Centre for Internet and Society

The Second IJLT-CIS Lecture Series at National Law School, Bangalore

praskrishna — 2011-05-13T11:03:04Z

The Indian Journal of Law and Technology and the Centre for Internet and Society, present the second IJLT- CIS Lecture Series, an event comprised of an intensive series of lectures by luminaries with expertise in law and technology to give students, professionals and anyone interested in a comprehensive idea about the theme, "Emerging Issues in Privacy law".

The focus will be on contemporary sub-issues of critical relevance such as:

The Unique Identification Project and Challenges to Privacy
Cloud Computing and Behavioural Tracking
The State and Privacy: Electronic Surveillance

Speakers

The following delegates would be speaking at the conference:

Usha Ramanathan
Malavika Jayaram
Vivek Durai
Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy

Profiles of the Speakers

Usha Ramanathan

Dr. Usha Ramanathan is an internationally recognized expert on law and poverty. She studied law at Madras University, the University of Nagpur and Delhi University. She is a frequent adviser to non-governmental organisations and international organizations. She is a member of Amnesty International's Advisory Panel on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and has been called upon by the World Health Organisation as a expert on mental health on various occasions. Her research interests include human rights, displacement, torts and environment. She has published extensively in India and abroad.

Malavika Jayaram

Malavika Jaya has an experience of more than 15 years as a lawyer with a specialization in information technology and intellectual property. She is a partner in Jayaram & Jayaram, Bangalore managing a portfolio of work that has a strong focus on IT/IP and commercial work, especially with an international angle and is a fellow of the Centre for Internet and Society. She works with CIS in its efforts to explore, understand, and affect the shape and form of the Internet, and its relationship with the cultural and social milieu of our time.

More info on Malavika Jayaram can be found here

Vivek Durai

Vivek G Durai is co-founder and managing partner at Atman Law Partners. He represents Indian and overseas clients in connection with their India entry strategies, venture capital and private equity investments, infrastructure projects, technology contracts, procurement and supply agreements and real estate investments.

More info on Vivek Durai can be found here

Professor (Dr.) Sudhir Krishnaswamy

Prof. Sudhir Krishnaswamy graduated from National Law School Bangalore with a BA LLB (Hons) degree. He then went onto finish a BCL and DPhil in Law from the University of Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship. He has taught at National Law School, Bangalore and Pembroke College, University of Oxford among other places. His research interests include constitutional law, administrative law, intellectual property law, legal profession and reform of the legal system.

More info on Prof. Krishnaswamy can be found here

Admission will not charged but in order to enable us to ensure adequate seating, do register without fail by the 18th of May by email at editorialboard@ijlt.in.

Updates regarding the conference will be posted here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/ijlt-cis-lecture-series

New rules to ensure due diligence: IT dept

praskrishna — 2011-05-23T06:12:39Z

Facing widespread criticism over new IT rules that put certain amount of liability on intermediaries like Google and Facebook for user-generated content, the government clarified that the rules are simply seeking "due diligence" on the part of websites and web hosts. This news was published in the Times of India on May 11, 2011.

The new rules were notified on April 11. Activists and Internet companies say that the rules are archaic and loosely worded and may lead to harassment of web users and website owners. The Times of India was first to report on the issue on April 27.

The ministry of information and technology said, "The terms specified in the rules are in accordance with the terms used by most of the intermediaries as part of their existing practices, policies and terms of service which they have published on their website."

It also clarified the "department of telecommunication has reiterated that there is no intention of the government to acquire regulatory jurisdiction over content under these rules".

The government has claimed that before it made the rules final, it had sought public comments over the draft. "None of the industry associations and other stakeholders objected to the formulation which is now being cited in some section of media," it claimed.

However, sources told TOI that companies like Google had objected to loose wordings of the documents and asked government not to put any liability on intermediary for user-generated content on the web. "We too approached the government with our concerns. For our communication, we never received any acknowledgment," said Sunil Abraham, executive director at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS).

"Given the fact that final rules are more or less similar to the draft rules, I can say that nobody in the government took into account the objections raised by CIS and many other organizations," he added.

Google had earlier told TOI that new rules would adversely affect businesses that depend upon online collaboration to prosper. "We believe that a free and open Internet is essential for the growth of digital economy and safeguarding freedom of expression.

If Internet platforms are held liable for third party content, it would lead to self-censorship and reduce the free flow of information," a Google spokesperson said.

Read the original published by the Times of India here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/new-rules-for-due-diligence

Indian civil liberties groups are now geared to fight the draconian IT Rules

praskrishna — 2011-05-11T09:49:26Z

There is a price for liberty and that is eternal vigil against forces that seek to grab it from you. Civil Liberties groups are now coming to terms with the recently issued Information Technology Rules 2011 of the Government of India, which they fear would curtail the freedom of expression of Internet users in the country, writes Akash Bisht. This article was published in the Weekend Leader.com, Vol 2 Issue 18, 6 - 12 May, 2011.

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) is taking steps to bring the issue to public attention. Recently, Pushkar Raj, general secretary of PUCL, forwarded a mail that contained a couple of links of published articles on the subject to his contacts.

The Rules aim to restrict web content that can be considered ‘disparaging', ‘harassing', 'blasphemous' or 'hateful'. “We want to bring this issue to public attention,” Pushkar said.

India’s new IT Rules has already caught the attention of the international media, which sees it as an attempt to curb freedom of expression of internet users. The New York Times ran a story with the headline, ‘India puts tight leash on Internet free speech.’

The article pointed out that the new rules “allow officials and private citizens to demand that Internet sites and service providers remove content they consider objectionable on the basis of a long list of criteria.”

Lurking danger: Oblivious to many internet users, the IT Rules 2011 seeks to restrict their online freedom (Photo: Senthil Kumaran)

Pushkar expressed concern about these new rules and its impact on the debate and discussion on the internet that is gaining popularity among the estimated 100 million internet users in the country.

According to one of the rules, internet intermediaries – for example, internet publishers or popular websites like Facebook, You Tube etc - have to respond to any demand made by any individual or group to take down content that they consider offensive within 36 hours. “It is a dictatorial directive. Anybody can interpret this to his liking and demand any website to take down such ‘offensive content’,” says Pushkar.

According to the new rules, the objectionable content also includes anything that “threatens the unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign countries or public order''. An article in www.medianama.com reacted to this clause stating: “didn’t the Jan Lokpal protests threaten public order, and wasn’t a lot of the commentary online anti-government? Who decides whether ‘anti-government’ statements are ‘anti-national, or for that matter, statements criticizing a particular politician or political family?”

Centre for Internet and Society is also critical of these rules. “There are many areas of concern and it is a disservice to the freedom of expression. There is a clause wherein cybercafé owners can fine somebody watching pornography. Only courts can decide what is offensive and not cyber café owners,” says Sunil Abraham, Director, Centre for Internet and Society.

Pushkar sums it up: “Democracy helps nations evolve into greater civilisations, but once you restrict thoughts there is no possibility of going ahead. These new set of rules are problematic and can have wider interpretations and thus need to go. ”

Read the article published by the WeekendLeader.com here

Sunil Abraham has been misquoted in this article.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/a-fight-against-draconian-IT-rules

New Internet rule: 'Objectionable' content can be removed without notifying users

praskrishna — 2011-05-11T09:31:58Z

In the age of internet-fuelled information explosion, the government's new rule allowing telecom companies and blogging sites, among others, to remove "objectionable" content from the web without informing users is a violation of the right to freedom of speech, say netizens and cyber law experts. This article was published in dailybhaskar.com on May 11, 2011.

The Information Technology (Due Diligence Observed by Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011, say that intermediaries - which include telecommunication companies, internet service providers (ISP), blogging sites, search engines, as well as cyber cafes - can remove "objectionable" content without notifying the user.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology announced the rules last month.

Pavan Duggal, cyber law expert and Supreme Court advocate, said: "It (the new rules) is in direct violation to the freedom of speech, which is a fundamental right and mentioned in article 19 of the constitution."

"The new rules say that intermediaries should remove such kind of objectionable items within 36 hours without informing the users. They have the right to remove any post on a blog or site, work with the user to correct the post or disable access to their services altogether," Duggal said.

According to InternetWorldStat.com, India stands fourth in the world in internet surfing with 8.5 percent of the country's population using the internet.

Nishant Shah, director (research) of the Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, said the government should recognise blogging as the right of the people and that the new rule is "against the fundamental right of freedom of speech".

Pushkar Raj, general secretary of the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), plans to knock the door of the Supreme Court in a week's time on the issue.

"The biggest problem of this rule is that it gives a lot of power to lower-ranking police officials without any kind of supervision. In this era of information flow, it is very hard to define the term 'intermediaries'," Raj said.

The rules also say that the intermediaries will preserve such kind of information and maintain records for at least 90 days for investigation purposes.

Taha Sahil, a management student in Amity University, said the internet was the only weapon to spread the truth and these rules would curb that.

"It's like snatching away our freedom of speech. We all know that the media is biased and blogs and other web portals are the only unbiased source through which people can write and spread the truth. Moreover, this rule does not give any opportunity to the user to defend his work or even appeal," Sahil said.

The new IT rule specifies that the intermediaries should not display, upload, modify or publish any information that is "harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, pornographic, libellous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, disparaging, racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable, relating to money laundering or gambling".

Bloggers say the new rule is too tedious and will discourage them from blogging.

Shivam Vij, a Delhi-based journalist and blogger, said: "This rule is so vast that it causes confusion and annoyance. Who defines that the content is objectionable and how?"

The new rule also gives the government easier access to content from the intermediaries. The intermediaries will be required to provide information to authorised government agencies for investigation and cyber security.

Ghulam Muhammed, a Mumbai-based blogger, is one of the net users who partly agreed with the reasons behind the government's initiative.

"The government's control on internet is in essence a draconian measure. But on the good side, it will control things like the spread of pornography," Muhammad said.

Internet service providers argue that the rules are transparent enough and it was high time such legislation was put in place as people had suffered in the past because of malicious content being posted against them.

"There are sets of words defined and most of them are illegal under the law, though there are a few loose words which need to be taken care of," said Subho Ray, president, Internet and Mobile Association of India.

"If the user has a problem with his content being removed, he can move court and if the court agrees to his appeal his content can be put back again," he added.

Read the original article published by dailybhaskar.com here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/objectionable-content-can-be-removed

India Chills Online Speech

praskrishna — 2011-05-05T03:19:50Z

While most governments try to control online freedom of speech in a somewhat restrictive manner, either as a collaborator or as a regulator, rarely do they formulate a law to curb online speech. Rarer still does a government provide sweeping powers to intermediaries like an ISP and administrators of Internet sites to control content based on a long list of criteria. This news was published in 'digital communities' on May 3, 2011.

In a quiet move early last month, India passed a new set of rules called Information Technology Rules Act 2011, that curtail freedom of Internet speech by not only empowering the Department of Information Technology to block any site that displays disparaging content based on a list of criteria defined by the Department. But it also empowered any official or private citizen to demand the removal of content that they consider objectionable.

For the first time, it also made intermediaries like an ISP or an Internet site that facilitates user-generated content -- like Google, Facebook, and blogs -- responsible for censoring the Internet.

“The intermediary shall not knowingly host or publish any information or shall not initiate the transmission, select the receiver of transmission, and select or modify the information contained in the transmission, [of content specified by the Act]” it says.

For that matter Internet censorship is not new in India. "This country practices censorship in various forms," says Apar Gupta, a Cyberlaw expert at New Delhi-based Accendo Law Partners. "However it is usually done by a government body or a court order after balancing the interests of free speech and individual or societal harm. Hence, we have film certification and provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code under which a book or any other publication may be banned by a state government by issuing a detailed order in the official gazette. In cases where parties approach courts, courts finely balance competing interests as well.

”But the new rules have for the first time brought censorship, with regard to online content, with a force of law. The new rules even incentivize intermediaries or private parties to censor the Internet,” he added.

The new law is sweeping. For instance, it says that any statement that threatens the unity, integrity; defense, security or sovereignty of India or friendly relations with foreign states or public order, must be removed from Web content.

Moreover, besides banning content that is “harassing, blasphemous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic, pedophilic, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically objectionable, disparaging, relating or encouraging money laundering or gambling, or otherwise unlawful in any manner whatever,” it also forbids publication of content that is “grossly harmful."

“These rules are not only unfair and blatantly clamp down on freedom of expression, they also put vague limits to freedom of expression and are thus debatable in terms of being constitutionally valid,” says Sunil Abraham, the executive director for the Center for Internet and Society.

As an instance, Gupta points to a clause in the rules prohibiting content that “harm[s] minors in any way.”

Gupta says there is no set definition under the existing civil and criminal law as to what could be considered "harming minors in any way."

“In the absence of any definable legal standards, what then could form the basis of whether content is harming minors or not?” he asks.

The rules threaten to damage entrepreneurship in a big way as well, allege critics.

“Under the new law anyone can lodge a complaint -- say against an amateur mobile software application developer whose product competes with an application of say Apple or Google. While large companies can afford legal expenses of challenging an IPR violation claim, a small-time developer has no option but to succumb to such challenges.”says Abraham adding, “Online anonymity is vital for creativity and entrepreneurship on the Web.”

Read the original news here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/online-speech

Universal Service — An Instrument for Accessibility

praskrishna — 2011-08-17T08:53:58Z

Every year, billions of dollars are earmarked for fulfilling universal service obligations across the globe. These funds represent a prime opportunity for governments to initiate telecommunication policies and programmes for persons with disabilities, writes Deepti Bharthur.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/universal-service

Critical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader

praskrishna — 2011-05-13T07:24:16Z

For millions of internet users around the globe, the search for new knowledge begins with Wikipedia. The encyclopedia’s rapid rise, novel organization, and freely offered content have been marveled at and denounced by a host of commentators. Critical Point of View moves beyond unflagging praise, well-worn facts, and questions about its reliability and accuracy, to unveil the complex, messy, and controversial realities of a distributed knowledge platform.

The essays, interviews and artworks brought together in this reader form part of the overarching Critical Point of View research initiative, which began with a conference in Bangalore (January 2010), followed by events in Amsterdam (March 2010) and Leipzig (September 2010). With an emphasis on theoretical reflection, cultural difference and indeed, critique, contributions to this collection ask: What values are embedded in Wikipedia’s software? On what basis are Wikipedia’s claims to neutrality made? How can Wikipedia give voice to those outside the Western tradition of Enlightenment, or even its own administrative hierarchies? Critical Point of View collects original insights on the next generation of wiki-related research, from radical artistic interventions and the significant role of bots to hidden trajectories of encyclopedic knowledge and the politics of agency and exclusion.

Contributors: Amila Akdag Salah, Nicholas Carr, Shun-ling Chen, Florian Cramer, Morgan Currie, Edgar Enyedy, Andrew Famiglietti, Heather Ford, Mayo Fuster Morell, Cheng Gao, R. Stuart Geiger, Mark Graham, Gautam John, Dror Kamir, Peter B. Kaufman, Scott Kildall, Lawrence Liang, Patrick Lichty, Geert Lovink, Hans Varghese Mathews, Johanna Niesyto, Matheiu O’Neil, Dan O’Sullivan, Joseph Reagle, Andrea Scharnhorst, Alan Shapiro, Christian Stegbauer, Nathaniel Stern, Krzystztof Suchecki, Nathaniel Tkacz, Maja van der Velden

Colophon: Editors: Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz. Editorial Assistance: Ivy Roberts and Morgan Currie. Copy-Editing: Cielo Lutino. Design: Katja van Stiphout. Cover Image: Ayumi Higuchi. Priner: Ten Klei, Amsterdam. Publisher: Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam. Supported by: The School for Communication and Design at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam DMCI), the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in Bangalore and the Kusuma Trust.

Download the pdf for free here
To order a hard copy of the reader, send an email: books@networkcultures.org

Geert Lovink and Nathaniel Tkacz (eds), Critical Point of View: A Wikpedia Reader, Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures, 2011. ISBN: 978-90-78146-13-1, paperback, 385 pages.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/research/conferences/conference-blogs/wikipedia-reader

Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore seeks Programme Associate

praskrishna — 2011-05-06T11:26:00Z

The Higher Education Cell, Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore, is looking for a Programme Associate under its Social Justice initiative.

The job profile is as follows:

Working closely with colleges in three states, helping to organize and conduct workshops for undergraduate students and teachers;
Facilitating development of innovative student projects addressing issues of social justice/diversity;
Undertaking content management for the project website, newsletter and blogs;
Building and sustaining online communities using creative and user-friendly web-based platforms and documenting processes of growth.

The candidate should be under 35 years of age and have good knowledge of computer applications and multimedia technologies. Ability to communicate effectively with undergraduate students is a pre-requisite. The job is based in Bangalore but involves a fair amount of travel within the country. Experience in teaching/research in the higher education sector and with media organisations would be additional qualifications.

Consolidated honorarium will be in the range of 18,000-20,000 per month commensurate with experience. Send in applications in soft copy and hard copy along with an updated CV to:

Dr. Tejaswini Niranjana
Higher Education Cell
CSCS
827, 29th Main
Poornaprajna Layout
Uttarahalli
Bangalore - 560061

Deadline: May 31, 2011. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in person. Those who have applied earlier need not apply. For detailed job description click here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/notices/programme-associate-4-cscs

Consumers International World Congress - Day 3 roundup

praskrishna — 2011-05-06T05:34:47Z

Consumers can be empowered, and consumer organisations can make sure this happens through sharing and networking, speakers at the 19th Consumers International World Congress in Hong Kong said. The programme of the Congress finished on Thursday evening, and on Friday the global consumer body will hold its General Assembly and Council elections. This news was published in the Consumer's International Blog on May 5, 2011.

In his closing remarks, CI President Samuel Ochieng, emphasised "our ability to shape our future," ending the event on a positive note. Acting Director General, Helen McCallum, showed, in her remarks, the real excitement of the last few days.

Earlier, CI Vice President, James Guest, who is also President and CEO, Consumers Union of United States, delivered a keynote address on one of the key themes of the Congress: "The fight for fair financial services - a battle our movement must win".

Guest had this message for delegates and consumers around the world: "If you're wondering whether you, as an individual or through your organisation, can really make a difference in a David versus Goliath battle against the power of special interests, you already know the answer — yes, you can. The banking lobbyists are rich and powerful, and they spend a lot of money trying to buy influence. But there is one important asset that they lack and we have: people power. In the end, although it will be a hard and difficult fight, I believe that people power - mobilised by the over 220 members of CI - will eventually win.

"That’s because our cause and our stories and our passion are real. We fight for change, not because we are well-heeled lobbyists paid to do so, but because we care about our lives and the lives of our children, our neighbours, our countrymen, and citizens of the world - today and tomorrow, for this generation and the next."

Other highlights:

In a video message to the CI World Congress, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, that currently holds the presidency of the G20, said that the "G20 called for action on behalf of consumers, and with OECD I am working to protect consumers of financial services". She expressed the view that "consumers should be participants in the process of ensuring their own security," and admitted that "at the time of the crisis we did not focus enough on consumers in the first instance". Christine Lagarde said she remained "interested in the proposals developed for consumer protection and involvement following a successful CI Congress".

Gerd Leonhard, CEO of The Futures Agency, attracted a lot of interest with his views. Consumer organisations must network to have greater impact, they must share and publish; this is how you engage and enable others, he suggested. The difference between MTV and YouTube is the difference between 'the network' and networked, he said.

"'When five billion people are on the internet within a few years, the power of the consumer will be greater than ever," Gerd predicted.

We use social media/mobile phones to 'review' services, and corporations are paying attention, he added and noted that with broadband culture "everything known to man will be copied".

Former CI President Anwar Fazal delivered a rousing speech, which resulted in a standing ovation from the audience. He said that "in a world of big power, big media... networking is the new democracy".

Fazal added: ''CI is a force for social justice, we can do it, we must and we will!' He warned consumer organisations to "train new people or you will have no future," and noted that we "must not allow modernity to replace fundamental human connections".

On the subject of copyright and access to knowledge, David Hammerstein, TACD IP adviser, said: "We are not against copyright, we are for a more direct relation between artists and consumers".

CI's Dr Jeremy Malcolm added: "We want to support authors but not outdated regulation". He also argued that "unbalanced copyright and IP laws hurt consumers not pirates".

We aim to have A2K included in UN guidelines on consumer protection, Malcolm said.

Go to www.a2knetwork.org to comment on draft UN guidelines for A2K.

Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet & Society, argued that fake mobile phone innovators in China are not pirates but "enablers of connectivity in the developing world".

Sue Rutledge, Coordinator for Global Program on Consumer Protection and Financial Literacy, World Bank, thanked Consumers International and HKCC for tackling the issue of financial services. She said that "all financial services providers should enable consumer redress," and that she "would like to see consumer ogranisations play an active role in protecting consumer financial protection".

Interviews

A number of speakers at CI World Congress have been interviewed by young TV journalists from Hong Kong City University involved in covering the event. Check the following videos:

You can also watch:

Read the original here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/consumers-international-world-congress-day-3-roundup

Digerati See Censorship in New Web Rules

praskrishna — 2011-05-05T02:21:27Z

Attention Indian bloggers and social media fiends: the next time you’re composing a witty tweet or posting an edgy item on Facebook, please take care that what you’re writing isn’t “grossly harmful” or “harassing” or “ethnically objectionable” or – oh, the humanity! – “disparaging.” This news was published in the Wall Street Journal on May 2, 2011.

Those are among the types of content that are banned under Internet regulations the Indian government recently put into effect to enforce sections of an information technology law passed in 2008. It’s up to “intermediaries” – Internet service providers, social networking sites, etc. – to police the Web and remove content that goes out of bounds.

As word of the new rules spreads, digital media barons and commoners alike are freaking out. Is the world’s largest democracy ever-so-quietly trampling on free speech by enacting a censorship regime for the Web? How exactly will these rules affect day-to-day activity online?

On the MediaNama digital media blog, Nikhil Pahwa offers a bleak analysis: “These rules give the Indian government the ability to gag free speech, and block any website it deems fit, without publicly disclosing why sites have been blocked,” he writes.

Concerns are also pouring out on Twitter, with user posts like “Looks like we will become China soon” and “Moving to a more draconian state” and “When the hell did this happen?”

To shed some light on that last question: These rules merely advance what has been a quiet effort for several years by the Indian government to get a grip on the Web without the kind of blanket censorship or Website-blocking practiced in countries like Iran, China and Saudi Arabia.

In a front-page story last year, The Wall Street Journal showed how Indian police and government authorities, acting on complaints from Web users, have successfully pressured Google Inc. and other companies to make inaccessible to Indian users Web content that offends figures ranging from Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi to Hindu nationalist leader Balasaheb Thackeray.

The IT law was in effect then but as the government issues more specific rules to enforce it, its powers appear to be broadening–or at least coming into much sharper focus. The cumulative impact of the government’s Web regulation regime, says Sunil Abraham of the Center for Internet and Society in Bangalore, is to foster a culture of self-censorship not just by Web users but also Internet companies that will likely err on the side of caution by removing anything that seems edgy or potentially offensive.

Mr. Abraham cited as an example of overreach in the rules a provision that bans information that “impersonates another person,” which he said would outlaw everything from parody writing in which the author pretends to be in the shoes of a celebrity to Twitter accounts such as Dr.YumYumSingh, whose tweets are a running send-up of the honorable Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “There are many occasions when people take on a pseudonym, or pretend to be someone else. If it isn’t done with the intention of financial fraud, there’s no need to clamp down on it,” he said.

Mr. Abraham also lamented that people whose content is taken down appear to have no recourse under the law to protest to ISPs or the government. It’s up to the ISPs to offer such recourse in their terms-of-use, if they are so generous.

To put this in its proper perspective, Indian authorities have never tried to disable Web access for large segments of the population or block very large numbers of sites, so far as we know. CIS revealed through a Right-to-Information request that 11 sites are currently being blocked, including a Facebook page that disparages constitutional framer and low-caste champion B.R. Ambedkar. There are certainly countries practicing a much, much higher degree of outright Web censorship.

But is fostering self-censorship–if that’s what’s happening here–just as bad as censorship itself?

Let us know what you think of the new rules in the Comments.

Read the article originally published in the Wall Street Journal here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/censorship-in-new-web-rules

Free expression

praskrishna — 2011-05-23T08:48:44Z

Free speech and spirited public debate will be the casualties of new rules issued by India restricting Internet content. This news was published in Watertown Daily Times on May 2, 2011.

The regulations from the country's Department of Information Technology go beyond government censorship to individual censorship of material that might be offensive. According to the New York Times, even private citizens can demand that a service provider remove content that is "disparaging," "harassing" or "blasphemous."

The terms, though, are not defined. They are vague and subject to personal interpretation. Enforcement by the government or individuals will be arbitrary.

A rule against content that "threatens the unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order" could be used by the government to block Internet debate over foreign policy or disagreement with the government's diplomatic relations with another country.

They are also subject to abuse by those who want to silence those they dislike or oppose.

India has a history of banning books and other materials considered objectionable, but the new rules go much further than a specific ban. They also require "intermediaries" such as Facebook and YouTube to remove offensive content within 36 hours of a complaint from anyone. No provisions are made for challenging the complaint.

"These rules favor those who want to clamp down on freedom of expression," said Sunil Abraham, executive director for the Center for Internet and Society.

Such rules are not surprising in countries with repressive regimes, but they are intolerable in a nation like India that considers itself democratic.

Read the original here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/free-expression

Discussion on 'Press Freedom in the Era of Social Media'

praskrishna — 2011-06-23T06:25:08Z

Anja Kovacs will participate as a panelist in the conference jointly organised by UNESCO and UN Information Centre (UNIC) to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2011 on May 3 at the UN Conference Hall, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi.

The discussions will focus on the impact of social media on press freedom: its benefits, challenges and limitations.

Download the agenda here [PDF, 166KB]

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/notices/press-freedom

Privacy By Design — Conference Report

praskrishna — 2011-08-22T12:03:30Z

How do we imagine privacy? How is privacy being built into technological systems? On April 16th,The Center for Internet and Society hosted Privacy by Design, an Open Space meant to answer these questions and more around the topic of privacy. Below is a summary of the conversations and dialogs from the event.

Introduction

On April 16th, The Center for Internet and Society hosted Privacy by Design, an Open Space meant to foster discussions around questions related to how privacy is being designed into technological systems. The day opened with two basic questions: How do we imagine privacy? And how are individuals building technology systems incorporating privacy into the system? Throughout the day the conversations took many twist and turns, but at the end of the day three basic points about privacy had come out of the many discussions: 1. Privacy cannot be limited to one definition; it is constantly changing based on person and on context 2. To a person - privacy is a function of abuse and violation 3. The increased generation of data that was made possible by web 2.0 has lead to a rise in privacy issues and is significantly changing many traditional concepts, spaces, and relationships – such as what constitutes a public space, and the relationship between a state and its citizens.

Database architecture and privacy

The morning discussion focused on databases and privacy, and began with questions like: How can a database be built to protect privacy? When a database is built, what role does privacy play in the migration of data? Is privacy protected in databases simply by limiting access to certain parts of data sets? Though many of these were left unanswered, the conversation highlighted the fact that th databases are coded to segregate /regulate users and information in order to protect the system. Thus, databases are architected to incorporate privacy in such a way that protects the viability of only the system and not the individual. In our research we have seen many cases of this. Individual’s privacy has been violated because of malfunctioning or poorly constructed databases. For example, currently Indian governmental databases often have incorrect information, individuals do not have the ability to access and change their information, and if an individual’s information is compromised the government is not held accountable, and there is no course of action that an individual can take towards redress.

Security vs. Privacy

Embedded in this understanding of how privacy is built into technological systems is the question of what security is, and when systems are built, whether privacy and security are considered to be essentially the same. Thus far in our research we have distinguished between privacy and security, saying that, security and privacy have an interesting relationship, because they go hand in hand, and yet at the same time have a different focus, because of this differing focus data security and privacy are not the same. Data breaches that contain personal information of any sort that can be matched, tracked or otherwise co-related to a person or persons will result in a privacy breach too. Though data security is critical for protecting privacy, because data security and privacy have different focuses, the principles that each follows are also different and sometimes conflicting. For example, data security focuses on data retention, logging, etc, while privacy focuses on consent, restricted access to data, limited data retention, and anonymity. If security measures are carried out without privacy interests in mind, privacy violations can easily result. Therefore we have thought that data security should influence and support a privacy regime, but not drive it.

security and privacy have an interesting relationship, because they go hand in hand, and yet at the same time have a different focus, because of this differing focus data security and privacy are not the same. Data breaches that contain personal information of any sort that can be matched, tracked or otherwise co-related to a person or persons will result in a privacy breach too. Though data security is critical for protecting privacy, because data security and privacy have different focuses, the principles that each follows are also different and sometimes conflicting. For example, data security focuses on data retention, logging, etc, while privacy focuses on consent, restricted access to data, limited data retention, and anonymity. If security measures are carried out without privacy interests in mind, privacy violations can easily result. Therefore we have thought that data security should influence and support a privacy regime, but not drive it.

The right to be forgotten and regulation of data

The possibility of creating systems with "off switches" also came out of this thread of conversation. For instance, can a database be structured to show only necessary information to third parties based on the context. In this scenario a card would be created that has all of an individual’s information on it, but only the pertinent information will be shown based on the different situations - if, for example, a teenager goes to a bar, the card will only show a third party that he is over 18. This idea is already taking shape in many Western countries, and is similar to the idea of a federated identity system. A question to ask though is if such a system could work for India, or be even more appropriate for India than a system like the UID. The purpose of federated systems of identity is to take context into consideration, and enable users to keep contexts separate, and link information about an individual only takes place when consent is given by the user. In response to the idea of an identity system that allows only certain information to be seen by third parties based on the situation, it was brought out that privacy is not protected simply by the separation of data into public or private categories, because all data have the potential to be misused. The immediate response to this concern was that if all data have the potential to be mis-used – than the use of data should be carefully regulated. The regulation of data though is also a double edged sword. On one hand regulating the use of data can stop a company from misusing information, but on the other hand it can keep a country from having full and equal access to the internet. A question that came out of this discussion on regulation was about the right to be forgotten. Does an individual have the right to regulate all information about themselves that is in the public sphere? Can they ask for their photos or videos to be taken down from the internet? In India this question has yet to be answered by the law, and it is a question that our research is looking into.

The purpose of federated systems of identity is to take context into consideration, and enable users to keep contexts separate, and link information about an individual only takes place when consent is given by the user. In response to the idea of an identity system that allows only certain information to be seen by third parties based on the situation, it was brought out that privacy is not protected simply by the separation of data into public or private categories, because all data have the potential to be misused. The immediate response to this concern was that if all data have the potential to be mis-used – than the use of data should be carefully regulated. The regulation of data though is also a double edged sword. On one hand regulating the use of data can stop a company from misusing information, but on the other hand it can keep a country from having full and equal access to the internet. A question that came out of this discussion on regulation was about the right to be forgotten. Does an individual have the right to regulate all information about themselves that is in the public sphere? Can they ask for their photos or videos to be taken down from the internet? In India this question has yet to be answered by the law, and it is a question that our research is looking into.

Data types and privacy

Emerging from the conversation on database structure, a conversation on types of data in databases was started. The question was raised as to whether or not databases can actually handle certain types of data. The example given was caste-related data. Information about a person’s caste is constantly changing as people lie about their caste, change their caste, and become married and take on another caste. Furthermore, some people do not want to live with their caste and want to shed off their caste. Therefore, can a database accurately represent such a dynamic data set? Is it dangerous to put such a politically volatile concept as caste into a database where it will confine a person to one definition once entered? Another side to this question though is that perhaps it is in fact necessary to try and place a person in one caste, as there benefits enshrined by law based on a person’s caste, and an individual who has the ability to change his/her caste at their whim therefore defeats and takes advantage of governmental benefits. The point was also raised that by placing information like caste and identity into a database, governments have the ability to divide the country into subsets of identities that they decide to generate. Caste is not the only data that faces these complications and issues. For instance religion and race raise similar question. How can you define and represent a person’s relationship with God in a database? How to you represent a child of multiracial parents on a database?

Changes in the relationship between the state and the citizen

It was also brought out that the representation of citizens’ identities on a database changes the relationship between a state and its citizenry. States no longer see citizens as individuals, but instead as data samples. The UID is an example of an e-governance program that if enacted, could further such a change in the relationship between the state and the citizen, as the whole of India will suddenly and ubiquitously be recognized by the Government (and other entities/organizations) according to their aadhaar number. The relationship between the state and the citizen is not the only social change that databases bring about. Databases also change the concept of public space. As web 2.0 has facilitated the generation of large amounts of data, public space has become a space where one enters and interacts as a dataset. For example face book and twitter allow individuals to create datasets of them and interact with other people through their datasets. Beyond social networking online banking and online shopping also push people to form datasets about themselves and interact with services that were traditionally done in person as individuals, as datasets.

Questions of ownership

The above thread of conversation led to the next question of whether or not individuals control technology or whether technology controls individuals. The example of Facebook was used to illustrate this question. Even though Facebook has a privacy policy, once a person engages with Facebook he or she accepts Facebook’s definition of privacy – which is two tiered. On one level Facebook defines user privacy in terms of restriction - allowing the user to limit who can see their profiles. On another level Facebook’s privacy policy allows the company to share and sell personal information. In these ways companies are constructing databases so that instead of the company being the custodian of information – an entity that provides a structure to protect and hold information - the companies are now the owners of information- selling and using individuals information for profit. In India, this is a problem. Companies, once they collect data, treat it as their own - selling and sharing data with third parties, or using it in ways that were not agreed to by the customer. The question of ownership was a critical question for the group. In the discussions it was important to individuals that they had control and ownership over their information. Individuals felt that information that could be traced back to them or their identity belonged to them, and that in order to protect privacy consent should be secured before any information is used. For instance, data mining by websites without notice was seen as a violation of privacy. The collection of data in public places for marketing purposes without a person’s consent or awareness was similarly seen as a privacy violation. It was also brought out from this conversation that the digitization of information has caused a commercialization of information, and that has led to a sense of ownership and need for privacy over information. For example, before, if someone were to take one’s name and mis-use it, that person was charged with defamation – not for violation of privacy – but if someone misuses information that is in a database or online, that person is now charged for a violation of privacy. This shift in thinking is another example of how web 2.0 has increased privacy violations.

Perceptions and expectations of privacy

The day ended with a conversation about the perceptions and expectations of privacy. Privacy as it relates to an individual is almost wholly dependent on expectation, which changes from person to person, from community to community, and from culture to culture. Just as the expectation of privacy varies between individuals, so does the degree of violation. Thus, it is important to recognize the changing nature of privacy, because it explains why it is difficult for the legal system to address all the nuances of privacy with one broad legislation. This point has been crucial in our research thus far as we are consulting with the public, analyzing legislation, and following news items to see if privacy legislation is wanted and needed in India, and if it is - how it should be shaped.

From the conversation on perceptions of privacy and privacy violations it was also brought out that the concept of privacy is on one hand related to the notion of ownership, and on the other hand it is related to the violation. From the experiences shared by individuals, their privacy never became a concern until it was violated, or they learned about someone else’s privacy being violated. This led to the observation that not only is it difficult for the law to address privacy violations because the violation is based on perception, but also because the effect when one’s privacy is violated is often an emotional one.

Conclusion

The conversations held throughout the day showed the dynamic and personal nature of privacy, and how when databases are constructed, and how our lives made digital this personal aspect is easily lost. When we think about the conversations held throughout the day in relation to our initial questions: what are the different ways of imagining privacy, and how is privacy being built into technological systems, besides the three basic themes of privacy highlighted in the beginning of this blog - there emerged to more themes. One theme portrayed an imagination of privacy that is more personal, and that address the emotional component and the perception component to privacy. Another theme portrayed an imagination of privacy that is technologically more controlled, that allows for more personal regulation, more precise segregation of information in a database, and restricted access by third parties. This imagination of privacy can be and is being met by new and developing technologies. Increasingly in many countries technology is being structured with privacy built into the system. The larger question that this open space has raised, and not completely answered is if privacy legislation can adequately protect an individual’s privacy, and if it cannot, can technology can fill the gaps that privacy legislation leaves open.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy_privacybydesign

India curbs on Bloggers and Internet

praskrishna — 2011-05-13T11:59:20Z

The Information Technology Rules 2011 (due diligence observed by intermediaries guidelines) by the Indian government could lead to online censorship, feel human rights activists. This article by Ayyappa Prasad was published in TruthDrive on April 29, 2011.

"This will curtail the freedom of expression of individual bloggers, because as an intermediary they will become responsible for the readers’ comments. It technically means that any comment or a reader-posted link on a blog which according to the government is threatening, abusive, objectionable, defamatory, vulgar, racial, among other omnibus categories, will now be considered as the legal responsibility of the blogger," said a blogger.

Blogs, which are typically maintained and updated by individuals, have showcased their political importance in recent times and the internet community views these rules as a lopsided attempt to curtail an individual’s right to expression.

"If individual blogs are an intermediary, then why can’t Facebook and Twitter also be classified as such, as they too receive, store and transmit electronic records and facilitate online discussions," retorts the spokesperson of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based organization, which works on digital pluralism. " These rules will not only bring bloggers and the ISP provider on the same platform, but the due diligence clause will also result in higher power of censorship to the larger player. Imagine your ISP provider blocking your blog because it finds that certain user-comments fit these omnibus terms," the CIS spokesperson added.

Intermediaries include web-hosting providers, which would include companies like Amazon, cyber cafes, payment sites like Paypal, online auction sites, ISPs like BSNL, Airtel, etc. Blogs also fall in this category as networked service providers. The due diligence specifies intermediaries should not display, upload, modify or publish any information that is 'harmful' , 'threatening' , 'abusive' , 'harassing' , 'blasphemous' , 'objectionable' , 'defamatory' , 'vulgar' , 'obscene' , 'pornographic' , 'paedophilic' , 'libellous' , 'invasive of another’s privacy' , 'hateful' , 'disparaging' , 'racially , ethnically or otherwise objectionable' , 'relating to money laundering or gambling'.

Read the original here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/india-curbs-bloggers-internet

April 2011 Bulletin

praskrishna — 2012-07-30T10:45:01Z

Greetings from the Centre for Internet and Society! In this issue we are pleased to present you the latest updates about our research, upcoming events, and news and media coverage:

Researchers@Work

RAW is a multidisciplinary research initiative. CIS believes that in order to understand the contemporary concerns in the field of Internet and society, it is necessary to produce local and contextual accounts of the interaction between the Internet and socio-cultural and geo-political structures. To build original research knowledge base, the RAW programme has been collaborating with different organisations and individuals to focus on its three year thematic of Histories of the Internets in India.

Workshops organised in Bangalore

Shadow Search Project (SSP) [CIS, April 18, 2011]
Facebook Resistance [CIS, April 2, 2011]

Digital Natives with a Cause?

Digital Natives with a Cause? is a knowledge programme initiated by CIS and Hivos, Netherlands. It is a research inquiry that seeks to look at the changing landscape of social change and political participation and the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who want to critically engage with the dominant discourse on youth, technology and social change, in order to look at the alternative practices and ideas in the Global South. It also aims at building new ecologies that amplify and augment the interventions and actions of the digitally young as they shape our futures.

Columns on Digital Natives

A fortnightly column on ‘Digital Natives’ authored by Nishant Shah is featured in the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, from 19 September 2010 onwards. The following were published in the month of April:

Who the Hack? [Indian Express, April 24, 2011]
One for the avatar [Indian Express, April 3, 2011]

Digital Natives Newsletter

Links in the Chain is a bi-monthly publication which highlights the projects, ideas and news of the Digital Natives with a Cause? The first issue of volume IV is here:

links in the chain volume 4 Best Practices

New Blog Entry by Samuel Tettner

Samuel Tettner is a Digital Natives Coordinator in CIS. He has written the following blog entry:

Cyber Fears: What scares Digital Natives and those around them

Accessibility

Estimates of the percentage of the world's population that is disabled vary considerably. But what is certain is that if we count functional disability, then a large proportion of the world's population is disabled in one way or another. At CIS we work to ensure that the digital technologies, which empower disabled people and provide them with independence, are allowed to do so in practice and by the law. To this end, we support web accessibility guidelines, and change in copyright laws that currently disempower the persons with disabilities.

Workshop organised in Hyderabad

Web Sites Accessibility Evaluation Methodologies: Conference Report

Openness

CIS believes that innovation and creativity should be fostered through openness and collaboration and is committed towards promotion of open standards, open access, and free/libre/open source software. Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:

Submission

Comments on Draft National Policy on ICT in School Education

New Blog Entry

Towards Open and Equitable Access to Research and Knowledge for Development [PLoS, March 29, 2011]

Internet Governance

Although there may not be one centralized authority that rules the Internet, the Internet does not just run by its own volition: for it to operate in a stable and reliable manner, there needs to be in place infrastructure, a functional domain name system, ways to curtail cyber crime across borders, etc. The Tunis Agenda of the second World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), paragraph 34 defined Internet governance as “the development and application by governments, the private sector and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programmes that shape the evolution and use of the Internet.” Its latest endeavour has resulted into these:

CIS is doing a project, ‘Privacy in Asia’. It is funded by Privacy International (PI), UK and the International Development Research Centre, Canada and is being administered in collaboration with the Society and Action Group, Gurgaon. The two-year project commenced on 24 March 2010 and will be completed as agreed to by the stakeholders. It was set up with the objective of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around challenges and violations of privacy in India. In furtherance of these goals it aims to draft and promote over-arching privacy legislation in India by drawing upon legal and academic resources and consultations with the public.

Featured Research

Interview

An Interview with Activist Shubha Chacko: Privacy and Sex workers

Workshops organized in Ahmedabad and Bangalore

'Privacy Matters', Ahmedabad: Conference Report [Ahmedabad Management Association, Ahmedabad, March 26, 2011]
Privacy, By Design [CIS, April 16, 2011]

New Blog Entries

Telecom

The growth in telecommunications in India has been impressive. While the potential for growth and returns exist, a range of issues need to be addressed for this potential to be realized. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the second aspect is a countrywide access to broadband which is low at about eight million subscriptions. Both require effective and efficient use of networks and resources, including spectrum. It is imperative to resolve these issues in the common interest of users and service providers. CIS campaigns to facilitate this:

Column

Shyam Ponappa is a Distinguished Fellow at CIS. He writes regularly on Telecom issues in the Business Standard and these articles are mirrored on the CIS website as well.

Learning from Fukushima [published in the Business Standard on April 7, 2011]

News & Media Coverage

The Gary Chapman International School on Digital Transformation[International School on Digital Transformation, July 17-22, 2011]
Iraqi delegation in Bangalore to study e-governance projects [Economic Times, April 20, 2011]
Dark waders [Time Out Bengaluru, Vol. 3, Issue 20, April 15 - 28, 2011]
Beyond Clicktivism [Outlook, April 18, 2011]
Gone in a flash [Times of India, April 16, 2011]
How Web 2.0 responded to Hazare [Hindu, April 11, 2011]
EU Commissioner Hedegaard to deliver keynote address at consumer world congress
Net cracker [Time Out Bengaluru Vol. 3 Issue 19, April 1 - 14, 2011]
On the Path to Global Open Access: A Few More Miles to Go [PLoS, March 2011, Volume 8, Issue 3]

Follow us elsewhere

Get short, timely messages from us on Twitter
Follow CIS on identi.ca
Join the CIS group on Facebook
Visit us at www.cis-india.org

CIS is grateful to Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/about/newsletters/april-2011-bulletin

Centre for Internet and Society

The Second IJLT-CIS Lecture Series at National Law School, Bangalore

Speakers

Profiles of the Speakers

Usha Ramanathan

Malavika Jayaram

Vivek Durai

Professor (Dr.) Sudhir Krishnaswamy

New rules to ensure due diligence: IT dept

Indian civil liberties groups are now geared to fight the draconian IT Rules

New Internet rule: 'Objectionable' content can be removed without notifying users

India Chills Online Speech

Universal Service — An Instrument for Accessibility

Critical Point of View: A Wikipedia Reader

Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore seeks Programme Associate

Consumers International World Congress - Day 3 roundup

Other highlights:

Interviews

You can also watch:

Digerati See Censorship in New Web Rules

Free expression

Discussion on 'Press Freedom in the Era of Social Media'

Privacy By Design — Conference Report

Introduction

Database architecture and privacy

Security vs. Privacy

The right to be forgotten and regulation of data

Data types and privacy

Changes in the relationship between the state and the citizen

Questions of ownership

Perceptions and expectations of privacy

Conclusion

India curbs on Bloggers and Internet

April 2011 Bulletin

Researchers@Work

Workshops organised in Bangalore

Digital Natives with a Cause?

Columns on Digital Natives

Digital Natives Newsletter

New Blog Entry by Samuel Tettner

Accessibility

Workshop organised in Hyderabad

Openness

Submission

New Blog Entry

Internet Governance

Featured

New Blog Entries

Study Tour

Featured Research

Interview

Workshops organized in Ahmedabad and Bangalore

New Blog Entries

Telecom

Column

News & Media Coverage

Follow us elsewhere