTrail intercepts data from any type of network -whether Wireless, packet data, Wire line or VoIP networks- and can decode hundreds of protocols and P2P applications, including HTTP, Instant Messengers, Web-mails, VoIP Calls and MMS.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In short, ComTrail’s key features include the following:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Equipped to handle millions of communications per day intercepted over high speed STM & Ethernet Links</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Doubles up as Targeted Monitoring System</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- On demand data retention, capacity exceeding several years</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Instant Analysis across thousands of Terabytes</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Correlates Identities across multiple networks</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Speaker Recognition and Target Location</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><b>2. xTrail: Targeted IP Monitoring</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">xTrail</span></a> is a solution for interception, decoding and analysis of high speed data traffic over IP networks and independently monitors ISPs/GPRS and 3G networks. xTrail has been designed in such a way that it can be deployed within minutes and enables law enforcement agencies to intercept and monitor targeted communications without degrading the service quality of the IP network. This product is capable of intercepting all types of networks -including wireline, wireless, cable, VoIP and VSAT networks- and acts as a black box for “record and replay” targeted Internet communications.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Interestingly enough, xTrail can filter based on a “pure keyword”, a URL/Domain with a keyword, an IP address, a mobile number or even with just a user identity, such as an email ID, chat ID or VoIP ID. Furthermore, xTrail can be integrated with link analysis tools and can export data in a digital format which can allegedly be presented in court as evidence.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In short, xTrail’s key features include the following:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Pure passive probe</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Designed for rapid field operations at ISP/GPRS/Wi-Max/VSAT Network Gateways</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Stand-alone solution for interception, decoding and analysis of multi Gigabit IP traffic</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Portable trolley based for simplified logistics, can easily be deployed and removed from any network location</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Huge data retention, rich analysis interface and tamper proof court evidence</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Easily integrates with any existing centralized monitoring system for extended coverage</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><b>3. QuickTrail: Tactical Wi-Fi Monitoring</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Some of the biggest IP monitoring challenges that law enforcement agencies face include cases when targets operate from public Internet networks and/or use encryption.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">QuickTrail</span></a> is a device which is designed to gather intelligence from public Internet networks, when a target is operating from a cyber cafe, a hotel, a university campus or a free Wi-Fi zone. In particular, QuickTrail is equipped with multiple monitoring tools and techniques that can help intercept almost any wired, Wi-Fi or hybrid Internet network so that a target communication can be monitored. QuickTrail can be deployed within fractions of seconds to intercept, reconstruct, replay and analyze email, chat, VoIP and other Internet activities of a target. This device supports real time monitoring and wiretapping of Ethernet LANs.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">According to ClearTrail’s brochure, QuickTrail is a “all-in-one” device which can intercept secured communications, know passwords with c-Jack attack, alert on activities of a target, support active and passive interception of Wi-Fi and wired LAN and capture, reconstruct and replay. It is noteworthy that QuickTrail can identify a target machine on the basis of an IP address, MAC ID, machine name, activity status and several other parameters. In addition, QuickTrail supports protocol decoding, including HTTP, SMTP, POP3 and HTTPS. This device also enables the remote and central management of field operations at geographically different locations.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In short, QuickTrail’s key features include the following:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Conveniently housed in a laptop computer</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Intercepts Wi-Fi and wired LANs in five different ways</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Breaks WEP, WPA/WPA2 to rip-off secured Wi-Fi networks</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Deploys spyware into a target’s machine</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Monitor’s Gmail, Yahoo and all other HTTPS-based communications</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Reconstructs webmails, chats, VoIP calls, news groups and social networks</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><b>4. mTrail: Off-The-Air Interception</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">mTrail</span></a> offers active and passive ‘off-the-air’ interception of GSM 900/1800/1900 Mhz phone calls and data to meet law enforcement surveillance and investigation requirements. The mTrail passive interception system works in the stealth mode so that there is no dependence on the network operator and so that the target is unaware of the interception of its communications.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The mTrail system has the capability to scale from interception of 2 channels (carrier frequencies) to 32 channels. mTrail can be deployed either in a mobile or fixed mode: in the mobile mode the system is able to fit into a briefcase, while in the fixed mode the system fits in a rack-mount industrial grade chassis.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Target location identification is supported by using signal strength, target numbers, such as IMSI, TIMSI, IMEI or MSI SDN, which makes it possible to listen to the conversation on so-called “lawfully intercepted” calls in near real-time, as well as to store all calls. Additionally, mTrail supports the interception of targeted calls from pre-defined suspect lists and the monitoring of SMS and protocol information.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In short, mTrail’s key features include the following:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Designed for passive interception of GSM communications</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Intercepts Voice and SMS “off-the-air”</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Detects the location of the target</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Can be deployed as a fixed unit or mounted in a surveillance van</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- No support required from GSM operator</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><b>5. Astra: Remote Monitoring and Infection framework</b></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">“</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Astra</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">”</a></span> is a remote monitoring and infection framework which incorporates both conventional and proprietary infection methods to ensure bot delivery to the targeted devices. It also offers a varied choice in handling the behavior of bots and ensuring non-traceable payload delivery to the controller.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The conventional methods of infection include physical access to a targeted device by using exposed interfaces, such as a CD-ROM, DVD and USB ports, as well as the use of social media engineering techniques. However, Astra also supports bot deployment <i>without</i> requiring any physical access to the target device.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In particular, Astra can push bot to <i>any</i> targeted machine sharing the <i>same</i> LAN (wired, wi-fi or hybrid). The SEED is a generic bot which can identify a target’s location, log keystrokes, capture screen-shots, capture Mic, listen to Skype calls, capture webcams and search the target’s browsing history. Additionally, the SEED bot can also be remotely activated, deactivated or terminated, as and when required. Astra allegedly provides an un-traceable reporting mechanism that operates without using any proxies, which overrules the possibility of getting traced by the target.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Astra’s key features include the following:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Proactive intelligence gathering</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- End-to-end remote infection and monitoring framework</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Follow the target, beat encryption, listen to in-room conversations, capture keystrokes and screen shots</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Designed for centralized management of thousands of targets</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- A wide range of deployment mechanisms to optimize success ration</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Non-traceable, non-detectable delivery mechanism</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Intrusive yet stealthy</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Easy interface for handling most complex tasks</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Successfully tested over the current top 10 anti-virus available in the market</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- No third party dependencies</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Free from any back-door intervention</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">ClearTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Technologies</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">argue</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">that</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">they</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">meet</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">lawful</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">interception</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">regulatory</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">requirements</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a></span>across the globe. In particular, they claim that their products are compliant with <a href="http://www.etsi.org/technologies-clusters/technologies/regulation-legislation"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ETSI</span></a> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://cryptome.org/laes/calea-require.pdf">CALEA</a><a href="http://cryptome.org/laes/calea-require.pdf"> </a><a href="http://cryptome.org/laes/calea-require.pdf">regulations</a></span> and that they are efficient to cater to region specific requirements as well.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The latest Spy Files also include data on foreign surveillance technology companies operating in India, such as <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">Telesoft</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">Technologies</a></span>, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/AGTINTERNATIONAL-2011-UrbaManaSolu-fr.pdf">AGT</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/AGTINTERNATIONAL-2011-UrbaManaSolu-fr.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/AGTINTERNATIONAL-2011-UrbaManaSolu-fr.pdf">International</a></span> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">Verint</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">Systems</a></span>. In particular, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://verint.com/">Verint</a><a href="http://verint.com/"> </a><a href="http://verint.com/">Systems</a></span> has its headquarters in New York and offices all around the world, including Bangalore in India. Founded in 1994 and run by Dan Bodner, Verint Systems produces a wide range of surveillance technologies, including the following:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Impact 360 Speech Analytics</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Impact 360 Text Analytics</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Nextiva Video Management Software (VMS)</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Nextiva Physical Security Information Management (PSIM)</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Nextiva Network Video Recorders (NVRs)</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Nextiva Video Business Intelligence (VBI)</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Nextiva Surveillance Analytics</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- Nextiva IP cameras</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- CYBERVISION Network Security</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- ENGAGE suite</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- FOCAL-INFO (FOCAL-COLLECT & FOCAL-ANALYTICS)</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- RELIANT</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">- STAR-GATE</p>
<p>- VANTAGE</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">While <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://verint.com/">Verint</a><a href="http://verint.com/"> </a><a href="http://verint.com/">Systems</a></span> claims to be in compliance with ETSI, CALEA and other worldwide lawful interception and standards and regulations, it remains unclear whether such products successfully help law enforcement agencies in tackling crime and terrorism, without violating individuals’ right to privacy and other human rights. After all, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">Verint</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">Systems</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">has</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">participated</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">in</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">ISS</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">World</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">Trade</a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/"> </a><a href="http://www.issworldtraining.com/iss_europe/">shows</a></span> which exhibit some of the most controversial spyware in the world, used to target individuals and for mass surveillance.</p>
<h2><b>And what do the latest Spy Files mean for India?</b></h2>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Why is it even important to look at the latest Spy Files? Well, for starters, they reveal data about which Indian law enforcement agencies are interested in surveillance and which companies are interested in selling and/or buying the latest spy gear. And why is any of this important? I can think of three main reasons:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">1. The Central Monitoring System (CMS)</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">2. Is any of this surveillance even legal in India?</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">3. Can such surveillance result in the violation of human rights?</p>
<h3><b>Spy Files 3...and the Central Monitoring System (CMS)</b></h3>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Following the <a href="http://www.noeman.org/gsm/hindi/71159-26-november-2008-mumbai-terrorist-attacks.html">Mumbai</a><a href="http://www.noeman.org/gsm/hindi/71159-26-november-2008-mumbai-terrorist-attacks.html"> 2008 </a><a href="http://www.noeman.org/gsm/hindi/71159-26-november-2008-mumbai-terrorist-attacks.html">terrorist</a><a href="http://www.noeman.org/gsm/hindi/71159-26-november-2008-mumbai-terrorist-attacks.html"> </a><a href="http://www.noeman.org/gsm/hindi/71159-26-november-2008-mumbai-terrorist-attacks.html">attacks</a>, the Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TREM) cells and the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) started preparing the <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">Central</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">Monitoring</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">System</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> (</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">CMS</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">)</a>. As of April 2013, this project is being manned by the Intelligence Bureau, while agencies which are planned to have access to it include the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). ISP and Telecom operators are required to<b> </b><span>install the gear which enables law enforcement agencies to carry</span> out the Central Monitoring System under the <a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">Unified</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">Access</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">Services</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services"> (</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">UAS</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">) </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">License</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services">Agreement</a>.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The Central Monitoring System aims at centrally monitoring all telecommunications and Internet communications in India and its estimated cost is <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.ciol.com/ciol/news/184770/governments-central-monitoring-system-operational-soon">Rs</a><a href="http://www.ciol.com/ciol/news/184770/governments-central-monitoring-system-operational-soon">. 4 </a><a href="http://www.ciol.com/ciol/news/184770/governments-central-monitoring-system-operational-soon">billion</a></span>. In addition to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">equipping</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">government</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">agencies</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a></span>with Direct Electronic Provisioning, filters and alerts on the target numbers, the CMS will also enable Call Data Records (CDR) analysis and data mining to identify personal information of the target numbers. The CMS supplements<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">regional</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">Internet</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">Monitoring</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">Systems</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">, </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">such</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">as</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">that</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">of</a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.assampolice.gov.in/tenders/20092012/EOI_IMS_20092012.pdf">Assam</a></span>, by providing a nationwide monitoring of telecommunications and Internet communications, supposedly to assist law enforcement agencies in tackling crime and terrorism.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">However, data monitored and collected through the CMS will be stored in a<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/130509/india-central-monitoring-system-government-internet-access"> </a><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/130509/india-central-monitoring-system-government-internet-access">centralised</a><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/130509/india-central-monitoring-system-government-internet-access"> </a><a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/india/130509/india-central-monitoring-system-government-internet-access">database</a></span>, which could potentially increase the probability of centralized cyber attacks and thus increase, rather than reduce, threats to national security. Furthermore, some basic rules of statistics indicate that <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">the</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">bigger</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">the</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">amount</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">of</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">data</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">, </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">the</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">bigger</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">the</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">probability</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">of</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">an</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">error</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">in</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">matching</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">profiles</a></span>, which could potentially result in innocent people being charged with crimes they did not commit. And most importantly: the CMS currently lacks adequate legal oversight, which means that it remains unclear how monitored data will be used. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">UAS</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">License</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">Agreement</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">regarding</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">the</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">CMS</a></span> mandates mass surveillance by requiring ISPs and Telecom operators to enable the monitoring and interception of communications. However, targeted and mass surveillance through the CMS not only raises serious questions around its legality, but also creates the potential for abuse of the right to privacy and other human rights.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Interestingly enough, Indian law enforcement agencies which attended <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">last</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">years</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">’ </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">ISS</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">World</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">trade</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/ISS-2013-Sche2013-en.pdf">shows</a></span> are linked to the Central Monitoring System. In particular, last years’ law enforcement, defense and interior security attendees include the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and the Department of Telecommunications, both of which prepared the Central Monitoring System. The list of attendees also includes India’s Intelligence Bureau, which is manning the CMS, as well as the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">agencies</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">which</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">will</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">have</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">access</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">to</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">the</a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system"> </a><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/indias-big-brother-the-central-monitoring-system">CMS</a></span>: the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) and various other state police departments and intelligence agencies.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Furthermore, Spy Files 3 entail a <a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">list</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">of</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">last</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">years</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">’ </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">ISS</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">World</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">security</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">company</a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1"> </a><a href="http://wikileaks.org/spyfiles3.html#an1">attendees</a>, which includes several Indian companies. Again, interestingly enough, many of these companies may potentially be aiding law enforcement with the technology to carry out the Central Monitoring System. ClearTrail Technologies, in particular, provides <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">solutions</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">for</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">targeted</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">and</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">mass</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">monitoring</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">of</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">IP</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">and</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">voice</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">networks</a>, as well as remote monitoring and infection frameworks - all of which would potentially be perfect to aid the Central Monitoring System.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In fact, ClearTrail states in its brochure that its <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">ComTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">product</a> is equipped to handle millions of communications per day, while its <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">xTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">product</a> can easily be integrated with any existing centralised monitoring system for extended coverage. And if that’s not enough, ClearTrail’s <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">“</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Astra</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">” </a>is designed for the centralized management of thousands of targets. While there may not be any concrete proof that ClearTrail is indeed aiding the Centralized Monitoring System, the facts speak for themselves: ClearTrail is an Indian company which sells target and mass monitoring products to law enforcement agencies. The Centralized Monitoring System is currently being implemented. What are the odds that ClearTrail is <i>not </i>equipping the CMS? <span>And what are the odds that such technology is </span><i><span>not</span></i><span> being used for other mass electronic surveillance programmes, such as the Lawful Intercept and Monitoring (LIM)?</span></p>
<h3><b>Spy Files 3...and the legality of India’s surveillance technologies</b></h3>
<p align="JUSTIFY">ClearTrail Technologies’ <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">brochure</span></a> -the only leaked document on Indian surveillance technology by the latest Spy Files- states that the company complies with <a href="http://www.etsi.org/technologies-clusters/technologies/regulation-legislation"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ETSI</span></a> and <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://cryptome.org/laes/calea-require.pdf">CALEA</a><a href="http://cryptome.org/laes/calea-require.pdf"> </a><a href="http://cryptome.org/laes/calea-require.pdf">regulations</a></span>. While it’s clear that the company complies with U.S. and European regulations on the interception of communications to attract more customers in the international market, such regulations don’t really apply <i>within</i> India, which is part of ClearTrail’s market. Notably enough, ClearTrail does not mention any compliance with Indian regulations in its brochure. So let’s have a look at them.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">India has five laws which regulate surveillance:</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">1. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Indian</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Telegraph</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Act</a></span>, 1885</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">2. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Indian</a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Post</a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Office</a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Act</a></span>, 1898</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">3. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Indian</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Wireless</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Telegraphy</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Act</a></span>, 1933</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">4. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm">Code</a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm"> </a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm">of</a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm"> </a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm">Criminal</a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm"> </a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm">Procedure</a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm"> (</a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm">CrPc</a><a href="http://www.delhidistrictcourts.nic.in/CrPC.htm">)</a></span>, 1973: Section 91</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">5. The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Information</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> </a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Technology</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> (</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Amendment</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">) </a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Act</a></span>, 2008</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Indian</a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Post</a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Offices</a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.indiapost.gov.in/Pdf/Manuals/TheIndianPostOfficeAct1898.pdf">Act</a></span> does not cover electronic communications and the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Indian</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Wireless</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Telegraphy</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf">Act</a><a href="http://tdsat.nic.in/New%20Compendium19.11.2008/TD%20Set%20Vol-1%20PDF/53-58.pdf"> </a></span>lacks procedures which would determine if surveillance should be targeted or not. Neither the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Indian</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Telegraph</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Act</a></span> nor the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Information</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> </a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Technology</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> (</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Amendment</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">) </a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Act</a></span> cover mass surveillance, but are both limited to targeted surveillance. Moreover, targeted interception in India according to these laws requires case-by-case authorization by either the home secretary or the secretary department of information technology. In other words, unauthorized, limitless, mass surveillance is not technically permitted by law in India.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The Indian Telegraph Act mandates that the interception of communications can only be carried out on account of <a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">a</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">public</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">emergency</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">or</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">for</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">public</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">safety</a>. However, in 2008, the Information Technology Act copied most of the interception provisions of the Indian Telegraph Act, but removed the preconditions of public emergency or public safety, and instead expanded the power of the government to order interception for the “investigation of any offense”.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The interception of Internet communications is mainly covered by the <a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">2009 </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">Rules</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">under</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">the</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">Information</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">Technology</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">Act</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> 2008 </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">and</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">Sections</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> 69 </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">and</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> 69</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">B</a> are particularly noteworthy. According to these Sections, an Intelligence Bureau officer who leaked national secrets may be imprisoned for up to three years, while Section 69 not only allows for the interception of any information transmitted through a computer resource, but also requires that users disclose their encryption keys upon request or face a jail sentence of up to seven years.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">While these laws allow for the interception of communications and can be viewed as widely controversial, they do not technically permit the <i>mass</i> surveillance of communications. In other words, ClearTrail’s products, such as <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ComTrail</span></a>, which enable the mass interception of IP networks, lack legal backing. However, the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">Unified</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">Access</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">Services</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> (</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">UAS</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">) </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">License</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">Agreement</a></span> regarding the Central Monitoring System mandates mass surveillance and requires ISP and Telecom operators to comply.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Through the licenses of the Department of Telecommunications, Internet service providers, cellular providers and telecoms are required to provide the Government of India direct access to all communications data and content <a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">even</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">without</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">a</a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0"> </a><a href="http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/10/how-surveillance-works-in-india/?_r=0">warrant</a>, which is not permitted under the laws on interception. These licenses also require cellular providers to have ‘bulk encryption’ of less than 40 bits, which means that potentially any person can use off-the-air interception to monitor phone calls. However, such licenses do not regulate the capture of signal strength, target numbers like IMSI, TIMSI, IMEI or MSI SDN, which can be captured through ClearTrail’s <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">mTrail</span></a> product.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span>More importantly, following <a class="external-link" href="http://www.financialexpress.com/news/states-begin-to-surrender-offair-phone-snooping-equipment/957859">allegations</a> that the National Technical Research Organization (NTRO) had been using off-the-air interception equipment to snoop on politicians in 2011, the Home Ministry issued a directive to ban the possession or use of all off-the-air phone interception gear. As a result, the Indian Government asked the Customs Department to provide an inventory of all all such equipment imported over a ten year period, and it was uncovered that as many as 73,000 pieces of equipment had been imported. Since, the Home Ministry has informed the heads of law enforcement agencies that there has been a <a class="external-link" href="http://m.indianexpress.com/news/state-govts-hand-over-few-offair-phonetapping-sets-to-centre/1185166/">compete ban on use of such equipment</a> and that all those who possess such equipment and fail to inform the Government will face prosecution and imprisonment. In short, ClearTrail's product, mTrail, which undertakes off-the-air phone monitoring is illegal and Indian law enforcement agencies are prohibited from using it. </span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">ClearTrail’s <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">“</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">Astra</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">”</a> product is capable of remote infection and monitoring, which can push bot to any targeted machine sharing the same LAN. While India’s ISP and telecommunications licenses generally provide some regulations, they appear to be inadequate in regulating specific surveillance technologies which have the capability to target machines and remotely monitor them. Such <a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/licensing/access-services"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">licenses</span></a> mandate mass surveillance, but legally, wireless communications are completely unregulated, which raises the question of whether the interception of public Internet networks is allowed. In other words, it is not clear if ClearTrail’s <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">QuickTrail</span></a> is technically legal or not. The <a class="external-link" href="http://www.auspi.in/policies/UASL.pdf">UAS License agreement</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a>mandates mass surveillance, and while the law does not prohibit it, it does not mandate mass surveillance either. This remains a grey area.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The issue of data retention arises from <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">ClearTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">’</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">s</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">leaked</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">brochure</a>. In particular, ClearTrail states in its brochure that ComTrail - which undertakes mass monitoring of IP and Voice networks - retains data upon request, with a capacity that exceeds several years. xTrail - for targeted IP monitoring - has the ability to retain huge volumes of data which can potentially be used as proof in court. However, India currently lacks privacy legislation which would regulate data retention, which means that data collected by ClearTrail could potentially be stored indefinitely.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><a class="external-link" href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Section 7 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008</a>, deals with the retention of electronic records. However, this section does not state a particular data retention period, nor who will have authorized access to data during its retention, who can authorize such access, whether retained data can be shared with third parties and, if so, under what conditions. Section 7 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008, appears to be incredibly vague and to fail to regulate data retention adequately.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Data retention requirements for service providers are included in the <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/data-retention-in-india" class="external-link">ISP and UASL licenses</a> and, while they clarify the type of data they retain, they do not specify adequate conditions for data retention. Due to the lack of data protection legislation in India, it remains unclear how long data collected by companies, such as ClearTrail, would be stored for, as well as who would have authorized access to such data during its retention period, whether such data would be shared with third parties and disclosed and if so, under what conditions.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">India currently lacks specific regulations for the use of various types of technologies, which makes it unclear whether <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">ClearTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">’</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">s</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">spy</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">products</a></span> are technically legal or not. It is clear that ClearTrail’s mass interception products, such as ComTrail, are not legalized - since Indian laws allow for targeted interception- but they are mandated through the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">UAS</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">License</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">agreement</a></span> regarding the Central Monitoring System.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In short, the legality of ClearTrail’s surveillance technologies remains ambiguous. While India’s ISP and telecom licenses and the <a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">UAS</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">License</a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.dot.gov.in/sites/default/files/DOC231013-004.pdf">Agreement</a> mandate mass surveillance, the laws - particularly the 2009 Information Technology Rules- mandate targeted surveillance and remain silent on the issue of mass surveillance. Technically, this does not constitute mass surveillance legal or illegal, but rather a grey area. Furthermore, while <a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">India</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">’</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">s</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Telegraph</a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.ijlt.in/pdffiles/Indian-Telegraph-Act-1885.pdf">Act</a>, <a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Information</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> </a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Technology</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> </a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf">Act</a><a href="http://police.pondicherry.gov.in/Information%20Technology%20Act%202000%20-%202008%20%28amendment%29.pdf"> </a>and 2009 Rules allow for the interception, monitoring and decryption of communications and surveillance in general, they do not explicitly regulate the various types of surveillance technologies, but rather attempt to “legalize” them through the blanket term of surveillance.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">One thing is clear: India’s license agreements ensure that all ISPs and telecom operators are a part of the surveillance regime. The lack of regulations for India’s surveillance technologies appear to create a grey zone for the expansion of mass surveillance in the country. According to <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265192">Saikat</a><a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265192"> </a><a href="http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?265192">Datta</a></span>, an investigative journalist, a senior privacy telecom official stated:</p>
<blockquote class="italized">“<i>Do you really think a private telecom company can stand up to the government or any intelligence agency and cite law if they want to tap someone’s phone?” </i></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify; "></p>
<h3><b>Spy Files 3...and human rights in India</b></h3>
<p align="JUSTIFY">The facts speak for themselves. The latest Spy Files confirm that the same agencies involved in the development of the Central Monitoring System (CMS) are also interested in the latest surveillance technology sold in the global market. Spy Files 3 also provide data on one of India’s largest surveillance technology companies, <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ClearTrail</span></a>, which sells a wide range of surveillance technologies to law enforcement agencies around the world. And Spy Files 3 show us exactly what these technologies can do.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In particular, ClearTrail’s <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ComTrail</span></a> provides mass monitoring of IP and voice networks, which means that law enforcement agencies using it are capable of intercepting millions of communications every day through Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail and others, of correlating our identities across networks and of targeting our location. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">xTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a></span>enables law enforcement agencies to monitor us based on our “harmless” metadata, such as our IP address, our mobile number and our email ID. Think our data is secure when using the Internet through a cyber cafe? Well <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">QuickTrail</span></a> proves us wrong, as it’s able to assist law enforcement agencies in monitoring and intercepting our communications even when we are using public Internet networks.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">And indeed, carrying a mobile phone is like carrying a GPS device, especially since <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">mTrail</span></a> provides law enforcement with off-the-air interception of mobile communications. Not only can mTrail target our location, listen to our calls and store our data, but it can also undertake passive off-the-air interception and monitor our voice, SMS and protocol information. Interestingly enough, mTrail also intercepts targeted calls from a predefined suspect list. The questions though which arise are: who is a suspect? How do we even know if we are suspects? In the age of the War on Terror, potentially anyone could be a suspect and thus potentially anyone’s mobile communications could be intercepted. After all, mass surveillance dictates that <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">we</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">are</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">all</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">suspicious</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">until</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">proven</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">innocent</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">. </a></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">And if anyone can potentially be a suspect, then potentially anyone can be remotely infected and monitored by <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Astra</span></a>. Having physical access to a targeted device is a conventional surveillance mean of the past. Today, Astra can <i>remotely</i> push bot to our laptops and listen to our Skype calls, capture our Webcams, search our browsing history, identify our location and much more. And why is any of this concerning? Because contrary to mainstream belief, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">we</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">should</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">all</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">have</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">something</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">to</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">hide</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">! </a></span></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">Privacy</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">protects</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">us</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">from</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">abuse</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">from</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">those</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">in</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html">power</a><a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/03/privacy_and_pow.html"> </a></span>and safeguards our individuality and autonomy as human beings. If we are opposed to the idea of the police searching our home without a search warrant, we should be opposed to the idea of our indiscriminate mass surveillance. After all, mass surveillance - especially the type undertaken by <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">ClearTrail</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">’</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">s</a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"> </a><a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf">products</a></span> - can potentially result in the access, sharing, disclosure and retention of data much more valuable than that acquired by the police searching our home. Our credit card details, our photos, our acquaintances, our personal thoughts and opinions, and other sensitive personal information can usually be found in our laptops, which potentially can constitute much more incriminating information than that found in our homes.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">And most importantly: even if we think that we have nothing to hide, it’s really not up to us to decide: it’s up to data analysts. While we may think that our data is “harmless”, a data analyst linking our data to various other people and search activities we have undertaken might indicate otherwise. Five years ago, <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">a</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">UK</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">student</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">studying</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">Islamic</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">terrorism</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">for</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">his</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">Masters</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">dissertation</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">was</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">detained</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">for</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">six</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article"> </a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">days</a><a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/402844.article">.</a></span> The student may not have been a terrorist, but his data said this: “Young, male, Muslim... who is downloading Al-Qaeda’s training material” - and that was enough for him to get detained. Clearly, the data analysts mining his online activity did not care about the fact that the only reason why he was downloading Al-Qaeda material was for his Masters dissertation. The fact that he was a male Muslim downloading terrorist material was incriminating enough.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">This incident reveals several concerning points: The first is that he was clearly already under surveillance, prior to downloading Al-Qaeda’s material. However, given that he did not have a criminal record and was “just a Masters student in the UK”, there does not appear to be any probable cause for his surveillance in the first place. Clearly he was on some suspect list on the premise that he is male and Muslim - which is a discriminative approach. The second point is that after this incident, it is likely that some male Muslims may be more cautious about their online activity - with the fear of being on some suspect list and eventually being prosecuted because their data shows that “they’re a terrorist”. Thus, mass surveillance today appears to also have implications on freedom of expression. The third point is that this incident reveals the extent of mass surveillance, since even a document downloaded by a Masters student is being monitored.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">This case proves that innocent people can potentially be under surveillance and prosecuted, as a result of mass, indiscriminate surveillance. Anyone can potentially be a suspect today, and maybe for the wrong reasons. It does not matter if we think our data is “harmless”, but what matters is who is looking at our data, when and why. Every bit of data potentially hides several other bits of information which we are not aware of, but which will be revealed within a data analysis. We should always <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">“</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">have</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">something</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">to</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear"> </a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">hide</a><a href="https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/you-may-have-nothing-hide-you-still-have-something-fear">”</a></span>, as that is the only way to protect us from abuse by those in power.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">In the contemporary surveillance state, we are all suspects and mass surveillance technologies, such as the ones sold by <a href="http://www.wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/CLEARTRAIL-2011-Intemonisuit-en.pdf"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">ClearTrail</span></a>, can potentially pose major threats to our right to privacy, freedom of expression and other human rights. And probably the main reason for this is because surveillance technologies in India legally fall in a grey area. Thus, it is recommended that law enforcement agencies in India regulate the various types of surveillance technologies in compliance with the <a class="external-link" href="https://en.necessaryandproportionate.org/text">International Principles on Communications Surveillance and Human Rights.</a></p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">Spy Files 3 show us why our human rights are at peril and why we should fight for our right to be free from suspicion.</p>
<p align="JUSTIFY"> </p>
<p align="JUSTIFY">This article was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.medianama.com/2013/11/223-spy-files-3-wikileaks-sheds-more-light-on-the-global-surveillance-industry-cis-india/">cross-posted in Medianama </a>on 6th November 2013.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/spy-files-three'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/spy-files-three</a>
</p>
No publishermariaPrivacyInternet GovernanceSAFEGUARDSFeaturedHomepage2013-11-14T16:21:00ZBlog EntrySmart City Policies and Standards: Overview of Projects, Data Policies, and Standards across Five International Smart Cities
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/policies-and-standards-overview-of-five-international-smart-cities
<b>This blog post aims to review five Smart Cities across the globe, namely Singapore, Dubai, New York City, London and Seoul, the Data Policies and Standards adopted. Also, the research seeks to point the similarities, differences and best practices in the development of smart cities across jurisdictions.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Download the brief: <a href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/SmartCitiesPoliciesStandards-20160608/at_download/file">PDF</a>.</h4>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Introduction</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Smart City as a concept is evolutionary in nature, and the key elements like Information and Communication Technology (ICT), digitization of services, Internet of Things (IoT), open data, big data, social innovation, knowledge, etc., would be intrinsic to defining a Smart City <a href="#_ftn1">[1]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A Smart City, as a “system of systems”, can potentially generate vast amounts of data, especially as cities install more sensors, gain access to data from sources such as mobile devices, and government and other agencies make more data accessible. Consequently, Big Data techniques and concepts are highly relevant to the future of Smart Cities. It was noted by Kenneth Cukier, Senior Editor of Digital Products at The Economist, that Big Data techniques can be used to enhance a number of processes essential to cities - for example, big data can be used to spot business trends, determine quality of research, prevent diseases, tack legal citations, combat crime, and determine real-time roadway traffic conditions <a href="#_ftn2">[2]</a>. Having said this, data is deemed to be the lifeblood of a Smart City and its availability, use, cost, quality, analysis, associated business models and governance are all areas of interest for a range of actors within a smart city <a href="#_ftn3">[3]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This blog reviews five Smart Cities namely Singapore, Dubai, New York City, London and Seoul. In doing so, the research seeks to point the similarities, differences and best practices in the development of smart cities across jurisdictions. To achieve this, the research reviews:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>The definition of a Smart City in a given context or project (if any).</li>
<li>Existing policy/regulations around data or notes the lack thereof.</li>
<li>The cities adherence to the International standards and providing an update on the current status of the Smart City programme.</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Singapore</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong><strong>Introduction</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>The Smart Nation programme in Singapore was launched on 24th November, 2014. The programme is being driven by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, through which Singapore seeks to harness ICT, networks and data to support improved livelihoods, stronger communities and creation of new opportunities for its residents <a href="#_ftn4">[4]</a> According to the IDA, a Smart Nation is a city where <em>“people and businesses are empowered through increased access to data, more participatory through the contribution of innovative ideas and solutions, and a more anticipatory government that utilises technology to better serve citizens’ needs”</em> <a href="#_ftn5">[5]</a>. The Smart Nation programme is driven by a designated Office in the Prime Minister’s Office <a href="#_ftn6">[6]</a>. As a core component to the Smart Nation Programme, the Smart Nation Platform has been developed as the technical architecture to support the Programme. This Platform enables greater pervasive connectivity, better situational awareness through data collection, and efficient sharing and access to collected sensor data, allowing public bodies to use such data to develop policy and practical interventions <a href="#_ftn7">[7]</a> Such access would allow for anticipatory governance - a goal of the Smart Nation Programme as noted by Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Communications and Information stating “Insights gained from this data would enable us to better anticipate citizens’ needs and help in better delivery of services” <a href="#_ftn8">[8]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Status of the Project</strong></h3>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>The Smart Nation Programme is an ongoing initiative, being built on the past programme Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015 masterplan). The plan involves putting in place the infrastructure, policies, ecosystem and capabilities to enable a Smart Nation, by adopting a people-centric approach <a href="#_ftn9">[9]</a>. A number of co-creating solutions adopted by the Government include:</div>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Development of Mobile Apps to facilitate communication between the public and the providers of public services.</li>
<li>Organization of Hackathons by government agencies or corporations in collaboration with schools and industry partners to ideate and develop solutions to tackle real-world challenges.</li>
<li>Adopt measure for smart mobility to create a more seamless transport experience and providing greater access to real-time transport information so that citizens can better plan their journeys.</li>
<li>Smart technologies are also being introduced to the housing estates <a href="#_ftn10">[10]</a>.</li></ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Policies and Regulations</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>The Smart Nation plan derives its legitimacy from the constitution of Singapore, holding the Prime Minister responsible to take charge of the subject ‘Smart Nation’ blueprint under the Statutory body of ‘Smart Nation’ Programme Office <a href="#_ftn11">[11]</a>. Singapore has a comprehensive data protection law – the Personal Data Protection Act 2012, rules governing the collection, use, disclosure and care of personal data. The Personal Data Protection Commission of Singapore has committed to work closely with the private sector, and also to support the Smart Nation vision on data privacy and cyber security ecosystem <a href="#_ftn12">[12]</a> <a href="#_ftn13">[13]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Towards achieving the Smart Nation vision the government has also promoted the use of open data. In 2015 the Department of Statistics has made a vast amount of data available (across multiple themes say transport, infocomm, population, etc.) for free to the public in order to encourage innovation and facilitate the Smart Nation <a href="#_ftn14">[14]</a>. Prior to this initiative, the government had adopted the Open Data Policy in 2011, enabling public data for analysis, research and application development <a href="#_ftn15">[15]</a>. The concept of Virtual Singapore, which is a part of the Smart Nation Initiative, has been developed to adopt and simulate solutions on a virtual platform using big data analytics <a href="#_ftn16">[16]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Adoption of International Standards</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>The Smart Nation initiative follows the standards laid under the purview of the Singapore Standards Council (SSC). It specifies three types of Internet of Things (IoT) Standards – sensor network standards (TR38 - for public areas & TR40 - for homes), IoT foundational standards (common set of guidelines for IoT requirements and architecture, information and service interoperability, security and data integrity) and domain-specific standards (healthcare, mobility, urban living, etc.) <a href="#_ftn17">[17]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Singapore is part of ISO/IEC JTC 1/WG7 Sensor Networks and ISO/IEC JTC 1/WG10 Internet of Things (IoT) <a href="#_ftn18">[18]</a>. <a href="https://www.itsc.org.sg/standards/singapore-it-standards">Singapore IT standards</a> abides to the international standards as defined by ISO, ITU, etc.Singapore is a member of many international standards forums (see <a href="https://www.itsc.org.sg/international-participation/memberships-in-iso-iec-jtc1">Singapore International Standards Committee</a>) which includes JTC1/WG9 - Big Data; JTC1/WG10 - Internet of Things; JTC1/WG11 - Smart Cities.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Dubai, United Arab Emirates</h2>
<h3><strong> </strong><strong>Introduction</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>The Dubai Smart City strategy was launched as part of the Dubai Plan 2021 vision, in the year 2015 <a href="#_ftn19">[19]</a>. Dubai Plan 2021 describes the future of Dubai evolving through holistic and complementary perspectives, starting with the people and the society and places the government as the custodian of the city’s development. Within the Plan, the smart city theme envisions a platform that is fully connected and integrated infrastructure that enables easy mobility for all residents and tourists, and provides easy access to all economic centers and social services, in line with the world’s best cities <a href="#_ftn20">[20]</a>. Center to the smart city platform is data and data analytics, particularly cross functional data and big data techniques to give a complete view of the city <a href="#_ftn21">[21]</a> As envisioned, the Dubai Data portal would provide a gateway to empower relevant stakeholders to understand the nuances of the city and pursue questions that will result in the greatest impact from the city’s data <a href="#_ftn22">[22]</a>. The platform will be based on current data and existing services, initiatives, and networks to identify opportunities for a smart city <a href="#_ftn23">[23]</a>. The Smart City Plan also includes a framework for aligning districts of Dubai with the Smart City vision and dimensions <a href="#_ftn24">[24]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Smart Dubai roadmap 2015 provides a consolidated report and planned smart city services, its status and the stage of its implementation, for e.g. Smart Grid, Mobile Payment, Smart Water, Health applications, Public Wi-Fi, Municipality, E-Traffic solutions, etc <a href="#_ftn25">[25]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Status of the Project</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong> </strong>The Smart Dubai strategy is envisioned to be completed by the year 2020, and currently it’s ongoing. The first phase of Smart Dubai masterplan is expected to end by 2016. Between 2017 and 2019, the plan aims to deliver new initiatives and services. The second phase of the masterplan is expected to be completed by the year 2020 <a href="#_ftn26">[26]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Policies and Regulations</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Smart City Plan is being driven by the <strong>Dubai Smart City Office</strong> – which has been established under Law No. (29) of 2015 on the establishment of Dubai Smart City Office; Law No. (30) of 2015 on the establishment of Dubai Smart City Establishment; Decree No. (37) of 2015 on the formation of the Board of the Dubai Smart City Office; and Decree No (38) of 2015- appointing a Director General for the Office, which will develop overall policies and strategic plans, supervise the smart transformation process and approve joint initiatives, projects and services <a href="#_ftn27">[27]</a>. Also, an open data law called <strong>Dubai Open Data Law</strong> was issued to complete the legislative framework for transforming Dubai into a Smart City <a href="#_ftn28">[28]</a>. This law will enable the sharing of non-confidential data between public entities and other stakeholders.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Adoption of International Standards</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In 2015 the Smart Dubai Executive Committee has collaborated through an agreement with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) adopt the performance indicators by the ITU Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities to evaluate the feasibility of the indicators <a href="#_ftn29">[29]</a>. The Focus Group is working towards identifying global best practices for the development of smart cities <a href="#_ftn30">[30]</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">New York City, United States of America</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Introduction</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The ‘One New York Plan’ announced in the year 2015 is a comprehensive plan for a sustainable and resilient city. It includes the adoption of digital technology and considers the importance of the role of data in transforming every aspect of the economy, communications, politics, and individual and family life <a href="#_ftn31">[31]</a>. Furthermore, through a publication on '<a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/site/forward/innovations/smartnyc.page">Building a Smart+Equitable City</a>', the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI) describes efforts to leverage new technologies to build Smart city.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Accordingly, the plan seeks to establish better lives through establishing principles and strategic frameworks to guide connected device and Internet of Things (IoT) implementation; MOTI serving as the coordinating entity for new technology and IoT deployments across all City agencies; collaborating with academia and the private sector on innovative pilot projects, and partnering with municipal governments and organizations around the world to share best practices and leverage the impact of technological advancements <a href="#_ftn32">[32]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Status of the Project</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">OneNYC represents a unified vision for a sustainable, resilient, and equitable city developed with cross-cutting interagency collaboration, public engagement, and consultation with leading experts in their respective fields. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability oversees the development of OneNYC and now shares responsibility with the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency for ensuring its implementation <a href="#_ftn33">[33]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Policies and Regulations</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As per the Local Law 11 of 2012, each City entity must identify and ultimately publish all of its digital public data for citywide aggregation and publication by 2018. In adherence to this law, there exists a NYC Open Data Plan which requires annual data updation <a href="#_ftn34">[34]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The LinkNYC initiative, one of the key projects to make New York a ‘smart’ city, aims to connect everyone through a city wide wi-fi network. The LinkNYC initiative will retrofit payphones with kiosks to provide high-speed WiFi hotspots and charging stations for increased connectivity <a href="#_ftn35">[35]</a>. Data Privacy in the initiative is addressed through the customer first privacy policy, which considers user’s privacy on priority and will not sell any personal information or share with third parties for their own use. LinkNYC will use anonymized, aggregate data to make the system more efficient and to develop insights to improve your Link experience <a href="#_ftn36">[36]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Adoption of International Standards</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The ANSI Network on Smart and Sustainable Cities (ANSSC) is a forum for information sharing and coordination on voluntary standards, conformity assessment and related activities for smart and sustainable cities in the US <a href="#_ftn37">[37]</a>. The US is a signatory of the ISO/ITU defined standards on smart cities <a href="#_ftn38">[38]</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">London, United Kingdom</h2>
<h3><strong>Introduction</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Smart London Plan was unveiled in the year 2013 by the Mayor of London. The plan is being driven through the Greater London Authority, with the advice of the Smart London Board. The Smart London Plan envisions <em>‘Using the creative power of new technologies to serve London and improve Londoner’s lives</em>’ <a href="#_ftn39">[39]</a>. ‘Smart London’ is about harnessing new technology and data so that businesses, Londoners and visitors experience the city in a better way, and do not face bureaucratic hassle and congestion. Smart London seeks to improve the city as a whole and focuses on city macro functions that result from the interplay between city subsystems - such as local labour markets to financial markets, from local government to education, healthcare, transportation and utilities. According to strategy documents, a smarter London recognises and employs data as a service and will leverage data to enable informed decision making and the design of new activities.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Status of the Project</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This project is currently ongoing. Since its formation in March 2013, the Smart London Board has been advising the Greater London Authority.The Plan sits within the overarching framework of the Mayor’s Vision 2020 <a href="#_ftn40">[40]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Policies and Regulations</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Smart London Plan incorporates the existing open data platform called ‘London DataStore’. The rules and guidelines for this platform are defined by the Greater London Authority, which includes working with public and private sector organisations to create, maintain and utilise it, enabling common data standards, identify and prioritise which data are needed to address London’s growth challenges, establish a Smart London Borough Partnership to encourage boroughs to free up London’s local level data. Also, privacy is protected and there is transparent use of data - to ensure data use is managed in the best interests of the public rather than private enterprise.<sup>42</sup> The Smart London Plan aims to build on this existing datastore to identify and publish data that addresses specific growth challenges, with an emphasis on working with companies and communities to create, maintain, and use this data <a href="#_ftn41">[41]</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Open Data White Paper, issued by the Office of Paymaster General, seeks to build a transparent society by releasing public data through open data platforms and leveraging the potential of emerging technologies <a href="#_ftn42">[42]</a>. The Greater London Authority processes personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 <a href="#_ftn43">[43]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Adoption of International Standards</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The British Standards Institution (BSI) has already established Smart City standards and has associated with the ISO Advisory Group on smart city standards. The UK subscribes to the BSI standards for smart cities and has adopted the same <a href="#_ftn44">[44]</a>. The following standards and publications help address various issues for a city to become a smart city:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>The development of a standard on <a href="http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smart-cities/Smart-Cities-Standards-and-Publication/PAS-180-smart-cities-terminology/">Smart city terminology (PAS 180)</a></li>
<li>The development of a <a href="http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smart-cities/Smart-Cities-Standards-and-Publication/PAS-181-smart-cities-framework/">Smart city framework standard (PAS 181)</a></li>
<li>The development of a <a href="http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smart-cities/Smart-Cities-Standards-and-Publication/PAS-182-smart-cities-data-concept-model/">Data concept model for smart cities (PAS 182)</a></li>
<li>A <a href="http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smart-cities/Smart-Cities-Standards-and-Publication/PD-8100-smart-cities-overview/">Smart city overview document (PD 8100)</a></li>
<li>A <a href="http://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/smart-cities/Smart-Cities-Standards-and-Publication/PD-8101-smart-cities-planning-guidelines/">Smart city planning guidelines document (PD 8101)</a></li>
<li>BS 8904 Guidance for community sustainable development provides a decision-making framework that will help setting objectives in response to the needs and aspirations of city stakeholders</li>
<li>BS 11000 Collaborative relationship management</li>
<li>BSI BIP 2228:2013 Inclusive urban design - A guide to creating accessible public spaces.</li></ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Further, the Smart London Plan incorporates open data standards in accordance with London DataStore <a href="#_ftn45">[45]</a>. Various government reports – Smart Cities background paper, Open Data White Paper, etc., have suggested the use of standards related to Internet of Things (IoT), open data standards, etc <a href="#_ftn46">[46]</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2 style="text-align: justify;">Seoul, Korea</h2>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Introduction</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong></strong>Smart Seoul 2015 was announced in June 2011 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, which envisions integrating IT services into every field, including administration, welfare, industry and living. Through this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to create a Seoul that uses smart technologies by 2015 <a href="#_ftn47">[47]</a>. Towards this, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to make use of Big Data in policy development, and through scientific analytics, will provide customized administrative services and reduce wasteful spending. Also, the government is utilising Big Data to analyse trends emerging from existing services <a href="#_ftn48">[48]</a>. Examples of projects that leverage big data that the government has undertaken include the Taxi Matchmaking Project – analyzes the data related to taxi stands and passengers, the Owl Bus <a href="#_ftn49">[49]</a> - maps the bus routes, etc.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Status of the Project</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong></strong>Building on the Smart Seoul 2015, the Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to establish 'Global Digital Seoul 2020 – New Connections, Different Experiences' vision in next five-years. In this multi-objective plan, it aims to establish a ’Big Data campus’ providing win-win cooperation among public, private, industry and university <a href="#_ftn50">[50]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Policies and Regulations </strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong></strong>The Smart Seoul 2015 aims to create a ‘Seoul Data Mart’, which will be an open platform that makes public information available for data processing <a href="#_ftn51">[51]</a>. Furthermore, Seoul has opened the Seoul Open Data Plaza <a href="#_ftn52">[52]</a>, an online channel to share and provide citizens with all of Seoul’s public data, such as real-time bus operation schedules, subway schedules, non-smoking areas, locations of public Wi-Fi services, shoeshine shops, and facilities for disabled people, and the information registered in Seoul Open Data Plaza is provided in the open API format.<sup>45</sup></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">South Korea has a comprehensive law governing data privacy – Personal Information Protection Act, 2011. The law includes data protection rules and principles, including obligations on the data controller and the consent of data subjects, rights to access personal data or object to its collection, and security requirements. It also covers cookies and spam, data processing by third parties and the international transfer of data <a href="#_ftn53">[53]</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;"><strong>International Standards</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong></strong>The smart city standards are adopted in the development of smart cities in Korea <a href="#_ftn54">[54]</a>. Korea has adopted the ISO/TC 268, which is focused on sustainable development in communities. Korea also has one working group developing city indicators and another working group developing metrics for smart community infrastructures <a href="#_ftn55">[55]</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Conclusion</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The smart city projects studied are at different levels of implementation and have both similarities and differences. Below is an analysis of some of the key similarities and differences between smart city projects, a comparison of these points to India’s 100 Smart City Mission, and a summary of best practices around the development of smart city frameworks.</p>
<h3><strong>Nodal Agency</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">All cities studied have nodal agencies driving the smart city initiatives and many have policies in place backing these initiatives. For example, while the Smart Nation programme in Singapore is being driven by the Infocomm Development Authority, in London the smart city project is governed by the Great London Authority. The Smart Seoul Project in Korea is governed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and New York has the Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation serving as the coordinating entity for new technology and IoT deployments across all City agencies. In India, the nodal agency driving the 100 Smart Cities Project is the Ministry of Urban Development under the Indian Government. In India, the implementation of the Mission at the City level will be done by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), which will be a limited company and will plan, appraise, approve, release funds, implement, manage, operate, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects.</p>
<h3><strong>Policies</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Many of the cities had open data policies and data protection policies that pertain to the Smart City initiatives. In Dubai, an open data law called Dubai Open Data Law has been issued to complete the legislative framework for transforming Dubai into a Smart City and the Smart City Establishment will develop policies for the project. New York also has an Open Data Plan in place and LinkNYC will use anonymized, aggregate data to address data privacy of users. In London, the Smart London Plan incorporates the existing open data platform called ‘London DataStore’, the rules for which are defined by the Greater London Authority, which also ensures privacy and transparent use of data by processing personal data in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. For regulation of data in Seoul, a ‘Seoul Data Mart’ will be established to make public information available for data processing and the Seoul Open Data Plaza is an existing online channel to share and provide citizens with all of Seoul’s public data. South Korea has a comprehensive law governing data privacy in place as well. In Singapore, the Personal Data Protection Commission has committed to work and support the Smart Nation vision on data privacy and cyber security ecosystem. To achieve the vision of the project, the government has also promoted the use of open data. It can be said the these countries , with clearly laid out policies to support and guide the project, have well planned ecosystem for regulation and governance of systems, technologies and cities. All cities have incorporated open data into smart cities and many have developed guidelines for its use. All cities have similar goals of enhancing the lives of citizens and developing anticipatory regulation, however, there appears to be little discussion on the need to amend existing law or enable new law around privacy and data protection in light of data collection through smart cities. In India, no enabling legislation or policy has been formulated by the Government, apart from releasing “Mission Statement and Guidelines”, which provides details about the Project and vision, excluding a definition of a ‘smart city’ or the relevant applicable laws and policies. No information is publicly available regarding deployment of open data, use of specific technologies like cloud, big data, etc., the relevant policies and applicability of laws. Unlike India, all cities recognize the importance of big data techniques in enabling smart city visions, technology and policies. On the lines of these cities, India must work towards addressing the need for an open data framework in light of the 100 Smart Cities Mission to enable the sharing of non-confidential data between public entities and other stakeholders. This requires co-ordination to incorporate, enable and draw upon open data architecture in the cities by the Government with the existing open data framework in India, like the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy, 2012. Use of technology in the form of IoT and Big Data entails access to open data, bringing another policy area in its ambit which needs consideration. Also, identification and development of open standards for IoT must be looked at. Also, as data in smart cities will be generated, collected, used, and shared by both the public and private sector. It is essential that India’s existing data protection standards and regime must be amended to extend the data regulation beyond a body corporate and oversee the collection and use of data by the Government, and its agencies.</p>
<h3><strong>Standards</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In Singapore, the Smart Nation initiative follows the standards laid under the purview of the Singapore Standards Council (SSC)and the <a href="https://www.itsc.org.sg/standards/singapore-it-standards">Singapore IT standards</a> abides to the international standards as defined by ISO, ITU, etc. The Country is also a member of many international standards forums (see <a href="https://www.itsc.org.sg/international-participation/memberships-in-iso-iec-jtc1">Singapore International Standards Committee</a>) which includes JTC1/WG9- Big Data; JTC1/WG10 - Internet of Things; JTC1/WG11 - Smart Cities. In Dubai, the Smart Dubai Executive Committee with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to adopt the performance indicators by the ITU Focus Group on Smart Sustainable Cities to evaluate the feasibility of the indicators. For the purpose of standards, the ANSI Network on Smart and Sustainable Cities (ANSSC) in New York is a forum smart and sustainable cities, along with US being a signatory of the ISO/ITU defined standards on smart cities. Also, The British Standards Institution (BSI) has already established Smart City standards and has associated with the ISO Advisory Group on smart city standards. The UK subscribes to the BSI standards for smart cities and has adopted the same and the Smart London Plan incorporates open data standards in accordance with London DataStore. For development of smart cities, Korea has adopted the ISO/TC 268, which is focused on sustainable development in communities and also has one working group developing city indicators and another working group developing metrics for smart community infrastructures. However, in India, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has undertaken the task to formulate standardised guidelines for central and state authorities in planning, design and construction of smart cities by setting up a technical committee under the Civil engineering department of the Bureau. However, adoption of the standards by implementing agencies would be voluntary and intends to complement internationally available documents in this area. Also, The Global Cities Institute (GCI) has undertaken a mission in the year 2015 to align with the Bureau of Indian Standards regarding development of standards of smart cities and also to forge relationships with Indian cities in light of ISO 37120. It can be said that India has currently not yet adopted international standards, but is in the process of developing national standards and adopting key international standards. Unlike other cities,which are adopting standards - national, ISO, or ITU, Indian cities are yet to adopt standards for regulation of the future smart cities.</p>
<h3><strong>Notes for India</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">India is in the nascent stages of developing smart cities across the country. Drawing from the practices adopted by cities across the world, smart cities in India should adopt strong regulatory and governance frameworks regarding technical standards, open data and data security and data protection policies. These policies will be essential in ensuring the sustainability and efficiency of smart cities while safeguarding individual rights. Some of these policies are already in place - such as India’s Open Data Policy and India’s data protection standards under section 43A of the ITA. It will be important to see how these policies are adopted and applied to the context of smart cities.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>References</h2>
<p><a name="_ftn1">[1]</a> Smart Cities and Transparent Evolution, <a href="http://www.posterheroes.org/Posterheroes3/_mat/PH3_eng.pdf">http://www.posterheroes.org/Posterheroes3/_mat/PH3_eng.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn2">[2]</a> "Data, Data Everywhere." The Economist, February 25, 2010. Accessed March 17, 2016, <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/15557443">http://www.economist.com/node/15557443</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn3">[3]</a> "Smart Cities." ISO. 2015. Accessed March 17, 2016, <a href="http://www.iso.org/iso/smart_cities_report-jtc1.pdf">http://www.iso.org/iso/smart_cities_report-jtc1.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn4">[4]</a> Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's speech at Smart Nation launch on 24 November, <a href="http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/transcript-prime-minister-lee-hsien-loongs-speech-smart-nation-launch-24-november">http://www.pmo.gov.sg/mediacentre/transcript-prime-minister-lee-hsien-loongs-speech-smart-nation-launch-24-november</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn5">[5]</a> Smart Nation Vision, <a href="https://www.ida.gov.sg/Tech-Scene-News/Smart-Nation-Vision">https://www.ida.gov.sg/Tech-Scene-News/Smart-Nation-Vision</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn6">[6]</a> Smart Nation, <a href="http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation">http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn7">[7]</a> Smart Nation Platform, <a href="https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/About%20Us/Newsroom/Media%20Releases/2014/0617_smartnation/AnnexA_sn.pdf">https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/About%20Us/Newsroom/Media%20Releases/2014/0617_smartnation/AnnexA_sn.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn8">[8]</a> Transcript of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's speech at Smart Nation launch on 24 November, <a href="https://www.ida.gov.sg/blog/insg/featured/singapore-lays-groundwork-to-be-worlds-first-smart-nation/">https://www.ida.gov.sg/blog/insg/featured/singapore-lays-groundwork-to-be-worlds-first-smart-nation/</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn9">[9]</a> Prime Ministers’ Office Singapore-Smart Nation, <a href="http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation">http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn10">[10]</a> Prime Ministers’ Office Singapore-Smart Nation, <a href="http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation">http://www.pmo.gov.sg/smartnation</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn11">[11]</a> Constitution of the Republic of Singapore (Responsibility of the Prime Minister) Notification 2015, <a href="http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=Status%3Acurinforce%20Type%3Aact,sl%20Content%3A%22smart%22;rec=4;resUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fstatutes.agc.gov.sg%2Faol%2Fsearch%2Fsummary%2Fresults.w3p%3Bquery%3DStatus%253Acurinforce%2520Type%253Aact,sl%2520Content%253A%2522smart%2522;whole=yes">http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/aol/search/display/view.w3p;page=0;query=Status%3Acurinforce%20Type%3Aact,sl%20Content%3A%22smart%22;rec=4;resUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fstatutes.agc.gov.sg%2Faol%2Fsearch%2Fsummary%2Fresults.w3p%3Bquery%3DStatus%253Acurinforce%2520Type%253Aact,sl%2520Content%253A%2522smart%2522;whole=yes</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn12">[12]</a> Personal Data Protection Singapore-Annual Report 2014-15, <a href="https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/Reports/pdpc-ar-fy14---online.pdf">https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/docs/default-source/Reports/pdpc-ar-fy14---online.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn13">[13]</a> Balancing Innovation and Personal Data Protection, <a href="https://www.ida.gov.sg/Tech-Scene-News/Tech-News/Digital-Government/2015/9/Balancing-innovation-and-personal-data-protection">https://www.ida.gov.sg/Tech-Scene-News/Tech-News/Digital-Government/2015/9/Balancing-innovation-and-personal-data-protection</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn14">[14]</a> Department of Statistics Singapore- Free Access to More Data on the SingStat Website from 1 March 2015, <a href="http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/news/press_releases/press27022015.pdf">http://www.singstat.gov.sg/docs/default-source/default-document-library/news/press_releases/press27022015.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn15">[15]</a> Singapore Marks 50th Birthday With Open Data Contest, <a href="https://blog.hootsuite.com/singapore-open-data/">https://blog.hootsuite.com/singapore-open-data/</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn16">[16]</a> Virtual Singapore - a 3D city model platform for knowledge sharing and community collaboration, <a href="http://www.sla.gov.sg/News/tabid/142/articleid/572/category/Press%20Releases/parentId/97/year/2014/Default.aspx">http://www.sla.gov.sg/News/tabid/142/articleid/572/category/Press%20Releases/parentId/97/year/2014/Default.aspx</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn17">[17]</a> Internet of Things (IoT) Standards Outline to Support Smart Nation Initiative Unveiled, <a href="http://www.spring.gov.sg/NewsEvents/PR/Pages/Internet-of-Things-(IoT)-Standards-Outline-to-Support-Smart-Nation-Initiative-Unveiled-20150812.aspx">http://www.spring.gov.sg/NewsEvents/PR/Pages/Internet-of-Things-(IoT)-Standards-Outline-to-Support-Smart-Nation-Initiative-Unveiled-20150812.aspx</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn18">[18]</a> Information Technology Standards Committee, <a href="https://www.itsc.org.sg/technical-committees/internet-of-things-technical-committee-iottc">https://www.itsc.org.sg/technical-committees/internet-of-things-technical-committee-iottc</a> and <a href="https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/Infocomm%20Landscape/iN2015/Reports/realisingthevisionin2015.pdf">https://www.ida.gov.sg/~/media/Files/Infocomm%20Landscape/iN2015/Reports/realisingthevisionin2015.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn19">[19]</a> Government of Dubai-2021 Dubai Plan-Purpose, <a href="http://www.dubaiplan2021.ae/the-purpose/">http://www.dubaiplan2021.ae/the-purpose/</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><a name="_ftn20">[20]</a> Government of Dubai-2021 Dubai Plan, <a href="http://www.dubaiplan2021.ae/dubai-plan-2021/">http://www.dubaiplan2021.ae/dubai-plan-2021/</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn21">[21]</a> Smart Dubai, <a href="http://www.smartdubai.ae/foundation_layers.php">http://www.smartdubai.ae/foundation_layers.php</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn22">[22]</a> The Internet of Things: Connections for People’s happiness, <a href="http://www.smartdubai.ae/story021002.php">http://www.smartdubai.ae/story021002.php</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn23">[23]</a> Smart Dubai - Current State, <a href="http://www.smartdubai.ae/current_state.php">http://www.smartdubai.ae/current_state.php</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn24">[24]</a> Smart Dubai - District Guidelines, <a href="http://smartdubai.ae/districtguidelines/Smart_Dubai_District_Guidelines_Public_Brief.pdf">http://smartdubai.ae/districtguidelines/Smart_Dubai_District_Guidelines_Public_Brief.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn25">[25]</a> See; <a href="http://roadmap.smartdubai.ae/search-services-public.php">http://roadmap.smartdubai.ae/search-services-public.php</a> and <a href="http://roadmap.smartdubai.ae/search-initiatives-public.php">http://roadmap.smartdubai.ae/search-initiatives-public.php</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn26">[26]</a> Smart Dubai-Smart District Guidelines, <a href="http://smartdubai.ae/districtguidelines/Smart_Dubai_District_Guidelines_Public_Brief.pdf">http://smartdubai.ae/districtguidelines/Smart_Dubai_District_Guidelines_Public_Brief.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn27">[27]</a> Dubai Ruler issues new laws to further enhance the organisational structure and legal framework of Dubai Smart City, <a href="https://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395288828473.html">https://www.wam.ae/en/news/emirates/1395288828473.html</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn28">[28]</a> See: <a href="http://slc.dubai.gov.ae/en/AboutDepartment/News/Lists/NewsCentre/DispForm.aspx?ID=147&ContentTypeId=0x01001D47EB13C23E544893300E8367A23439">http://slc.dubai.gov.ae/en/AboutDepartment/News/Lists/NewsCentre/DispForm.aspx?ID=147&ContentTypeId=0x01001D47EB13C23E544893300E8367A23439</a> and <a href="http://www.smartdubai.ae/dubai_data.php">http://www.smartdubai.ae/dubai_data.php</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn29">[29]</a> Dubai first city to trial ITU key performance indicators for smart sustainable cities, <a href="http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2015/12.aspx#.VtaYtlt97IU">http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2015/12.aspx#.VtaYtlt97IU</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn30">[30]</a> Smart Dubai Benchmark Report 2015 Executive Summary, <a href="http://smartdubai.ae/bmr2015/methodology-public.php">http://smartdubai.ae/bmr2015/methodology-public.php</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn31">[31]</a> Building a Smart + Equitable City, <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/forward/documents/NYC-Smart-Equitable-City-Final.pdf">http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/forward/documents/NYC-Smart-Equitable-City-Final.pdf</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn32">[32]</a> Building a Smart + Equitable City, <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/site/forward/innovations/smartnyc.page">http://www1.nyc.gov/site/forward/innovations/smartnyc.page</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn33">[33]</a> One New York: The Plan for a Strong and Just City, <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/html/onenyc/about.html">http://www1.nyc.gov/html/onenyc/about.html</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn34">[34]</a> Open Data for All, <a href="http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/reports/2015/NYC-Open-Data-Plan-2015.pdf">http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/home/downloads/pdf/reports/2015/NYC-Open-Data-Plan-2015.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn35">[35]</a> 7 public projects that are turning New York into a “smart city”, <a href="http://www.builtinnyc.com/2015/11/24/7-projects-are-turning-new-york-futuristic-technology-hub">http://www.builtinnyc.com/2015/11/24/7-projects-are-turning-new-york-futuristic-technology-hub</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn36">[36]</a> LinkNYC, <a href="https://www.link.nyc/faq.html#privacy">https://www.link.nyc/faq.html#privacy</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn37">[7]</a> ANSI Network on Smart and Sustainable Cities, <a href="http://www.ansi.org/standards_activities/standards_boards_panels/anssc/overview.aspx?menuid=3">http://www.ansi.org/standards_activities/standards_boards_panels/anssc/overview.aspx?menuid=3</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn38">[38]</a> IoT-Enabled Smart City Framework, <a href="http://publicaa.ansi.org/sites/apdl/Documents/News%20and%20Publications/Links%20Within%20Stories/IoT-EnabledSmartCityFrameworkWP20160213.pdf">http://publicaa.ansi.org/sites/apdl/Documents/News%20and%20Publications/Links%20Within%20Stories/IoT-EnabledSmartCityFrameworkWP20160213.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn39">[39]</a> Smart London (UK) Plan: Digital Technologies, London and Londoners, <a href="http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ipl/files/2015/03/KleinmanM_Smart-London-UK-v5_30AP2015.pdf">http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ipl/files/2015/03/KleinmanM_Smart-London-UK-v5_30AP2015.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn40">[40]</a> Smart London Plan, <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf">http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn41">[41]</a> Smart London Plan, <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf">http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn42">[42]</a> Open Data White Paper, <a href="https://data.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Open_data_White_Paper.pdf">https://data.gov.uk/sites/default/files/Open_data_White_Paper.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn43">[43]</a> London Datastore-Privacy, <a href="http://data.london.gov.uk/about/privacy/">http://data.london.gov.uk/about/privacy/</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn44">[44]</a> Future Cities Standards Centre in London, <a href="https://eu-smartcities.eu/commitment/5937">https://eu-smartcities.eu/commitment/5937</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn45">[45]</a> Smart London Plan, <a href="http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf">http://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/smart_london_plan.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn46">[46]</a> Smart Cities background paper, October 2013, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246019/bis-13-1209-smart-cities-background-paper-digital.pdf">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/246019/bis-13-1209-smart-cities-background-paper-digital.pdf</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn47">[47]</a> Presentation of 2015 Blueprint of Seoul as ‘State-of-the-art Smart City’, <a href="http://english.seoul.go.kr/presentation-of-2015-blueprint-of-seoul-as-%E2%80%98state-of-the-art-smart-city%E2%80%99/">http://english.seoul.go.kr/presentation-of-2015-blueprint-of-seoul-as-%E2%80%98state-of-the-art-smart-city%E2%80%99/</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn48">[48]</a> “Policy Where There is Demand,” Seoul Utilizes Big Data, <a href="http://english.seoul.go.kr/policy-demand-seoul-utilizes-big-data/">http://english.seoul.go.kr/policy-demand-seoul-utilizes-big-data/</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn49">[49]</a> Seoul’s “Owl Bus” Based on Big Data Technology, <a href="http://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/citiesalliance.org/files/Seoul-Owl-Bus-11052014.pdf">http://www.citiesalliance.org/sites/citiesalliance.org/files/Seoul-Owl-Bus-11052014.pdf</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn50">[50]</a> Seoul Launches “Global Digital Seoul 2020”, <a href="http://english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-launches-global-digital-seoul-2020/">http://english.seoul.go.kr/seoul-launches-global-digital-seoul-2020/</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn51">[51]</a> Smart Seoul 2015, <a href="http://english.seoul.go.kr/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SMART_SEOUL_2015_41.pdf">http://english.seoul.go.kr/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/SMART_SEOUL_2015_41.pdf</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn52">[52]</a> Disclosing public data through the Seoul Open Data Plaza, <a href="http://english.seoul.go.kr/policy-information/key-policies/informatization/seoul-open-data-plaza/">http://english.seoul.go.kr/policy-information/key-policies/informatization/seoul-open-data-plaza/</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn53">[53]</a> Data protection in South Korea: overview, <a href="http://uk.practicallaw.com/2-579-7926">http://uk.practicallaw.com/2-579-7926</a>.</p>
<p><a name="_ftn54">[54]</a>Smart Cities Seoul: a case study, <a href="https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/23/01/T23010000190001PDFE.pdf">https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/oth/23/01/T23010000190001PDFE.pdf</a></p>
<p><a name="_ftn55">[55]</a> Smart Cities-ISO, <a href="http://www.iso.org/iso/livelinkgetfile-isocs?nodeid=16193764">http://www.iso.org/iso/livelinkgetfile-isocs?nodeid=16193764</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/policies-and-standards-overview-of-five-international-smart-cities'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/policies-and-standards-overview-of-five-international-smart-cities</a>
</p>
No publisherKiran A. B., Elonnai Hickok and Vanya RakeshBig DataInternet GovernanceFeaturedSmart CitiesPoliciesHomepage2016-06-11T13:29:04ZBlog EntrySmart Cities in India: An Overview
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/smart-cities-in-india-an-overview
<b>The Government of India is in the process of developing 100 smart cities in India which it sees as the key to the country's economic and social growth. This blog post gives an overview of the Smart Cities project currently underway in India. The smart cities mission in India is at a nascent stage and an evolving area for research. The Centre for Internet and Society will continue work in this area.</b>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>Overview of the 100 Smart Cities Mission</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Government of India announced its flagship programme- the 100 Smart Cities mission in the year 2014 and was launched in June 2015 to achieve urban transformation, drive economic growth and improve the quality of life of people by enabling local area development and harnessing technology. Initially, the Mission aims to cover 100 cities across the countries (which have been shortlisted on the basis of a Smart Cities Proposal prepared by every city) and its duration will be five years (FY 2015-16 to FY 2019-20). The Mission may be continued thereafter in the light of an evaluation to be done by the Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and incorporation of the learnings into the Mission. The Mission aims to focus on area-based development in the form of redevelopment of existing spaces, or the development of new areas (Greenfield) to accommodate the growing urban population and ensure comprehensive planning to improve quality of life, create employment and enhance incomes for all - especially the poor and the disadvantaged. <a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1"><sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup></a> On 27th August 2015 the Centre unveiled 98 smart cities across India which were selected for this Project. Across the selected cities, 13 crore population ( 35% of the urban population will be included in the development plans. <a href="#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2"><sup><sup>[2]</sup></sup></a> The mission has been developed for the purpose of achieving urban transformation. The vision is to preserve India's traditional architecture, culture & ethnicity while implementing modern technology to make cities livable, use resources in a sustainable manner and create an inclusive environment. <a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3"><sup><sup>[3]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The promises of the Smart City mission include reduction of carbon footprint, adequate water and electricity supply, proper sanitation, including solid waste management, efficient urban mobility and public transport, affordable housing, robust IT connectivity and digitalization, good governance, citizen participation, security of citizens, health and education.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Questions unanswered</span></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Why and How was the Smart Cities project conceptualized in India? What was the need for such a project in India?</li>
<li>What was the role of the public/citizens at the ideation and conceptualization stage of the project?</li>
<li>Which actors from the Government, Private industry and the civil society are involved in this mission? Though the smart cities mission has been initiated by the Government of India under the Ministry of Urban Development, there is no clarity about the involvement of the associated offices and departments of the Ministry.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>How are the Smart Cities being selected?</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The 100 cities were supposed to be selected on the basis of Smart cities challenge<a href="#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4"><sup><sup>[4]</sup></sup></a> involving two stages. Stage I of the challenge involved Intra-State city selection on objective criteria to identify cities to compete in stage-II. In August 2015, The Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India announced 100 smart cities <a href="#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5"><sup><sup>[5]</sup></sup></a> evaluated on parameters such as service levels, financial and institutional capacity, past track record, called as the 'shortlisted cities' for this purpose. The selected cities are now competing for selection in the Second stage of the challenge, which is an All India competition. For this crucial stage, the potential 100 smart cities are required to prepare a Smart City Proposal (SCP) stating the model chosen (retrofitting, redevelopment, Greenfield development or a mix), along with a Pan-City dimension with Smart Solutions. The proposal must also include suggestions collected by way of consultations held with city residents and other stakeholders, along with the proposal for financing of the smart city plan including the revenue model to attract private participation. The country saw wide participation from the citizens to voice their aspirations and concerns regarding the smart city. 15th December 2015 has been declared as the deadline for submission of the SCP, which must be in consonance with evaluation criteria set by The MoUD, set on the basis of professional advice. <a href="#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6"><sup><sup>[6]</sup></sup></a> On the basis of this, 20 cities will be selected for the first year. According to the latest reports, the Centre is planning to fund only 10 cities for the first phase in case the proposals sent by the states do not match the expected quality standards and are unable to submit complete area-development plans by the deadline, i.e. 15th December, 2015. <a href="#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7"><sup><sup>[7]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span>Questions unanswered</span></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Who would be undertaking the task of evaluating and selecting the cities for this project?</li>
<li>What are the criteria for selection of a city to qualify in the first 20 (or 10, depending on the Central Government) for the first phase of implementation?</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>How are the smart cities going to be Funded?</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Smart City Mission will be operated as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) and the Central Government proposes to give financial support to the Mission to the extent of Rs. 48,000 crores over five years i.e. on an average Rs. 100 crore per city per year. <a href="#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8"><sup><sup>[8]</sup></sup></a> The additional resources will have to be mobilized by the State/ ULBs from external/internal sources. According to the scheme, once list of shortlisted Smart Cities is finalized, Rs. 2 crore would have been disbursed to each city for proposal preparation.<a href="#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9"><sup><sup>[9]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">According to estimates of the Central Government, around Rs 4 lakh crore of funds will be infused mainly through private investments and loans from multilateral institutions among other sources, which accounts to 80% of the total spending on the mission. <a href="#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10"><sup><sup>[10]</sup></sup></a> For this purpose, the Government will approach the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan costing £500 million and £1 billion each for 2015-20. If ADB approves the loan, it would be it will be the bank's highest funding to India's urban sector so far.<a href="#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11"><sup><sup>[11]</sup></sup></a> Foreign Direct Investment regulations have been relaxed to invite foreign capital and help into the Smart City Mission. <a href="#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12"><sup><sup>[12]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><span>Questions unanswered</span></b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>The Government notes on Financing of the project mentions PPPs for private funding and leveraging of resources from internal and external resources. There is lack of clarity on the external resources the Government has/will approach and the varied PPP agreements the Government is or is planning to enter into for the purpose of private investment in the smart cities.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>How is the scheme being implemented?</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Under this scheme, each city is required to establish a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) having flexibility regarding planning, implementation, management and operations. The body will be headed by a full-time CEO, with nominees of Central Government, State Government and ULB on its Board. The SPV will be a limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 at the city-level, in which the State/UT and the Urban Local Body (ULB) will be the promoters having equity shareholding in the ratio 50:50. The private sector or financial institutions could be considered for taking equity stake in the SPV, provided the shareholding pattern of 50:50 of the State/UT and the ULB is maintained and the State/UT and the ULB together have majority shareholding and control of the SPV. Funds provided by the Government of India in the Smart Cities Mission to the SPV will be in the form of tied grant and kept in a separate Grant Fund.<a href="#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13"><sup><sup>[13]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For the purpose of implementation and monitoring of the projects, the MoUD has also established an Apex Committee and National Mission Directorate for National Level Monitoring<a href="#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14"><sup><sup>[14]</sup></sup></a>, a State Level High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) for State Level Monitoring<a href="#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15"><sup><sup>[15]</sup></sup></a> and a Smart City Advisory Forum at the City Level <a href="#_ftn16" name="_ftnref16"><sup><sup>[16]</sup></sup></a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Also, several consulting firms<a href="#_ftn17" name="_ftnref17"><sup><sup>[17]</sup></sup></a> have been assigned to the 100 cities to help them prepare action plans.<a href="#_ftn18" name="_ftnref18"><sup><sup>[18]</sup></sup></a> Some of them include CRISIL, KPMG, McKinsey, etc. <a href="#_ftn19" name="_ftnref19"><sup><sup>[19]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><span>Questions unanswered</span></b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>What policies and regulations have been put in place to account for the smart cities, apart from policies looking at issues of security, privacy, etc.?</li>
<li>What international/national standards will be adopted while development of the smart cities? Though the Bureau of Indian Standards is in the process of formulating standardized guidelines for the smart cities in India<a href="#_ftn20" name="_ftnref20"><sup><sup>[20]</sup></sup></a>, yet there is lack of clarity on adoption of these national standards, along with the role of international standards like the ones formulated by ISO.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b> </b></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>What is the role of Foreign Governments and bodies in the Smart cities mission?</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Ever since the government's ambitious project has been announced and cities have been shortlisted, many countries across the globe have shown keen interest to help specific shortlisted cities in building the smart cities and are willing to invest financially. Countries like Sweden, Malaysia, UAE, USA, etc. have agreed to partner with India for the mission.<a href="#_ftn21" name="_ftnref21"><sup><sup>[21]</sup></sup></a> For example, UK has partnered with the Government to develop three India cities-Pune, Amravati and Indore.<a href="#_ftn22" name="_ftnref22"><sup><sup>[22]</sup></sup></a> Israel's start-up city Tel Aviv also entered into an agreement to help with urban transformation in the Indian cities of Pune, Nagpur and Nashik to foster innovation and share its technical know-how.<a href="#_ftn23" name="_ftnref23"><sup><sup>[23]</sup></sup></a> France has piqued interest for Nagpur and Puducherry, while the United States is interested in Ajmer, Vizag and Allahabad. Also, Spain's Barcelona Regional Agency has expressed interest in exchanging technology with the Delhi. Apart from foreign government, many organizations and multilateral agencies are also keen to partner with the Indian government and have offered financial assistance by way of loans. Some of them include the UK government-owned Department for International Development, German government KfW development bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, the US Trade and Development Agency, United Nations Industrial Development Organization and United Nations Human Settlements Programme. <a href="#_ftn24" name="_ftnref24"><sup><sup>[24]</sup></sup></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><span>Questions unanswered</span></b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Do these governments or organization have influence on any other component of the Smart cities?</li>
<li>How much are the foreign governments and multilateral bodies spending on the respective cities?</li>
<li>What kind of technical know-how is being shared with the Indian government and cities?</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b>What is the way ahead?</b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">On the basis of the SCP, the MoUD will evaluate, assess the credibility and select 20 smart cities out of the short-listed ones for execution of the plan in the first phase. The selected city will set up a SPV and receive funding from the Government.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b><span>Questions unanswered</span></b></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify; ">
<li>Will the deadline of submission of the Smart Cities Proposal be pushed back?</li>
<li>After the SCP is submitted on the basis of consultation with the citizens and public, will they be further involved in the implementation of the project and what will be their role?</li>
<li>How will the MoUD and other associated organizations as well as actors consider the implementation realities of the project, like consideration of land displacement, rehabilitation of the slum people, etc.</li>
<li>How are ICT based systems going to be utilized to make the cities and the infrastructure "smart"?</li>
<li>How is the MoUD going to respond to the concerns and criticism emerging from various sections of the society, as being reflected in the news items?</li>
<li>How will the smart cities impact and integrate the existing laws, regulations and policies? Does the Government intend to use the existing legislations in entirety, or update and amend the laws for implementation of the Smart Cities Mission?</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: justify; "><br clear="all" />
<hr />
<div id="ftn1">
<p><a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1"><sup><sup>[1]</sup></sup></a> Smart Cities, Mission Statement and Guidelines, Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, June 2015, Available at : http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/SmartCityGuidelines.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2">
<p><a href="#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2"><sup><sup>[2]</sup></sup></a> http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-08-27/news/65929187_1_jammu-and-kashmir-12-cities-urban-development-venkaiah-naidu</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3">
<p><a href="#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3"><sup><sup>[3]</sup></sup></a> http://india.gov.in/spotlight/smart-cities-mission-step-towards-smart-india</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4">
<p><a href="#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4"><sup><sup>[4]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/Process%20of%20Selection.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5">
<p><a href="#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5"><sup><sup>[5]</sup></sup></a> Full list : http://www.scribd.com/doc/276467963/Smart-Cities-Full-List</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6">
<p><a href="#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6"><sup><sup>[6]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/Process%20of%20Selection.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7">
<p><a href="#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7"><sup><sup>[7]</sup></sup></a> http://www.ibtimes.co.in/modi-govt-select-only-10-cities-under-smart-city-project-this-year-report-658888</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8">
<p><a href="#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8"><sup><sup>[8]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/Financing%20of%20Smart%20Cities.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9">
<p><a href="#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9"><sup><sup>[9]</sup></sup></a> Smart Cities presentation by MoUD : http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/Presentation%20on%20Smart%20Cities%20Mission.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn10">
<p><a href="#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10"><sup><sup>[10]</sup></sup></a> http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/smart-cities-projectfrom-france-to-us-a-rush-to-offer-assistance-funds/</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn11">
<p><a href="#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11"><sup><sup>[11]</sup></sup></a> http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/funding-for-smart-cities-key-to-coffer-lies-outside-india/#sthash.5lnW9Jsq.dpuf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn12">
<p><a href="#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12"><sup><sup>[12]</sup></sup></a> http://india.gov.in/spotlight/smart-cities-mission-step-towards-smart-india</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn13">
<p><a href="#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13"><sup><sup>[13]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/SPVs.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn14">
<p><a href="#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14"><sup><sup>[14]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/National%20Level%20Monitoring.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn15">
<p><a href="#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15"><sup><sup>[15]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/State%20Level%20Monitoring.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn16">
<p><a href="#_ftnref16" name="_ftn16"><sup><sup>[16]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/City%20Level%20Monitoring.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn17">
<p><a href="#_ftnref17" name="_ftn17"><sup><sup>[17]</sup></sup></a> http://smartcities.gov.in/writereaddata/List_of_Consulting_Firms.pdf</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn18">
<p><a href="#_ftnref18" name="_ftn18"><sup><sup>[18]</sup></sup></a> http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=128457</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn19">
<p><a href="#_ftnref19" name="_ftn19"><sup><sup>[19]</sup></sup></a> <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49242050.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst"> http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49242050.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst </a></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn20">
<p><a href="#_ftnref20" name="_ftn20"><sup><sup>[20]</sup></sup></a> http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/in-a-first-bis-to-come-up-with-standards-for-smart-cities-115060400931_1.html</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn21">
<p><a href="#_ftnref21" name="_ftn21"><sup><sup>[21]</sup></sup></a> http://accommodationtimes.com/foreign-countries-have-keen-interest-in-development-of-smart-cities/</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn22">
<p><a href="#_ftnref22" name="_ftn22"><sup><sup>[22]</sup></sup></a> http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-11-20/news/68440402_1_uk-trade-three-smart-cities-british-deputy-high-commissioner</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn23">
<p><a href="#_ftnref23" name="_ftn23"><sup><sup>[23]</sup></sup></a> http://www.jpost.com/Business-and-Innovation/Tech/Tel-Aviv-to-help-India-build-smart-cities-435161?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork</p>
</div>
<div id="ftn24">
<p><a href="#_ftnref24" name="_ftn24"><sup><sup>[24]</sup></sup></a> http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/smart-cities-projectfrom-france-to-us-a-rush-to-offer-assistance-funds/#sthash.nCMxEKkc.dpuf</p>
</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/smart-cities-in-india-an-overview'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/smart-cities-in-india-an-overview</a>
</p>
No publishervanyaFeaturedHomepageInternet Governance2016-01-11T01:30:07ZBlog EntrySilicon Plateau: Volume Two
https://cis-india.org/raw/silicon-plateau-volume-two
<b>Silicon Plateau is an art project and publishing series that explores the intersection of technology, culture and society in the Indian city of Bangalore. Each volume of the series is a themed repository for research, artworks, essays and interviews that observe the ways technology permeates the urban environment and the lives of its inhabitants. This project is an attempt at creating collaborative research into art and technology, beginning by inviting an interdisciplinary group of contributors (from artists, designers and writers, to researchers, anthropologists and entrepreneurs) to participate in the making of each volume.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Download the book: <a href="https://files.cargocollective.com/c221119/SiliconPlateau_VolumeTwo.epub">Epub</a> and <a href="https://files.cargocollective.com/c221119/SiliconPlateau_VolumeTwo.pdf">PDF</a></h4>
<hr />
<p><em>Silicon Plateau Volume 2</em> explores the ecosystem of mobile apps and their on-demand services. The book investigates how apps and their infrastructure are impacting our relationship with the urban environment; the way we relate and communicate with each other; and the way labour is changing. It also explores our trust in these technologies, and their supposed capacity to organise things for us and make them straightforward—while, in exchange, we relentlessly feed global corporations with our GPS data and online behaviours.</p>
<p>The sixteen book contributors responded to a main question: what does it mean to be an app user today—as a worker, a client, or simply an observer?</p>
<p>The result is a collection of stories about contemporary life in Bangalore; of conversations and deliberations on how we behave, what we sense, and what we might think about when we use the services that are offered to us on demand, through just a tap on our mobile screens.</p>
<p>Website: <a href="https://siliconplateau.info/" target="_blank">siliconplateau.info</a></p>
<h4>Contributors</h4>
<p>Sunil Abraham and Aasavri Rai, Yogesh Barve, Deepa Bhasthi, Carla Duffett, Furqan Jawed, Vir Kashyap, Saudha Kasim, Qusai Kathawala, Clay Kelton, Tara Kelton, Mathangi Krishnamurthy, Sruthi Krishnan, Vandana Menon, Lucy Pawlak, Nicole Rigillo, Yashas Shetty, Mariam Suhail</p>
<h4>Editors</h4>
<p>Marialaura Ghidini and Tara Kelton</p>
<h4>Publisher</h4>
<p>Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, in collaboration with the Centre for Internet and Society, India, 2018. ISBN: 978-94-92302-29-8</p>
<h4>Book and Cover Design</h4>
<p>Furqan Jawed and Tara Kelton</p>
<h4>Copyediting</h4>
<p>Aditya Pandya</p>
<h4>Supported by</h4>
<p>Jitu Pasricha, Bangalore; Aarti Sonawala, Singapore; and the Centre for Internet and Society, India.</p>
<hr />
<p>Cross-posted from <a href="https://networkcultures.org/blog/publication/silicon-plateau-volume-two/" target="_blank">Institute of Network Cultures</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/silicon-plateau-volume-two'>https://cis-india.org/raw/silicon-plateau-volume-two</a>
</p>
No publishersneha-ppSilicon PlateauRAW PublicationsWeb CulturesFeaturedPublicationsResearchers at Work2019-03-13T01:01:27ZBlog EntrySeminar on Open Access in Research Area: A Strategic Approach
https://cis-india.org/openness/teri-seminar-on-open-access-in-research
<b>The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Delhi, is organising a seminar on open access in research on Tuesday, December 22, 2015. The seminar will focus on: 1) wider access to scientific publications and research data, 2) access to scientific information, and 3) challenges and opportunities of research data. The Centre for Internet and Society is supporting the event as a Knowledge Partner.</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Background</h2>
<p>Open Access has become central importance to advancing the interests of researchers, scholars, students, business, and the public as well as librarians. Increasingly, research institutions require researchers to publish articles that report research findings openly accessible in open domain.</p>
<p>Open Access pursues to yield scholarly publishing to spread knowledge and allow that knowledge to be built upon. Price barriers should not stop researchers from getting access to research data. Open Access, and the open availability and search ability of scholarly research that it entails, will have a significant positive impact on everything from education to the research practice in various fields.</p>
<p>To explore why Open Access is so important to a number of groups, TERI Library along with The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) as Knowledge Partner is organizing a half day seminar on <em>Open Access in Research Areas: a Strategic Approach</em> on December 22, 2015 at TERI Seminar Hall, IHC, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.</p>
<p>The Seminar will focus on:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>wider access to scientific publications and research data</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>access to scientific information, and</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>challenges and opportunities of research data.</p>
</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h2>Schedule</h2>
<p>No registration is required to attend the seminar. Seats are limited, and will be provided on first-come-first-served basis.</p>
<p> </p>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>13:45 - 14:00</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><strong>Registration and Networking</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>14:00 - 14:10</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Welcome Address - <strong>Mr. Prabir Sengupta</strong>, Distinguished Fellow and Director, Knowledge Management Division, TERI</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>14:10 - 14:20</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Special Address - <strong>Sumandro Chattapadhyay</strong>, Research Director, The Centre for Internet and Society</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>14:20 - 14:35</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Keynote Address - <strong>Dr. K.R. Murali Mohan</strong>, Advisor, Big Data Initiatives Division, Department of Science and Technology</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>14:35 - 14:50</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Inaugural Address - <strong>Dr. Chandrima Shaha</strong>, Director, National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>14:50 - 15:00</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td>Setting the Theme and Vote of Thanks - <strong>Dr. P.K. Bhattacharya</strong>, Fellow and Area Convenor, Knowledge Management Division, TERI</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>15:00 - 15:30</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><strong>Tea and Refreshments</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>15:30 - 17:15</td>
<td><br /></td>
<td><strong>Plenary Session</strong><br />
Chair: <strong>Dr. Ramesh Sharma</strong>, Director, CEMCA<br />
<ul>
<li><strong>Puneet Kishor</strong>, Researcher and Independent Consultant - "Science, Data, and Creative Commons"</li>
<li><strong>Dr. Beth Sandore Namachchivaya</strong>, Associate Dean of Libraries and Professor University of Illinois - "Developing Services, Infrastructure, and Best Practices to Conserve and Provide Access to Research Data: Challenges and Opportunities"</li>
<li><strong>Dr. Usha Mujoo Munshi</strong>, Librarian, Indian institute of Public Administration</li></ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/teri-seminar-on-open-access-in-research'>https://cis-india.org/openness/teri-seminar-on-open-access-in-research</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen DataFeaturedOpen ResearchOpen AccessOpennessEvent2015-12-22T05:37:44ZEventSecurity: Privacy, Transparency and Technology
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/security-privacy-transparency-and-technology
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) has been involved in privacy and data protection research for the last five years. It has participated as a member of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee, which has influenced the draft Privacy Bill being authored by the Department of Personnel and Training. It has organised 11 multistakeholder roundtables across India over the last two years to discuss a shadow Privacy Bill drafted by CIS with the participation of privacy commissioners and data protection authorities from Europe and Canada.</b>
<p> </p>
<p>The article was co-authored by Sunil Abraham, Elonnai Hickok and Tarun Krishnakumar. It was published by Observer Research Foundation, <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/security-privacy-transparency-technology.pdf" class="internal-link">Digital Debates 2015: CyFy Journal Volume 2</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify;">Our centre’s work on privacy was considered incomplete by some stakeholders because of a lack of focus in the area of cyber security and therefore we have initiated research on it from this year onwards. In this article, we have undertaken a preliminary examination of the theoretical relationships between the national security imperative and privacy, transparency and technology.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Security and Privacy</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Daniel J. Solove has identified the tension between security and privacy as a false dichotomy: "Security and privacy often clash, but there need not be a zero-sum tradeoff." <a name="fr1" href="#fn1">[1]</a> Further unpacking this false dichotomy, Bruce Schneier says, "There is no security without privacy. And liberty requires both security and privacy." <a name="fr2" href="#fn2">[2]</a> Effectively, it could be said that privacy is a precondition for security, just as security is a precondition for privacy. A secure information system cannot be designed without guaranteeing the privacy of its authentication factors, and it is not possible to guarantee privacy of authentication factors without having confidence in the security of the system. Often policymakers talk about a balance between the privacy and security imperatives—in other words a zero-sum game. Balancing these imperatives is a foolhardy approach, as it simultaneously undermines both imperatives. Balancing privacy and security should instead be framed as an optimisation problem. Indeed, during a time when oversight mechanisms have failed even in so-called democratic states, the regulatory power of technology <a name="fr3" href="#fn3">[3]</a> should be seen as an increasingly key ingredient to the solution of that optimisation problem.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Data retention is required in most jurisdictions for law enforcement, intelligence and military purposes. Here are three examples of how security and privacy can be optimised when it comes to Internet Service Provider (ISP) or telecom operator logs:</p>
<ol>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Data Retention</strong>: We propose that the office of the Privacy Commissioner generate a cryptographic key pair for each internet user and give one key to the ISP / telecom operator. This key would be used to encrypt logs, thereby preventing unauthorised access. Once there is executive or judicial authorisation, the Privacy Commissioner could hand over the second key to the authorised agency. There could even be an emergency procedure and the keys could be automatically collected by concerned agencies from the Privacy Commissioner. This will need to be accompanied by a policy that criminalises the possession of unencrypted logs by ISP and telecom operators.<br /><br /></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Privacy-Protective Surveillance</strong>: Ann Cavoukian and Khaled El Emam <a name="fr4" href="#fn4">[4]</a> have proposed combining intelligent agents, homomorphic encryption and probabilistic graphical models to provide “a positive-sum, ‘win–win’ alternative to current counter-terrorism surveillance systems.” They propose limiting collection of data to “significant” transactions or events that could be associated with terrorist-related activities, limiting analysis to wholly encrypted data, which then does not just result in “discovering more patterns and relationships without an understanding of their context” but rather “intelligent information—information selectively gathered and placed into an appropriate context to produce actual knowledge.” Since fully homomorphic encryption may be unfeasible in real-world systems, they have proposed use of partially homomorphic encryption. But experts such as Prof. John Mallery from MIT are also working on solutions based on fully homomorphic encryption.<br /><br /></li>
<li style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Fishing Expedition Design</strong>: Madan Oberoi, Pramod Jagtap, Anupam Joshi, Tim Finin and Lalana Kagal have proposed a standard <a name="fr5" href="#fn5">[5]</a> that could be adopted by authorised agencies, telecom operators and ISPs. Instead of giving authorised agencies complete access to logs, they propose a format for database queries, which could be sent to the telecom operator or ISP by authorised agencies. The telecom operator or ISP would then process the query, and anonymise/obfuscate the result-set in an automated fashion based on applicable privacypolicies/regulation. Authorised agencies would then hone in on a subset of the result-set that they would like with personal identifiers intact; this smaller result set would then be shared with the authorised agencies.</li></ol>
<p style="text-align: justify;">An optimisation approach to resolving the false dichotomy between privacy and security will not allow for a total surveillance regime as pursued by the US administration. Total surveillance brings with it the ‘honey pot’ problem: If all the meta-data and payload data of citizens is being harvested and stored, then the data store will become a single point of failure and will become another target for attack. The next Snowden may not have honourable intentions and might decamp with this ‘honey pot’ itself, which would have disastrous consequences.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">If total surveillance will completely undermine the national security imperative, what then should be the optimal level of surveillance in a population? The answer depends upon the existing security situation. If this is represented on a graph with security on the y-axis and the proportion of the population under surveillance on the x-axis, the benefits of surveillance could be represented by an inverted hockey-stick curve. To begin with, there would already be some degree of security. As a small subset of the population is brought under surveillance, security would increase till an optimum level is reached, after which, enhancing the number of people under surveillance would not result in any security pay-off. Instead, unnecessary surveillance would diminish security as it would introduce all sorts of new vulnerabilities. Depending on the existing security situation, the head of the hockey-stick curve might be bigger or smaller. To use a gastronomic analogy, optimal surveillance is like salt in cooking—necessary in small quantities but counter-productive even if slightly in excess.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In India the designers of surveillance projects have fortunately rejected the total surveillance paradigm. For example, the objective of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) is to streamline and automate targeted surveillance; it is introducing technological safeguards that will allow express combinations of result-sets from 22 databases to be made available to 12 authorised agencies. This is not to say that the design of the NATGRID cannot be improved.</p>
<h3>Security and Transparency</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">There are two views on security and transparency: One, security via obscurity as advocated by vendors of proprietary software, and two, security via transparency as advocated by free/open source software (FOSS) advocates and entrepreneurs. Over the last two decades, public and industry opinion has swung towards security via transparency. This is based on the Linus rule that “given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.” But does this mean that transparency is a necessary and sufficient condition? Unfortunately not, and therefore it is not necessarily true that FOSS and open standards will be more secure than proprietary software and proprietary standards.</p>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;" class="pullquote">Optimal surveillance is like salt in cooking—necessary in small quantities but counter-productive even if slightly in excess.</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The recent detection of the Heartbleed <a name="fr6" href="#fn6">[6]</a> security bug in Open SSL, <a name="fr7" href="#fn7">[7]</a> causing situations where more data can be read than should be allowed, and Snowden’s revelations about the compromise of some open cryptographic standards (which depend on elliptic curves), developed by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, are stark examples. <a name="fr8" href="#fn8">[8]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">At the same time, however, open standards and FOSS are crucial to maintaining the balance of power in information societies, as civil society and the general public are able to resist the powers of authoritarian governments and rogue corporations using cryptographic technology. These technologies allow for anonymous speech, pseudonymous speech, private communication, online anonymity and circumvention of surveillance and censorship. For the media, these technologies enable anonymity of sources and the protection of whistle-blowers—all phenomena that are critical to the functioning of a robust and open democratic society. But these very same technologies are also required by states and by the private sector for a variety of purposes—national security, e-commerce, e-banking, protection of all forms of intellectual property, and services that depend on confidentiality, such as legal or medical services.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In order words, all governments, with the exception of the US government, have common cause with civil society, media and the general public when it comes to increasing the security of open standards and FOSS. Unfortunately, this can be quite an expensive task because the re-securing of open cryptographic standards depends on mathematicians. Of late, mathematical research outputs that can be militarised are no longer available in the public domain because the biggest employers of mathematicians worldwide today are the US military and intelligence agencies. If other governments invest a few billion dollars through mechanisms like Knowledge Ecology International’s proposed World Trade Organization agreement on the supply of knowledge as a public good, we would be able to internationalise participation in standard-setting organisations and provide market incentives for greater scrutiny of cryptographic standards and patching of vulnerabilities of FOSS. This would go a long way in addressing the trust deficit that exists on the internet today.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Security and Technology</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A techno-utopian understanding of security assumes that more technology, more recent technology and more complex technology will necessarily lead to better security outcomes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This is because the security discourse is dominated by vendors with sales targets who do not present a balanced or accurate picture of the technologies that they are selling. This has resulted in state agencies and the general public having an exaggerated understanding of the capabilities of surveillance technologies that is more aligned with Hollywood movies than everyday reality.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">More Technology</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Increasing the number of x-ray machines or full-body scanners at airports by a factor of ten or hundred will make the airport less secure unless human oversight is similarly increased. Even with increased human oversight, all that has been accomplished is an increase in the potential locations that can be compromised. The process of hardening a server usually involves stopping non-essential services and removing non-essential software. This reduces the software that should be subject to audit, continuously monitored for vulnerabilities and patched as soon as possible. Audits, ongoing monitoring and patching all cost time and money and therefore, for governments with limited budgets, any additional unnecessary technology should be seen as a drain on the security budget. Like with the airport example, even when it comes to a single server on the internet, it is clear that, from a security perspective, more technology without a proper functionality and security justification is counter-productive. To reiterate, throwing increasingly more technology at a problem does not make things more secure; rather, it results in a proliferation of vulnerabilities.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Latest Technology</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Reports that a number of state security agencies are contemplating returning to typewriters for sensitive communications in the wake of Snowden’s revelations makes it clear that some older technologies are harder to compromise in comparison to modern technology. <a name="fr9" href="#fn9">[9]</a> Between iris- and fingerprint-based biometric authentication, logically, it would be easier for a criminal to harvest images of irises or authentication factors in bulk fashion using a high resolution camera fitted with a zoom lens in a public location, in comparison to mass lifting of fingerprints.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Complex Technology</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Fifteen years ago, Bruce Schneier said, "The worst enemy of security is complexity. This has been true since the beginning of computers, and it’s likely to be true for the foreseeable future." <a name="fr10" href="#fn10">[10]</a> This is because complexity increases fragility; every feature is also a potential source of vulnerabilities and failures. The simpler Indian electronic machines used until the 2014 elections are far more secure than the Diebold voting machines used in the 2004 US presidential elections. Similarly when it comes to authentication, a pin number is harder to beat without user-conscious cooperation in comparison to iris- or fingerprint-based biometric authentication.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the following section of the paper we have identified five threat scenarios <a name="fr11" href="#fn11">[11]</a> relevant to India and identified solutions based on our theoretical framing above.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Threat Scenarios and Possible Solutions</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Hacking the NIC Certifying Authority</strong><br />One of the critical functions served by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) is as a Certifying Authority (CA). <a name="fr12" href="#fn12">[12]</a> In this capacity, the NIC issues digital certificates that authenticate web services and allow for the secure exchange of information online. <a name="fr13" href="#fn13">[13]</a> Operating systems and browsers maintain lists of trusted CA root certificates as a means of easily verifying authentic certificates. India’s Controller of Certifying Authority’s certificates issued are included in the Microsoft Root list and recognised by the majority of programmes running on Windows, including Internet Explorer and Chrome. <a name="fr14" href="#fn14">[14]</a> In 2014, the NIC CA’s infrastructure was compromised, and digital certificates were issued in NIC’s name without its knowledge. <a name="fr15" href="#fn15">[15]</a> Reports indicate that NIC did not "have an appropriate monitoring and tracking system in place to detect such intrusions immediately." <a name="fr16" href="#fn16">[16]</a> The implication is that websites could masquerade as another domain using the fake certificates. Personal data of users can be intercepted or accessed by third parties by the masquerading website. The breach also rendered web servers and websites of government bodies vulnerable to attack, and end users were no longer sure that data on these websites was accurate and had not been tampered with. <a name="fr17" href="#fn17">[17]</a> The NIC CA was forced to revoke all 250,000 SSL Server Certificates issued until that date <a name="fr18" href="#fn18">[18]</a> and is no longer issuing digital certificates for the time being. <a name="fr19" href="#fn19">[19]</a>Public key pinning is a means through which websites can specify which certifying authorities have issued certificates for that site. Public key pinning can prevent man-in-the-middle attacks due to fake digital certificates. <a name="fr20" href="#fn20">[20]</a> Certificate Transparency allows anyone to check whether a certificate has been properly issued, seeing as certifying authorities must publicly publish information about the digital certificates that they have issued. Though this approach does not prevent fake digital certificates from being issued, it can allow for quick detection of misuse. <a name="fr21" href="#fn21">[21]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>‘Logic Bomb’ against Airports</strong><br />Passenger operations in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport depend on a centralised operating system known as the Common User Passenger Processing System (CUPPS). The system integrates numerous critical functions such as the arrival and departure times of flights, and manages the reservation system and check-in schedules. <a name="fr22" href="#fn22">[22]</a> In 2011, a logic bomb attack was remotely launched against the system to introduce malicious code into the CUPPS software. The attack disabled the CUPPS operating system, forcing a number of check-in counters to shut down completely, while others reverted to manual check-in, resulting in over 50 delayed flights. Investigations revealed that the attack was launched by three disgruntled employees who had assisted in the installation of the CUPPS system at the New Delhi Airport. <a name="fr23" href="#fn23">[23]</a> Although in this case the impact of the attack was limited to flight delay, experts speculate that the attack was meant to take down the entire system. The disruption and damage resulting from the shutdown of an entire airport would be extensive.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Adoption of open hardware and FOSS is one strategy to avoid and mitigate the risk of such vulnerabilities. The use of devices that embrace the concept of open hardware and software specifications must be encouraged, as this helps the FOSS community to be vigilant in detecting and reporting design deviations and investigate into probable vulnerabilities.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Attack on Critical Infrastructure</strong><br />The Nuclear Power Corporation of India encounters and prevents numerous cyber attacks every day. <a name="fr24" href="#fn24">[24]</a> The best known example of a successful nuclear plant hack is the Stuxnet worm that thwarted the operation of an Iranian nuclear enrichment complex and set back the country’s nuclear programme. <a name="fr25" href="#fn25">[25] </a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The worm had the ability to spread over the network and would activate when a specific configuration of systems was encountered <a name="fr26" href="#fn26">[26]</a> and connected to one or more Siemens programmable logic controllers. <a name="fr27" href="#fn27">[27]</a> The worm was suspected to have been initially introduced through an infected USB drive into one of the controller computers by an insider, thus crossing the air gap. <a name="fr28" href="#fn28">[28]</a> The worm used information that it gathered to take control of normal industrial processes (to discreetly speed up centrifuges, in the present case), leaving the operators of the plant unaware that they were being attacked. This incident demonstrates how an attack vector introduced into the general internet can be used to target specific system configurations. When the target of a successful attack is a sector as critical and secured as a nuclear complex, the implications for a country’s security and infrastructure are potentially grave.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Security audits and other transparency measures to identify vulnerabilities are critical in sensitive sectors. Incentive schemes such as prizes, contracts and grants may be evolved for the private sector and academia to identify vulnerabilities in the infrastructure of critical resources to enable/promote security auditing of infrastructure.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Micro Level: Chip Attacks</strong><br />Semiconductor devices are ubiquitous in electronic devices. The US, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and China are the primary countries hosting manufacturing hubs of these devices. India currently does not produce semiconductors, and depends on imported chips. This dependence on foreign semiconductor technology can result in the import and use of compromised or fraudulent chips by critical sectors in India. For example, hardware Trojans, which may be used to access personal information and content on a device, may be inserted into the chip. Such breaches/transgressions can render equipment in critical sectors vulnerable to attack and threaten national security. <a name="fr29" href="#fn29">[29]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Indigenous production of critical technologies and the development of manpower and infrastructure to support these activities are needed. The Government of India has taken a number of steps towards this. For example, in 2013, the Government of India approved the building of two Semiconductor Wafer Fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities <a name="fr30" href="#fn30">[30]</a> and as of January 2014, India was seeking to establish its first semiconductor characterisation lab in Bangalore. <a name="fr31" href="#fn31">[31]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Macro Level: Telecom and Network Switches</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The possibility of foreign equipment containing vulnerabilities and backdoors that are built into its software and hardware gives rise to concerns that India’s telecom and network infrastructure is vulnerable to being hacked and accessed by foreign governments (or non-state actors) through the use of spyware and malware that exploit such vulnerabilities. In 2013, some firms, including ZTE and Huawei, were barred by the Indian government from participating in a bid to supply technology for the development of its National Optic Network project due to security concerns. <a name="fr32" href="#fn32">[32]</a> Similar concerns have resulted in the Indian government holding back the conferment of ‘domestic manufacturer’ status on both these firms. <a name="fr33" href="#fn33">[33]</a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Following reports that Chinese firms were responsible for transnational cyber attacks designed to steal confidential data from overseas targets, there have been moves to establish laboratories to test imported telecom equipment in India. <a name="fr34" href="#fn34">[34]</a> Despite these steps, in a February 2014 incident the state-owned telecommunication company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd’s network was hacked, allegedly by Huawei. <a name="fr35" href="#fn35">[35]</a></p>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;" class="pullquote">Security practitioners and policymakers need to avoid the zero-sum framing prevalent in popular discourse regarding security VIS-A-VIS privacy, transparency and technology.</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A successful hack of the telecom infrastructure could result in massive disruption in internet and telecommunications services. Large-scale surveillance and espionage by foreign actors would also become possible, placing, among others, both governmental secrets and individuals personal information at risk.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While India cannot afford to impose a general ban on the import of foreign telecommunications equipment, a number of steps can be taken to address the risk of inbuilt security vulnerabilities. Common International Criteria for security audits could be evolved by states to ensure compliance of products with international norms and practices. While India has already established common criteria evaluation centres, <a name="fr36" href="#fn36">[36]</a> the government monopoly over the testing function has resulted in only three products being tested so far. A Code Escrow Regime could be set up where manufacturers would be asked to deposit source code with the Government of India for security audits and verification. The source code could be compared with the shipped software to detect inbuilt vulnerabilities.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">Conclusion</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Cyber security cannot be enhanced without a proper understanding of the relationship between security and other national imperatives such as privacy, transparency and technology. This paper has provided an initial sketch of those relationships, but sustained theoretical and empirical research is required in India so that security practitioners and policymakers avoid the zero-sum framing prevalent in popular discourse and take on the hard task of solving the optimisation problem by shifting policy, market and technological levers simultaneously. These solutions must then be applied in multiple contexts or scenarios to determine how they should be customised to provide maximum security bang for the buck.</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn1" href="#fr1">1</a>]. Daniel J. Solove, Chapter 1 in Nothing to Hide: The False Tradeoff between Privacy and Security (Yale University Press: 2011), http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1827982.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn2" href="#fr2">2</a>]. Bruce Schneier, “What our Top Spy doesn’t get: Security and Privacy aren’t Opposites,” Wired, January 24, 2008, http://archive.wired.com/politics/security commentary/security matters/2008/01/securitymatters_0124 and Bruce Schneier, “Security vs. Privacy,” Schneier on Security, January 29, 2008, https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/01/security_vs_pri.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn3" href="#fr3">3</a>]. There are four sources of power in internet governance: Market power exerted by private sector organisations; regulatory power exerted by states; technical power exerted by anyone who has access to certain categories of technology, such as cryptography; and finally, the power of public pressure sporadically mobilised by civil society. A technically sound encryption standard, if employed by an ordinary citizen, cannot be compromised using the power of the market or the regulatory power of states or public pressure by civil society. In that sense, technology can be used to regulate state and market behaviour.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn4" href="#fr4">4</a>]. Ann Cavoukian and Khaled El Emam, “Introducing Privacy-Protective Surveillance: Achieving Privacy and Effective Counter-Terrorism,” Information & Privacy Commisioner, September 2013, Ontario, Canada, http://www.privacybydesign.ca/content/uploads/2013/12/pps.pdf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn5" href="#fr5">5</a>]. Madan Oberoi, Pramod Jagtap, Anupam Joshi, Tim Finin and Lalana Kagal, “Information Integration and Analysis: A Semantic Approach to Privacy”(presented at the third IEEE International Conference on Information Privacy, Security, Risk and Trust, Boston, USA, October 2011), ebiquity.umbc.edu/_file_directory_/papers/578.pdf.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn6" href="#fr6">6</a>]. Bruce Byfield, “Does Heartbleed disprove ‘Open Source is Safer’?,” Datamation, April 14, 2014, http://www.datamation.com/open-source/does-heartbleed-disprove-open-source-is-safer-1.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn7" href="#fr7">7</a>]. “Cybersecurity Program should be more transparent, protect privacy,” Centre for Democracy and Technology Insights, March 20, 2009, https://cdt.org/insight/cybersecurity-program-should-be-more-transparent-protect-privacy/#1.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn8" href="#fr8">8</a>]. “Cracked Credibility,” The Economist, September 14, 2013, http://www.economist.com/news/international/21586296-be-safe-internet-needs-reliable-encryption-standards-software-and.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn9" href="#fr9">9</a>]. Miriam Elder, “Russian guard service reverts to typewriters after NSA leaks,” The Guardian, July 11, 2013, www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/russia-reverts-paper-nsa-leaks and Philip Oltermann, “Germany ‘may revert to typewriters’ to counter hi-tech espionage,” The Guardian, July 15, 2014, www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/15/germany-typewriters-espionage-nsa-spying-surveillance.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn10" href="#fr10">10</a>]. Bruce Schneier, “A Plea for Simplicity,” Schneier on Security, November 19, 1999, https://www.schneier.com/essays/archives/1999/11/a_plea_for_simplicit.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn11" href="#fr11">11</a>]. With inputs from Pranesh Prakash of the Centre for Internet and Society and Sharathchandra Ramakrishnan of Srishti School of Art, Technology and Design.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn12" href="#fr12">12</a>]. “Frequently Asked Questions,” Controller of Certifying Authorities, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, http://cca.gov.in/cca/index.php?q=faq-page#n41.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn13" href="#fr13">13</a>]. National Informatics Centre Homepage, Government of India, http://www.nic.in/node/41.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn14" href="#fr14">14</a>]. Adam Langley, “Maintaining Digital Certificate Security,” Google Security Blog, July 8, 2014, http://googleonlinesecurity.blogspot.in/2014/07/maintaining-digital-certificate-security.html.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn15" href="#fr15">15</a>]. This is similar to the kind of attack carried out against DigiNotar, a Dutch certificate authority. See: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1246&context=jss.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn16" href="#fr16">16</a>]. R. Ramachandran, “Digital Disaster,” Frontline, August 22, 2014, http://www.frontline.in/the-nation/digital-disaster/article6275366.ece.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn17" href="#fr17">17</a>]. Ibid.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn18" href="#fr18">18</a>]. “NIC’s digital certification unit hacked,” Deccan Herald, July 16, 2014, http://www.deccanherald.com/content/420148/archives.php.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn19" href="#fr19">19</a>]. National Informatics Centre Certifying Authority Homepage, Government of India, http://nicca.nic.in//.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn20" href="#fr20">20</a>]. Mozilla Wiki, “Public Key Pinning,” https://wiki.mozilla.org/SecurityEngineering/Public_Key_Pinning.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn21" href="#fr21">21</a>]. “Certificate Transparency - The quick detection of fraudulent digital certificates,” Ascertia, August 11, 2014, http://www.ascertiaIndira.com/blogs/pki/2014/08/11/certificate-transparency-the-quick-detection-of-fraudulent-digital-certificates.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn22" href="#fr22">22</a>]. “Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL/VIDP) Terminal 3, India,” Airport Technology.com, http://www.airport-technology.com/projects/indira-gandhi-international-airport-terminal -3/.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn23" href="#fr23">23</a>]. “How techies used logic bomb to cripple Delhi Airport,” Rediff, November 21, 2011, http://www.rediff.com/news/report/how-techies-used-logic-bomb-to-cripple-delhi-airport/20111121 htm.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn24" href="#fr24">24</a>]. Manu Kaushik and Pierre Mario Fitter, “Beware of the bugs,” Business Today, February 17, 2013, http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/india-cyber-security-at-risk/1/191786.html.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn25" href="#fr25">25</a>]. “Stuxnet ‘hit’ Iran nuclear plants,” BBC, November 22, 2010, http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-11809827.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn26" href="#fr26">26</a>]. In this case, systems using Microsoft Windows and running Siemens Step7 software were targeted.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn27" href="#fr27">27</a>]. Jonathan Fildes, “Stuxnet worm ‘targeted high-value Iranian assets’,” BBC, September 23, 2010, http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-11388018.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn28" href="#fr28">28</a>]. Farhad Manjoo, “Don’t Stick it in: The dangers of USB drives,” Slate, October 5, 2010, http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2010/10/dont_stick_it_in.html.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn29" href="#fr29">29</a>]. Ibid.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn30" href="#fr30">30</a>]. “IBM invests in new $5bn chip fab in India, so is chip sale off?,” ElectronicsWeekly, February 14, 2014, http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/business/ibm-invests-new-5bn-chip-fab-india-chip-sale-2014-02/.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn31" href="#fr31">31</a>]. NT Balanarayan, “Cabinet Approves Creation of Two Semiconductor Fabrication Units,” Medianama, February 17, 2014, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-02-04/news/47004737_1_indian-electronics-special-incentive-package-scheme-semiconductor-association.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn32" href="#fr32">32</a>]. Jamie Yap, “India bars foreign vendors from national broadband initiative,” ZD Net, January 21, 2013, http://www.zdnet.com/in/india-bars-foreign-vendors-from-national-broadband-initiative-7000010055/.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn33" href="#fr33">33</a>]. Kevin Kwang, “India holds back domestic-maker status for Huawei, ZTE,” ZD Net, February 6, 2013, http://www.zdnet.com/in/india-holds-back-domestic-maker-status-for-huawei-zte-70 00010887/. Also see “Huawei, ZTE await domestic-maker tag,” The Hindu, February 5, 2013, http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/huawei-zte-await-domesticmaker-tag/article4382888.ece.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn34" href="#fr34">34</a>]. Ellyne Phneah, “Huawei, ZTE under probe by Indian government,” ZD Net, May 10, 2013, http://www.zdnet.com/in/huawei-zte-under-probe-by-indian-government-7000015185/.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">[<a name="fn35" href="#fr35">35</a>]. Devidutta Tripathy, “India investigates report of Huawei hacking state carrier network,” Reuters, February 6, 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/06/us-india-huawei-hacking-idUSBREA150QK20140206.</p>
<p>[<a name="fn36" href="#fr36">36</a>]. “Products Certified,” Common Criteria Portal of India, http://www.commoncriteria-india.gov.in/Pages/ProductsCertified.aspx.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/security-privacy-transparency-and-technology'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/security-privacy-transparency-and-technology</a>
</p>
No publishersunilBig DataPrivacyInternet GovernanceFeaturedHomepage2015-09-15T10:53:52ZBlog EntrySameet Panda - Data Systems in Welfare: Impact of the JAM Trinity on Pension & PDS in Odisha during COVID-19
https://cis-india.org/raw/sameet-panda-jam-trinity-pension-pds-odisha-covid-19
<b>This study by Sameet Panda tries to understand the integration of data and digital systems in welfare delivery in Odisha. It brings out the impact of welfare digitalisation on beneficiaries through primary data collected in November 2020. The researcher is thankful to community members for sharing their lived experiences during course of the study. Fieldwork was undertaken in three panchayats of Bhawanipatna block of Kalahandi district, Odisha. Additional research support was provided by Apurv Vivek and Vipul Kumar, and editorial contributions were made by Ambika Tandon (Senior Researcher, CIS). This study was conducted as part of a project on gender, welfare, and surveillance, supported by Privacy International, UK.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Report: <a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/sameet-panda-impact-of-the-jam-trinity-on-pension-pds-in-odisha-during-covid-19" target="_blank">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<hr />
<h3>Extract from the Report</h3>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated flaws in social institutions as never before - threatening food security, public health systems, and livelihood in the informal sector. At the time of writing this report,
India is the second-worst affected country in the world with over 9.8 million confirmed cases and more than 1.4 hundred thousand deaths. Unemployment has been increasing at an alarming rate, from 6.67 to 7 percent in October...</p>
<p>Following the national lockdown, many families belonging to low-income groups and daily wage earners found themselves stranded without money, food or credit from their employers. During the strict lockdown of the economy between March to June 2020 lakhs of migrants faced starvation in cities and walked back home. The government responded with some urgent measures, although inadequate. To cope with the food and economic crisis the Government of India and state governments initiated several social protection schemes. In Odisha, The central government provided two kinds of support, cash transfer through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) MGNREGS, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUJ), advance release of pension in cash to existing beneficiaries and cash support of Rs. 1000. The Odisha government provided cash support of Rs. 1000
to ration card holding families. Beneficiaries of the Public Distribution System also received free-of-cost food grain under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana...</p>
<p>Over the last couple of years, along with making the Aadhaar mandatory, the government has also been working towards linking mobile numbers and bank accounts of beneficiaries. An increasing number of schemes are shifting to Direct Benefit Transfer from in-kind or cash benefits - 324 schemes under 51 ministries of the Government of India. Such schemes are relying on the linkage of Jan Dhan accounts, the Aadhaar, and mobile numbers (the “JAM trinity”) to facilitate access to Direct Benefit Transfers. The Economic Survey 2015-16 has pointed out that without improving mobile penetration and rural banking infrastructure making the JAM trinity mandatory would continue to lead to exclusions. The issues with each of the components of the JAM trinity worsened during the COVID-19 crisis with restrictions on physical movement, difficulties in topping up mobile phone accounts, and enrolling for the Aadhaar or addressing other technical issues.</p>
<p>This report assesses the role of the data system in welfare delivery. It focuses on the impact of the three components of the JAM trinity - Jan Dhan Account, mobile numbers and the Aadhaar on Direct Benefit Transfer, social security pension and the Public Distribution System. The objective of this study is to understand the challenges faced by beneficiaries in accessing PDS and pension as a result of digitisation processes. This includes failures in Direct Benefit Transfers and exclusions from databases, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focuses on gender as a key component shaping the impact of digitisation on beneficiaries. The sample includes both men and women beneficiaries in order to identify such gendered differences. It will also identify infrastructural constraints in Odisha that impact the implementation of digital systems in welfare. Also, it will analyse policy frameworks at central and state levels, to compare their discourse with the impact on the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/raw/sameet-panda-jam-trinity-pension-pds-odisha-covid-19'>https://cis-india.org/raw/sameet-panda-jam-trinity-pension-pds-odisha-covid-19</a>
</p>
No publisherSameet PandaWelfare GovernanceData SystemsHomepageResearchFeaturedGender, Welfare, and PrivacyResearchers at Work2021-02-26T07:36:10ZBlog EntryRound Table on Assessing the Efficacy of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Public Initiatives: A Report
https://cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/round-table-assessing-efficacy
<b>Zainab Bawa reports on the Round Table on Assessing the Efficacy of Information and Communication Technologies for Public Initiatives, hosted by the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, on 17 June 2009, in collaboration with the Liberty Institute, New Delhi. </b>
<p></p>
<p>
In
recent times, there has been an upsurge in the use of ICTs to provide
information to people and to elicit participation. Individuals, corporate
organisations, NGOs, civil society organisations, collectives, municipalities,
political parties and politicians have been using the internet and other
mediums to communicate with people. The round table was organised primarily to
discuss two issues:</p>
<ol><li>What is the
effectiveness of the initiatives introduced in recent times?</li><li>How do we
move forward in terms of partnerships/collaborations in the areas of data
gathering, sharing, dissemination and architecture of information? </li></ol>
<p>Given
the constraints of time, however, we were only able to discuss a few issues with
respect to efficacy of initiatives, rather than come up with a concrete action
plan on how to measure effectiveness of many of the existing initiatives. This
remains an agenda for subsequent meetings.</p>
<p>This round table was the first meeting of its kind. It
brought together participants from diverse backgrounds to discuss key issues
involved in leveraging ICTs towards various ends, and to collaborate with each
other on ongoing initiatives. Participants included researchers,
persons who have developed information platforms and databases, individuals
working in the area of leveraging technology for streamlining processes in
society and people who have been studying usage patterns of social media tools.
Most of the participants were using ICTs to improve information access
related to health issues, education, budgets, development of rural areas and
recently, elections and governance. In the subsequent sections, I will briefly
elaborate on some of the key themes around which discussions took place
during the round table.</p>
<p><strong>Building on Ideas:</strong> In the morning
and pre-lunch sessions, one issue that featured prominently was the importance of developing ideas rather than trying to work out a perfect model that
we believe will solve what we perceive to be people’s problems. Two of the
participants explained that they started implementing ideas as they came to
them, rather than trying to come up with a framework that they thought would
work for the masses. They worked towards evolving their ideas, exploring what
works and what does not. One of them further pointed out that such evolution
cannot be observed as it happens; it only becomes apparent in hindsight. Hence,
discussions such as the current round table are useful.</p>
<p>It is
also important to note that we are still in a nascent stage of understanding
how ICTs can impact people’s lives and deploying them accordingly. As a result, many efforts are likely to be in the stage of trial and error.</p>
<p><strong>Key areas of interest and concern:</strong> Based
on the input from participants in the morning session, we
arrived at a list of areas that require more understanding and discussion.</p>
<ol><li><u>Information gathering, dissemination, access –
including information architecture, technology design</u>:
Here, three issues were discussed:</li>
<ul><li>Who are we talking about when we refer to information
access? It was pointed out that information is crucial particularly for people
who do not have computers and for whom internet is not a priority. The intensity
with which they seek information is remarkable. One of the participants argued
that we undervalue the potential of information to make a difference to
people’s lives.</li><li>How do we deliver information? Providing information
is not enough.</li><li>Representativeness of the information for those who it
is provided for.
</li></ul>
</ol>
<p>Another issue that was referred to
was whether language is a problem, i.e., most information is available only in
English. One of the participants suggested that this is not the case because Google has found that a very small percentage of the population actually refers
to material on the web in languages other than English.</p>
<ol type="1" start="2"><li><u>Community mobilization</u>:
During the deliberations, we referred to the problem of replication of initiatives. Two observers of social media pointed
out that replication happens because people are trying to create their own
unique communities around their initiatives. This is an important insight
for future efforts and also indicates the need to share databases and
information that individuals and organisations have compiled. They also
suggested that it is important to discover existing communities and spaces
where conversations around issues of governance, education, health and
development are taking place. This helps to plug into existing resource
pools and to extend outreach. <br /></li></ol>
<ol type="1" start="3"><li><u>Citizens’ participation</u>:
Initiatives that work and why they
succeed - We briefly discussed the Jaagore campaign and India Vote Report,
which were launched before the 2009 national elections in India to enable
people to register on the electoral rolls and to report irregularities during
elections respectively. Some people found it difficult to register
themselves on the Jaagore website and some had difficulties in finding the
local offices where they needed to follow-up with the process. It was also
pointed out that Vote Report did not connect with the end user because it
would have been easier to report irregularities and anomalies via SMS
rather than trying to report them by logging on to the site. If one looks
at the case of the Online Complaint Management System (OCMS) developed by
Praja, the availability of the telephone hotline service through which
citizens could register their complaints helped in widening usage. Thus,
it appears that two issues are pertinent:</li>
<ul><li>Whether the initiative connects with the people who
are likely to use it;</li><li>Simplicity of design/system that enables more users. <br />
</li></ul>
</ol>
<p><strong>Target
Audience:</strong> One of
the participants pointed out that some initiatives do not work because they are
targeted towards the wrong audiences. For example, when it comes to voting and
elections, poor groups are the ones who go out and vote in large numbers.
Hence, information systems need to be tailored to provide them with the data
that they need most. Access also has to be configured accordingly. In some
instances, the target is too broad to reach out effectively.</p>
<p>It appears that there is a need to
develop strategies on how platforms and databases that have been created to
enhance access to information can be made known among the masses and how people
can be made aware to use them. It is equally important to understand what
constitutes ‘information’ and for whom. Here,
the other issue to explore is how information links back to the people for who
it is provided.</p>
<ol type="1" start="4"><li><u>Technology</u>: In this
area, a key concern was the high costs involved in developing technologies
and whether we could learn from each other’s experience of developing
technologies instead of reinventing the wheel. We also discussed whether
open source software helps to reduce costs of development. The other issue
with respect to open source is whether there is enough assistance and
support available to resolve problems that may crop up during use of
technology from time to time. </li></ol>
<p><strong>Sharing
of Data:</strong> Discussions also veered around the issue of whether
appropriate technology and applications could be created to help with sharing
existing databases and information pools. We did not discuss this issue
in depth, but it remains relevant for subsequent meetings.</p>
<ol type="1" start="5"><li><u>Back end integration</u>: According
to some of the participants, one of major problems is the interface
between government and citizens, which remains weak. Technology
can be used to enhance the interactions. Participants also pointed out
the difficulty in obtaining data from government bodies that is important
to create the interface between government and citizens. A participant
involved with the Jaagore campaign referred to the problem of back-end
integration during their efforts to help citizens register themselves with
the election commission (EC) offices. A participant from Google similarly
reported that they faced problems in obtaining election results from the EC’s
offices as a result of which, they had to rely on their partners for this
information. Here too, we could not deliberate on how to resolve this
problem, but this could be a major theme for a subsequent meeting. <br /></li></ol>
<ol type="1" start="6"><li><u>Performance (monitoring, evaluation)</u>:
One of the themes that participants zeroed in on was the evaluation of
the performance of elected representatives and making this evaluation available for
people to see. Here, the debate was around the problem of evaluation being carried out according to the criteria we set which may not seem relevant
to other sections of society. One of the suggestions that came up was to
develop a matrix for evaluation and put out information accordingly.
People can then use it to make their own judgments. <img src="https://cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/uploads/00016.jpg/image_preview" alt="rt2" class="image-right" title="rt2" /><br /></li></ol>
<p>In
the post-lunch session, some of the participants shared their experiences with
implementation and also the work they and their organisations are currently
engaged with. Towards the end of the round table, each one of the participants
explained their respective projects and how they may wish to collaborate with
other participants (who were present) in their initiatives. An e-group called “CIS-Info-Access” has
been created to take these conversations and collaborations further. </p>
<h3><strong>Evaluation of the Round Table and Way Forward:</strong> <br /></h3>
<p>When
invitations were sent out to people to participate in the round table, many of
the invitees expressed a genuine and enthusiastic interest in being part of
this effort. As mentioned above, one of the reasons for this enthusiasm was
because this was the first meeting of its kind, bringing together
individuals from the fields of technology, research and implementation. We
invited a total of 35 people out of which 27 finally attended the meeting.
The diversity of the participants was an asset in that a variety of issues were
brought to the table. The drawback was that there was not enough time to
discuss some of the pertinent issues in depth. Future meetings can be tailored
to discuss one or two specific themes such as back-end integration and sharing
of information, technology issues, ideas for mobilising citizens and
communities, etc.</p>
<p>The
possibilities of collaboration between participants in this meeting are immense
and we hope that some of the synergies will materialise into concrete outcomes.
Further, a few participants have expressed an interest in organising similar
meetings in their cities/towns, perhaps focusing on a few issues instead of
bringing people together under a broad theme. Of some of the issues discussed,
participants have indicated that back-end integration with government and
ideating on different ways of disseminating data can be further deliberated on
in future. One of the participants also suggested that there is a need to make
‘data’ more relevant to people’s lives.</p>
<p>While
the meeting was fruitful in many respects, one issue needs to be underlined.
This concerns the imagination of internet and ICTs as mediums that can resolve all existing problems with respect to citizen-government
interface, streamlining of processes and provision of information. Such an
overarching imagination of technology overlooks the cultural, economic, social and
political specificities of communities and contexts. Technology
can also have negative implications in some circumstances. It also needs to be
reinforced that technology is embedded in society and culture. Therefore we
need to view technology as one of the avenues among others available which will
facilitate interactions between people and their governments and the state.
Democratisation is more likely to be realised through such a perspective.</p>
<p></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/round-table-assessing-efficacy'>https://cis-india.org/events/event-blogs/round-table-assessing-efficacy</a>
</p>
No publishersachiaSocial mediaDigital ActivismDigital AccessPublic AccountabilityDiscussionFeaturedTransparency, Politics2011-08-20T22:28:55ZBlog EntryRight to Read Campaign, Chennai
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign-chennai
<b>A report on the first road show of the nationwide Right to Read Campaign which was launched at Loyola college, Chennai, on 26th September, 2009. </b>
<h2>Right to Read Campaign - An Overview</h2>
<h3>Fast Facts</h3>
<ul>
<li>At least three hundred million people around the world with sight problems and dyslexia cannot read standard print. India may be home to at least 70 million of these persons.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Globally, a massive 96 percent of books are never made available in formats that persons with print disability can enjoy and in India almost 99% books are unavailable in accessible formats.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Every day millions of adults and children are denied vital information for education, work, daily life as well as being denied the joy of reading a world of books. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The Indian Copyright Act 1957 does not permit conversion and distribution of books in accessible formats to persons with print disabilities.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Problem at hand</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Millions of Indians are unable to read printed material due to disabilities. There are technologies available which can help them read print if the material is converted into an alternate format such as large print, audio, Braille or any electronic format. While the Indian constitution guarantees the “right to read” as a fundamental right, the <i>Copyright Act of 1957</i> does not permit the conversion of books into accessible formats for the benefit of persons with print impairment, as a result of which a “book famine” is created. International conventions that India is a party to specifically require it to amend its copyright laws for the benefit of persons with disabilities and to make available information and material to them on an equal basis as others. Publishers also do not make books available in accessible formats as a result of which less than 0.5% of them are available. As a result, persons with print impairments get excluded from the education system and it impacts their career choices. In addition to this, there are no national policies or action plan to ensure that publications in accessible formats in all Indian languages are available to persons with print disabilities all over the country.</p>
<h3>Current situation in India</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 does not make any provision for the conversion and distribution of books in accessible formats for print impaired persons. Hence organizations serving them have to get permission from copyright holders for conversion. Because of this, other countries do not lend books in accessible formats to print impaired persons in our country.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the case of books published in India, there are no accessible copies readily available in the market and while many publishers in principle are not averse to giving permission, the unwanted fear of piracy and lack of awareness prevents them from allowing organizations to undertake conversions. Consequently print impaired persons are denied the freedom to choose and read any book which is freely available to the public.</p>
<h3>Solution</h3>
<ul>
<li>The Government of India must immediately modify the Indian Copyright Act 1957 to permit conversion and distribution of books in accessible formats to persons with print disabilities.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>India should support the Treaty on Copyright and the Reading Disabled being tabled at WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights by the Governments of Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay based on a text originally drafted by a global expert committee under the auspices of the World Blind Union, which is aimed at harmonization of copyright laws at an international level.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Objectives of the Right to Read Campaign</h3>
<ul>
<li>To accelerate change in copyright law</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>To raise public awareness on the issue</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>To gather Indian support for the Treaty on Copyright and the Reading Disabled being tabled at WIPO's Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights by the Governments of Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay based on a text originally drafted by a global expert committee under the auspices of the World Blind Union.</li>
</ul>
<h3><b><span>Campaign Managers</span></b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Centre for Internet and Society (www.cis-india.org): </b>The Centre for Internet and Society critically engages with concerns of digital pluralism, public accountability and pedagogic practices in the field of Internet and Society, with particular emphasis on South-South dialogues and exchange. In association with the Daisy Forum of India and Bookbole, the CIS is engaged in conducting the Right to Read Campaign supporting the acceleration of amendments in Copyright Law, creating public awareness and by gathering Indian support for the Treaty for the Blind proposed by the World Blind Union at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><span class="Heading1Char"><b>DAISY Forum of India (www.daisyindia.org)</b></span>: DFI is a forum of 75 Not for Profit organizations from India who are involved in production of books and reading materials in accessible formats for persons who cannot read normal print. The DAISY Consortium envisions a world where people with print disabilities have equal access to information and knowledge without delay or additional expense. The DAISY Forum of India endorses this vision and is working towards its realization in India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Bookbole (<a href="http://www.bookbole.com/"><span>www.bookbole.com</span></a>):</b> Bookbole is a library of books in multiple formats which can be accessed by persons using screen readers. Bookbole allows users to find, share, and manage personal libraries in a very easy fashion. This website has been developed by Inclusive Planet, a social venture involved in creating web based products and services for the differently-abled.</p>
<p><b>Loyola College (Chennai)</b> <b><span>(</span><a href="http://www.loyolacollege.edu/index.html"><span>www.loyolacollege.edu/index.html</span></a><span>)</span>: </b><span class="innertext1">Loyola College has played an important role in the history of education in India. Founded in 1925 by </span><b>Rev. Fr. Bertram, S.J.,</b><span class="innertext1"> who himself was twice the acting Vice- Chancellor of the Madras University, Loyola College has emerged in the last seventy-five years as a premier educational Institution in the country and it is striving to break new paths in education. One of the major breakthroughs in its history is the autonomous status it received in the year 1978.</span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span><span> </span></span></span><span class="innertext1">Situated in the heart of Chennai, and having a large campus of about 98 acres, this institution provides an ideal environment for both teachers and students to enrich themselves intellectually, emotionally and physically by actively participating in the academic and co-curricular activities. Loyola has started several Centres of Excellence such as LIFE, (Loyola Institute of Frontier Energy) Entomology Research Institute, ACE, (Academy for Cumulative Excellence) Culture and Communication, LIVE (Loyola Institute of Vocational Education) and LISOR (Loyola Institute of Industrial and Social Science Research).</span></p>
<p><b><span><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/Loyola%20College%20-%20Right%20to%20Read%20Campaign%20-Chennai.jpg/image_preview" title="Loyola College - Chennai" height="124" width="320" alt="Loyola College - Chennai" class="image-inline" /></span></b></p>
<h3>Campaign activities</h3>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst">The nationwide Right to Read Campaign seeks to achieve the objective through a series of events like,</p>
<ul>
<li> Nationwide road-shows</li>
<li>Public rallies</li>
<li>Televised debates</li>
<li>Online petitions</li>
<li>Signature campaigns</li>
<li>Audio-video clips</li>
<li>Stalls where accessibility tools are demonstrated</li>
<li>Submission of a legal paper to the government on international scenario and constitutional compulsions for the amendment of the copyright law.</li>
</ul>
<p><b><span>Social Networks</span></b></p>
<p>The Right to read campaign has been active on various social networks like blogs, Twitter and Facebook. The campaign has been well received by the users and is succeeding in raising awareness on the issue.</p>
<p><b>Media Coverage</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Even before its first event, the R2R campaign attracted significant press coverage in both Bangalore and Chennai. For details of the articles on the campaign in various newspapers both before and after the campaign please refer to Annexure A.</p>
<p><span class="Heading1Char"><b>Website</b></span>: <a href="http://www.righttoread.in/"><span><span>www.righttoread.in</span></span></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This website, dedicated for the Right to Read campaign has details about the issue faced with regard to the copyright law and the objective of the campaign. It has a provision for signing the online petition and declaration forms. It has regular updates on the events being conducted and provides an opportunity to exploit ones creativity by blogging, shooting videos, clicking photos and writing slogans about the campaign. Its major objective is to spread awareness about the campaign.</p>
<h2><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0001.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-8" class="image-inline" title="R2R-8" /></h2>
<h2>Launch of Right to Read Campaign</h2>
<p>The first roadshow of the R2R campaign was launched at Chennai.</p>
<p><b>Venue: </b>Loyola College</p>
<p><b>Date: </b>26<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</p>
<p><b>Time: </b>9:30 AM</p>
<p><b>Topic:</b> Amend copyright law to grant access to reading materials for the print impaired</p>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/publications/uploads/RTR%20Campaign%20-%20Agenda.pdf/at_download/file" class="internal-link" title="R2R - Agenda"><b>Agenda</b></a></p>
<p><b>Launch of the campaign</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This was the first major event with respect to the Right to Read campaign. A wide range of dignitaries were invited for the launch. The audience included students, social activists and visually challenged people. About 4oo students from 100 colleges around Chennai and 150 NSS volunteers attended from outside and an almost equal number of students participated from within Loyola College to make this a very large gathering of almost 800-1000 persons. The event was organized by the students of Department of Sociology at Loyola College, Chennai in collaboration with the campaign managers.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The Chief Guest of the event was Mr. Shri Kumar Verma, a well known writer, social activist and a professor of creative English and English literature. He spoke about the issue faced by print impaired persons and how apprehensive people are about sharing books in accessible formats as it is a legal infringement. He appreciated the fact that people have recognized the need for attention to this issue. He observed that Loyola College was the most appropriate venue for this event since students are proactively engaged with social issues. He promised to take initiatives and spread awareness about the campaign and expected the same from others.</p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-3.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 3" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 3" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Other dignitaries who honored the event were Dr. N. Raja Hussain, Program coordinator, NSS, University of Madras; Mr. Dipendra Manocha, Member, Executive Council, World Blind Union and President, Daisy Forum of India; Mr. Chandrasekar, Treasurer, National Association for the Blind; Ms. Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, CIS and Mr. Rahul Cherian, Policy Head, Inclusive Planet.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0056.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-14" class="image-inline" title="R2R-14" /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">They spoke about the need for the amendment and importance of spreading awareness about this burning issue. In her introduction to the campaign, Nirmita explained that it was not a question of just making the books available in particular formats. If people can read books, it will help literacy, education, employment and promote independent living. A majority of the visually impaired population don't pursue courses because they don't have study materials in accessible formats. This is substantiated by looking at the statistics of Delhi University - they have about 1,500 seats reserved for the handicapped. Despite that, in 2008, only 270 students applied and in 2009, only 350 applied. This just goes to show that in addition to making reservations, it is also necessary to provide an enabling reading framework to persons with disabilities by providing materials in accessible formats and a good support system. This statistics served as an eye opener to the audience.</p>
<h3><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0010.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-10" class="image-inline" title="R2R-10" /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0009.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R-9" height="246" width="384" alt="R2R-9" class="image-inline" /></h3>
<h3></h3>
<h3><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0037.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-11" class="image-inline" title="R2R-11" /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0042.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-13" class="image-inline" title="R2R-13" /></h3>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0012.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-12" class="image-inline" title="R2R-12" /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0083.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-15" class="image-inline" title="R2R-15" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h3></h3>
<h3><span><b>Signature Campaign</b></span></h3>
<p>The launch was followed by a signature campaign where a huge banner supporting the campaign was signed by the dignitaries and other participants of the event. In addition to this, volunteers were committed to the task of carrying out a signature campaign on paper. Supporters of the campaign were invited to sign on the declaration and to put down their names to volunteer for the campaign or to help out the print impaired in a sustained fashion by specifying the manner in which they would like to contribute.</p>
<h3><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-5.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 5" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 5" class="image-inline" /></h3>
<h3><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0091.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-16" class="image-inline" title="R2R-16" /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0100.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-17" class="image-inline" title="R2R-17" /></h3>
<h3></h3>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0101.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-18" class="image-inline" title="R2R-18" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0122.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-20" class="image-inline" title="R2R-20" /></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<h3>Rally</h3>
<p>The students had organized a rally supporting the need for amendment of the copyright law and to spread awareness about the campaign. 200 students walked around the 97 acre campus with 100 banners carrying slogans like- “Support the Right to Read”, “Change Copyright Law,- free a world of knowledge”, “One Alphabet- several words; one book- several formats “, “Different states, different languages, different cultures- why not different formats? And so on.</p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0107.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-19" class="image-inline" title="R2R-19" /></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-6.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 6" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 6" class="image-inline" /></p>
<h3><b><span>Declaration forms</span></b></h3>
<p>Interested people signed the declaration forms to endorse the campaign by voluntarily engaging themselves in any of the activities like creating awareness among public, gathering public support for The Treaty for the Blind at WIPO, online petitions and promoting the campaign online. <br /><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/publications/Declaration%20-%20Right%20to%20Read.doc/at_download/file" class="internal-link" title="Declaration - Right to Read Campaign">Declaration</a></p>
<h3><b><span>Panel Discussion - ‘We the people’</span></b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The panel discussion kicked off at 1130 hrs with the Master of the Ceremony introducing the panelists; Mr. Dipendra Manocha, President, The Daisy Forum of India (DFI); Prof. Sivaraman, Professor of English, Presidency College, Chennai and Mr. Vijaykumar, Advocate. Ms. Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) and Mr. Rahul Cherian, Co-founder and Policy Head, Inclusive Planet, were the moderators of the discussion. A salient point to be noted here was that all the panelists present were totally/partially visually challenged.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The discussion started off with Prof. Sivaraman citing his experiences with access to literature other than printed format since 2004. He shared information on the technology that he had been using to ‘read’ books that were prescribed for the students. These were text books or reference material that had been used over a period of time. However, he also threw light on the shortcomings – that newly published text books or literature were not readily available in accessible formats. It usually takes him a considerable amount of time and effort to get materials in Braille or audio formats and hence it is impossible for him to keep abreast of contemporary literature.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">An equally important concern that was raised was that only new books with clear print and paper could be accurately scanned electronically owing to quality of the printed characters as well as deterioration of paper quality over time. Any pictorial representation including figures, charts or graphs and even italicized words present problems during scanning. Thus,</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">What is most urgently required to solve this problem is a digital library as in the case of USA, where the publishers deposit the electronic files of the books. These can be picked up and converted into any accessible format required for a print impaired person without wasting much time, effort and resources. Taking it a step further, he also put forth his views on the unauthorized access and ill-use that electronic books or e-books are put to. Persons who are not visually challenged can also access such books that are present online without any restrictions. Websites that are designed to be used by the visually challenged specifically state in their <i>Terms of Use</i> that accessing/reading of downloading of e-books are strictly meant for persons with partial/total sight impairment, persons with other forms of disabilities that would prevent them from reading printed material or for persons/aides assisting the above mentioned and that any download made by people other than those mentioned would be treated as infringement of the law. But not many people take these terms seriously and still would download such books that are meant for the visually challenged. Right now, there are no technological/legal measures in place to check this infringement owing to the inability to track the perpetrators identity/location. Since it is almost impossible to restrict the access to e-books to only the visually impaired, this acts as a serious set-back in persuading the government to amend the Copyright Act.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr. Vijaykumar continued the discussion, citing <i>Article 14</i> of the Constitution of India which mandates E<i>quality before law</i> and equal protection for everybody, saying that the fundamental right of Indian citizens – the right to read for everybody has not been upheld in India owing to the restrictions imposed by the <i>Copyright Act of 1957</i> and that the Copyright Act, by not including any exceptions or provisions, has failed to protect the interests of persons with visual impairment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Mr. Dipendra Manocha, President, Daisy Forum of India, gave the international and technological perspective to the panel discussion. He explained about the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information System format) format which acts as a standard format to make 1 source document. This can then be used to convert into other accessible formats. He enlightened the crowd about the three factors that would help in solving the problems currently faced by persons with print impairment in India: First, technology such as Laptops or DAISY players and other handheld devices/readers that would assist in translating/reading out aloud e-books. Secondly, creation of e-books in accessible formats, the current high cost-of-conversion of which can be brought down by volunteering and thirdly by bringing in a change in the government policy on Copyright law. Mr. Manocha also informed the audience of how the US Government had amended their copyright law to include provisions for the visually challenged. This has brought down the cost of conversion of printed material into accessible formats to Rs. 2,000 from a whooping Rs. 20,000. He also highlighted the fact that in a developing country like India, it is not feasible to spend Rs. 20,000 for conversion of just one copy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Answering the question as to what steps the Daisy Forum of India is taking with respect to making accessible formats available to the print-impaired, Mr. Manocha responded by saying that the DFI has been negotiating a deal with Adobe Systems Inc. USA, provider of the .<i>pdf </i>format of e-books, to include an option to <i>Save As Daisy format. </i>Also, providing books in accessible formats at the same cost as that of its printed counterpart was one of the visions of DFI.<br />When asked by a member of audience if we can take the law in our hands and start uploading/using e-books from the internet, Mr. Manocha again pointed out that it is the duty and responsibility of the Indian govt. to provide equal opportunities to everybody. In case the government fails to do that, citizens can take measures that would help alleviate the pains caused. But such measures should be taken keeping in mind all the stakeholders involved. Large-scale usage of electronic forms of literature would affect the business of authors/publishers. Hurting publishers is never the intention of this campaign. Mr. Manocha, Mr. Vijaykumar and Prof. Sivaraman made it clear that a coordinated effort was required on the part of all the stake-holders viz. the government, the copyright owners (authors, publishers etc.), the persons with print impairment and the organizations representing them, as well as the general public. The amendments to the Copyright Act should take into consideration the interests of all stake holders.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">When the floor was opened to questions, the participation from audience was overwhelming. Many of the questions were from print impaired persons in the audience who were students in colleges or represented a disability organization like the National Federation for the Blind (NFB) and so on. Due to paucity of time, the interactive question and answer session was restricted to half an hour post the panel discussion but the audience were invited to discuss further questions with the panelists after the session.</p>
<h1 align="center" style="text-align: center; "></h1>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-7.jpg/image_preview" title="R2R - 7" height="265" width="400" alt="R2R - 7" class="image-inline" /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0166.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-24" class="image-inline" title="R2R-24" /></p>
<h3><span><b>Musical Extravaganza</b></span></h3>
<p><span>After some serious food-for-thought, the silence of the convention hall was broken by a musical performance rendered by a Music Band from NFB Chennai. The performance began by two singers rendering a song in praise of the Gods and then went on to lighter numbers like <i>Jai Ho</i>, from the movie <i>Slumdog Millionaire and songs from some Tamil movies, which left the audience speechless</i>. <br /></span></p>
<p><span><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0130.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-21" class="image-inline" title="R2R-21" /> <img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0132.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-22" class="image-inline" title="R2R-22" /></span></p>
<p><span><br /></span></p>
<p><span><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/DSC_0133.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R-23" class="image-inline" title="R2R-23" /><br /></span></p>
<h3 style="text-align: justify; "><b><span>Vote of Thanks</span></b></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The volunteers from Loyola College presented the Vote of thanks to all the dignitaries and panelists on stage and also to the audience present in the function after which the National Anthem was played. Later, the guests and the audience proceeded for lunch.</p>
<h3><b>Acknowledgements</b></h3>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">We would to like to take this opportunity to specially thank <br />Rev. Fr. K. Amal SJ (Rector, Loyola College); <br />Rev. Fr. Albert Muthumalai SJ (Principal, Loyola College); <br />Dr. S. Alphonse Raj (<i>Vice- Principal & Faculty of Sociology Department</i>, Loyola College);</p>
<p class="MsoNoSpacing">Prof S. Iyyappan (<i>Co-coordinator, Extension service Department (NSS)</i>, Loyola College)<br />Prof J. Jerald Inico, Faculty Incharge, Resource Center for Differently abled (RCDA);<i> </i></p>
<p>Prof. Robert Bellarmine (Head, Department of Sociology); <br />Department of Sociology; students from RCDA; NSS; Students Union; <br />the teaching and non-teaching staff of Loyola College, who helped in organizing the campaign and without whom the first road show of the nationwide campaign would not have been a grand success that it has been.<br />We look forward to their continued support in the campaign.</p>
<p>We would also like to thank all the students and guests who came from different parts of the city and participated in the campaign.</p>
<h3>Videos</h3>
<p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Annexure A</b></p>
<p><b>Media Coverage</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Details of the articles on the campaign in various newspapers both before and after the campaign are given below:</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>DNA – Bangalore, 24<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</b></li>
</ul>
<p>CIS campaign to alter copyright law to favour visually impaired - An article by N T Balanarayan, DNA Bangalore - 24th September, 2009 <br /><a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_cis-campaign-to-alter-copyright-law-to-favour-visually-imapired_1292662"><span><span>http://www.dnaindia.com/bangalore/report_cis-campaign-to-alter-copyright-law-to-favour-visually-imapired_1292662</span></span></a><b><span> </span></b></p>
<p>As Indians we enjoy our right to education and to read, but should learning be restricted to books provided in school? What if, some wish to broaden their horizon and learn more, only to realize there are no books available? <br />That's the situation the visually impaired in India face now. But Bangalore-based Centre for Information and Society (CIS) is out to change it. They're starting a new campaign-- Right to Read--demanding changes in the copyright law so that books can be converted into a medium with which the visually impaired will feel more comfortable.<br />According to the group, only 0.5% of the books available in India can be accessed in Braille or audio format. Further, the World Blind Union estimates that only five per cent of the total books that get published in developed countries are converted into accessible formats.<br />According to Nirmita Narasimhan who works with CIS, it's not a question of just making the books available in particular formats. "If people can read books, it will help literacy, education, employment and promote independent living. A majority of the visually impaired population don't pursue courses because they don't have study materials in accessible formats. This is substantiated by looking at the statistics of Delhi University -- they have about 1,500 seats reserved for the handicapped. Despite that, in 2008, only 270 students applied and in 2009, only 350 came forward. This just goes to show that in addition to making reservations, it is also necessary to provide an enabling reading framework to persons with disabilities by providing materials in accessible formats and a good support system," she says.<br />"Further, it is not necessarily any particular format--with technologies and the prolific use of computers; accessible electronic formats (not being jpeg images which screen readers can't make sense of) are most appreciated. One will find that blind persons are always reaching out to each other for study materials in accessible formats--this varies from materials for board exams to text for competitive exams," she adds. <br />Through the campaign, a road show scheduled to start on September 26 at Loyola College, Chennai, the group wants changes to be made in the copyright law. The roadshow will be organized in three other metros as well.<br />The event will comprise presentations, debates and demonstrations along with book reading sessions and stalls where various accessibility tools will be demonstrated.</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li style="text-align: justify; "><b>Times of India, 26<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</b><b> </b></li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Tara Textreader, a boon for the visually-challenged – by M Ramya</p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; "><a href="http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/5058157.cms"><span><span>http://m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/5058157.cms</span></span></a><br />CHENNAI: Mahendran loses track of time as he listens to portions from Romeo and Juliet through Tara. The final year B A (Tamil) student of Loyola College is pleased with the Rs 1.35-lakh Tara Textreader that allows him to access printed material without help and convey information without a scribe. "The Sangeetha software has an Indian accent. So I have no problem accessing material in English," says Mahendran, who has visual disabilities. <br />Earlier, students like him could not access printed material that hadn't been digitized. Their computer systems could not read material that wasn't pre-recorded. Professor Jerald Inico, a lecturer in the computer science department and faculty in charge of the college's Resource Centre for Differently Abled, says the Textreader need not even be connected to a computer. <br />He says: "We were trying to come up with a formula to evaluate students with visual disabilities because we felt that when scribes write down the answers for the students some of the content would be lost in translation. The equipment can scan the question paper and read it out and will also allow the student to answer verbally and store it as an audio clip. For students who become blind later in life and have not learnt Braille this is a big help." <br />Tara, purchased from funds provided by the ministry of social justice and empowerment, can only speak English; now through Sangeetha the college is trying to install a Tamil optical character recognition software. While the students use Tara to read books now the equipment will be tested for exam evaluation during the April 2010 semester exams. But Mahendran is a bit wary. "If we can use Tara and still get extra time for the exams it will prove beneficial, but if we are given the same time as the others because we are using the textreader it will take time to comprehend what is being read to us and give the appropriate answers." <br />The college is also supporting a nationwide Right to Read' campaign for persons with print impairments to be launched in Chennai on Saturday. Nirmita Narasimhan, programme manager at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) which is one of the organisers of the campaign, says: "Two years ago when we proposed a change in the Copyright Act a clause was incoporated that said that books can be reproduced in formats exclusively for the use of the blind. This limits the reproduction to one or two options and newer technologies cannot be used. It also leaves out people with other disabilities like the dyslexic who also have print impairments. Technology is enabling, but law is disabling. We want to create awareness of the issue through the campaign." <br />Registration for the campaign begins at 8 am at the college. The CIS, DAISY Forum of India and Bookbole will take the campaign to other cities in the country.</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li><span class="Heading1Char"><b>The Hindu – 29<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</b></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span>‘Right to read’ campaign launched <br /><span>http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/29/stories/2009092957440200.htm</span></span><br /><span>CHENNAI: About 100 National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers from various colleges in the State kick-started a ‘right to read’ campaign at Loyola College recently. The aim of the campaign is to make books accessible to persons with disabilities. <br /></span>The speakers, who included the visually challenged, persons with low vision and dyslexia, said the Copyright Act did not allow persons with print impairments to convert reading matter using assistive technologies to accessible formats. Dipendra Manocha, executive committee member of World Blind Union, said: “We need organisations, individuals and volunteers to contribute and create accessible books.”<br />Nirmitha Narasimhan, programme manager of the Centre for Internet and Society felt access to information would ensure a better contribution by the visually challenged to society. “It is not that weare insensitive. The suggestion for amendments to the Copyright Act has not yet been incorporated,” she said. <br />Writer Sreekumar Varma, who inaugurated the campaign, recalled his experience as a scribe during his days as a lecturer. C.P. Chandrasekar, treasurer, National Association for the Blind, and Loyola College Principal Albert Muthumalai spoke.</p>
<ul type="disc">
<li><span class="Heading1Char"><b>Deccan Herald – 29<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</b></span></li>
</ul>
<p>‘Right to Read’ campaign launched - Fighting against copyright regulations – an article by L Subramani.<span class="Heading1Char"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><a href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/27678/right-read-campaign-launched.html"><span><span>http://www.deccanherald.com/content/27678/right-read-campaign-launched.html</span></span></a></p>
<p>To highlight the issues faced by persons with print disability – those deprived of Indian books due to unfriendly copyright regulations – a group of organisations launched the Right To Read (R2R) campaign on September 26.<span class="Heading1Char"><br /></span>The campaign, jointly launched by the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Daisy Forum of India (DFI), bookbole.com and Inclusive Planet, kickstarted at Loyola College in Chennai on Saturday.<br />“This campaign was part of the World Blind Union’s (WBU) global campaign,” said Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, CIS. “We are asking all the organisations to lend their support to our initiative.”<br />The campaign comes at a time when the Indian government is preparing to consider changes to the copyright law, which it failed to implement two years ago after disability rights campaigners objected to the proposal to make books and other print materials be made in an “exclusive” format.<br />Nirmita said that this would also be an occasion for activists to urge Government of India to throw its weight behind a WBU treaty tabled at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) asking for a global copyright regulation that takes into account the needs of persons with print disabilities.<br />“The treaty is coming up for discussion at Geneva (WIPO's head quarters) in December,” Nirmita said and added: “Right now only three Latin American nations are supporting it. Since India has the largest number of persons with print disability, which includes the visually challenged, persons with autism and children with learning difficulties, our support would likely tilt the balance in favour of the treaty.” Now, the campaign will be gradually taken to other parts of the country, said Rahul Cherian from Inclusive Planet. A signature campaign and distribution of a declaration supporting accommodation of persons with print disability in copyright laws will also be held as part of the campaign.<br /><span class="Heading1Char"> </span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li><span class="Heading1Char"><b>NDTV – Hindu</b></span></li>
</ul>
<p>The first event was covered by NDTV Hindu and an interview with Rahul Cherian and Nirmita Narasimhan was also telecast on 26<sup>th</sup> September. A brief excerpt from the interview can be viewed at:<br /><br />Part 1: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ndtvhindu#play/uploads/16/o4sQ-ycaoBw"><span><span>http://www.youtube.com/user/ndtvhindu#play/uploads/16/o4sQ-ycaoBw</span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Part 2: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/ndtvhindu#play/uploads/15/Q5HCm2evUYE"><span><span>http://www.youtube.com/user/ndtvhindu#play/uploads/15/Q5HCm2evUYE</span></span></a></p>
<ul>
<li> <span class="Heading1Char"><b>Deccan Chronicle – 27<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</b></span></li>
</ul>
<p><span class="Heading1Char">Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager, CIS, speaks at the launch of ‘Right to Read’ campaign. Loyola College in the city on Saturday launched the campaignto amend the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, and give visually challenged and dyslexic people better access to printed books in the form of Braille copy and big prints. </span><span class="Heading1Char"><br /></span></p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2RDC.jpg/image_preview" title="DC" height="400" width="398" alt="DC" class="image-inline" /></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<p><b> </b></p>
<ul>
<li><b>Tamil Murasu</b><b> </b></li>
</ul>
<h2></h2>
<h2><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/right-to-read-campaign-chennai/R2R%20-%20tamilmurasu.jpg/image_preview" alt="R2R - Tamil Murasu" class="image-inline" title="R2R - Tamil Murasu" /></h2>
<ul>
<li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.cbrforum.in/news_archive/2009/news_oct09.htm">Coverage in the October Issue of: CBR Forum - E- News Bulletin</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/publications/uploads/R2R%20Chennai%20-%20Report.pdf/at_download/file" class="internal-link" title="R2R-Chennai (Report)">Report</a> Prepared by</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Centre for Internet and Society</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a href="https://cis-india.org/"><span><span>www.cis-india.org</span></span></a></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">29<sup>th</sup> September, 2009</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign-chennai'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign-chennai</a>
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No publisherradhaFeaturedAccessibility2013-02-04T06:19:31ZBlog Entry