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Right 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>
</p>
No publisherradhaFeaturedAccessibility2013-02-04T06:19:31ZBlog EntryThe Right to Read Campaign, now in Delhi
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign
<b>The Right to Read campaign, this time in Delhi, the national capital of the country has been announced. This is the third in the series. The previous two held in Calcutta and Chennai were highly successful and Delhi too promises quite a lot. </b>
<p>About 70 million Indians are unable to read printed material owing to various forms of disabilities. According to industry estimates, around 80,000-100,000 books get published every year in India of which only about 700 are made available for these persons. Technologies like screen readers make it possible for persons with disabilities to access knowledge in alternate formats like Braille, e-text, audio, large print, et cetera. Yet people are unable to convert books into accessible formats thanks to the provisions of the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.</p>
<p>India needs to change the situation quickly and put an end to the shortage of books and enable these 70 million persons to participate in social life. For this we need to make use of the developments in technology which makes it possible for all persons to access knowledge and enable them to live a life of social inclusion and participation on par with the rest of society. People with disabilities too have a right to access information like other persons- let copyright laws recognize the diverse needs of persons with disabilities and open up the gates of knowledge to all.</p>
<h3>Objectives of the Right to Read Campaign</h3>
<ul><li>To expedite copyright law reform by informing policy makers on the necessity and nature of amendment. This has to be made to the Indian Copyright Act 1957 to give effect to the rights of persons with disabilities. </li><li>To raise awareness on the issue amongst the parliamentarians, members of the judiciary, educationalists, publishers and the public. </li></ul>
<h3>The Campaign</h3>
<p>The Indian campaign is a part of the global Right to Read campaign which was started by the World Blind Union in 2008. It is a nationwide campaign and seeks to:</p>
<ul><li>Accelerate change in the copyright law;</li><li>Raise public awareness on the issue of access to reading for the print-impaired; and</li><li>Gather Indian support for the Treaty for the Blind proposed by the World Blind Union at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).<br /></li></ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/right-to-read-campaign</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedAccessibility2011-08-17T08:45:56ZBlog EntryEnabling Access to Education through ICT - A Conference in Delhi
https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/education-through-ict
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore in cooperation with the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT (G3ICT), a flagship advocacy organization of the UN Global Alliance on ICT and Development (UN-GAID), the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), UNESCO, Digital Empowerment Foundation, Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment and the Deafway Foundation is organizing an international conference "Enabling Access to Education through ICT" in New Delhi from 27 to 29 October 2010. The event is sponsored by Hans Foundation. </b>
<p>How can accessible information and communication and assistive technologies for persons with disabilities be best deployed in schools and universities?</p>
<h3>Background</h3>
<p>Education is a fundamental right for all persons. In the information society, access to knowledge and information is of vital importance to ensure that all persons are able to participate as creative and productive members of the society. The UNCRPD recognizes that persons with disabilities also have a right to education and life long learning. Countries around the world have recognized the importance of education and have identified universal primary education as one of the millennium goals to be achieved by them within 2015. While definitive steps are being taken to achieve and promote universal inclusive education, there are still some grey areas remaining with respect to addressing the special needs of some groups like disabled children. The World Health Organisation estimates that 70 per cent of the world’s disabled live in developing countries like India. The advancement of persons with disabilities is impeded by several factors such as an inadequate legal framework for protecting their rights, lack of financial and skilled human resource to carry on their activities, high cost of assistive technologies, lack of training and capacity building activities, the absence of large networks of disability groups to share resources with each other and above all the lack of awareness and a collective intent on the part of educational institutions to enable the right to education for persons with disabilities. India alone is a large country with 18 official languages and many more regional variances and for any technology and content to reach the masses it has to be made available in several Indian languages. All these factors combined together make it difficult for persons with disabilities to exercise their right to education in developing countries.</p>
<p>The specific focus of the conference will be to look at various technologies, tools and practices which are necessary to bring education, especially distance and online education within the reach of all children with disabilities.</p>
<p>Children with disabilities in India are often left out of mainstream schools due to a variety of reasons, primarily the lack of awareness amongst educational organizations and teachers, near absence of infrastructural resources and lack of training in this regard. It is believed that barely two per cent of the 70 million disabled persons have access to education in India. Technological advancement in the form of assistive technologies, ubiquitous Web, multiple platforms, social networks, online libraries and digital resources, etc., have now made it possible for disabled persons to access information in accessible formats. It is therefore, important that students, teachers and educational institutions are adequately equipped to leverage the power of the Internet and ICTs to enable inclusion for persons with disabilities.</p>
<p>The present conference will focus on highlighting existing problems and challenges for students and educational institutions in developing countries, showcase ICT based solutions which are presently being adopted in different countries, point to existing knowledge resources and emerging trends in education. This conference is unique in so far as it is probably the first one of its kind on such a large scale in India and involves participation of various UN organizations such as the WIPO, UNESCO, ITU and the G3ICT. Amongst the various deliverables of the conference is also to document some best practice case studies on the use of ICTs in education for the disabled in neighbouring countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Thailand, evolve a set of recommendations for educators on best practices, as well as to evolve a draft for a White paper on education and ICTs for persons with disabilities for governments and educators in different countries.</p>
<p>A print version of the E-accessibility toolkit for policymakers which was jointly brought out by the G3ICT and ITU earlier this year will be launched for the first time at the conference.</p>
<p><b>Dates</b>: October 27, 28 and 29<br /><b>Venue</b>: Magnolia Hall, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi</p>
<p>Download the <a href="https://cis-india.org/accessibility/publications/education-ict" class="internal-link" title="Agenda for the ICT Workshop">agenda</a></p>
<p>For <a class="external-link" href="http://www.digitallearning.in/events/events-details.asp?Title=EDICT2010:-Enabling-Access-to-Education-through-ICT&EventID=732">further reading</a></p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/education-through-ict'>https://cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/education-through-ict</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedAccessibility2013-02-04T09:24:20ZBlog EntryThe Fundamental Right to Privacy - A Visual Guide
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-fundamental-right-to-privacy-a-visual-guide
<b>Privacy is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. This visual guide to the story of privacy law in India and the recent judgement of the Puttaswamy v.
Union of India case is developed by Amber Sinha (research and content) and Pooja Saxena (design and conceptualisation).
</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>The Fundamental Right to Privacy - A Visual Guide: <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/amber-sinha-and-pooja-saxena-the-fundamental-right-to-privacy-a-visual-guide/at_download/file">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<hr />
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<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-fundamental-right-to-privacy-a-visual-guide'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-fundamental-right-to-privacy-a-visual-guide</a>
</p>
No publisheramberPrivacyInternet GovernanceFeaturedData GovernanceData Protection2018-02-16T05:31:37ZBlog EntryOn World Water Day - Open Data for Water Resources
https://cis-india.org/openness/on-world-water-day-open-data-for-water-resources
<b>Lack of open data for researchers and activists is a key barrier against ensuring access to water and planning for sustainable management of water resources. In a collaboration between DataMeet and CIS, supported by Arghyam, we are exploring the early steps for making open data and tools to plan for water resources accessible to all. To celebrate the World Water Day 2018, we are sharing what we have been working on in the past few months - a paper on open data for water studies in India, and a web app to make open water data easily explorable and usable. Craig Dsouza led this collaboration, and authored this post.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Project Blog: <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/" target="_blank">Open Water Data
for Integrated Water Science</a> (External)</h4>
<h4>Open Water Data Paper - Datasets for Water Studies in India Blog - Summary: <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/precipitation/2017/12/31/OWD-Paper/" target="_blank">Read</a> (External)</h4>
<h4>Open Water Data Paper - Datasets for Water Studies in India Blog - Full Paper: <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/docs/open-water-data-paper.pdf" target="_blank">Read</a> (PDF)</h4>
<h4>Open Water Data Web App: <a href="https://water-data-web-app.appspot.com/" target="_blank">View</a> (External)</h4>
<h4>Open Water Data Web App - Tech Stack: <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/tech/2017/12/08/OWD-Web-App-Tech-Stack/" target="_blank">Read</a> (External)</h4>
<h4>Open Water Data Web App - Precipitation Data: <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/precipitation/2018/01/05/OWD-Web-App-Precipitation-Data/" target="_blank">Read</a> (External)</h4>
<hr />
<p>The 22nd of March is celebrated internationally as World Water Day. Water is so tightly intertwined in every aspect of our lives that one can only scratch the surface in understanding this resource. Besides directly giving us life, it is a key non-renewable shared resource that dictates whether and how societies can grow and prosper. It has shaped the way civilization arose - on riverbanks and coastal lands. Adequate water of good quality can make or break a child’s early growth. Water available at the right time in the monsoon could shape a family’s fortunes for an entire year.</p>
<p>Unfortunately given the development trajectory of the last century, we have struggled to strike a balance and use water in a sustainable manner. Far too many face the ill effects of this misuse. The challenge with water lies in its nature as a common pool resource, which means that it belongs to everyone. Water is for everyone to benefit from and conversely it is no individual’s responsibility to manage and to ensure its sustainability. While some laws and policies exist to ensure sustainable use of water its fluid (pun intended) and ephemeral nature make those laws very hard to enforce. No one knows for sure how much water lies under the ground and above the surface, we only have estimates. Moreover even these estimates lie in the hands of a few. The Government of India is by far the largest entity that collects data on water across the country. Management of this resource however requires that these data points and the capacity to monitor should be decentralized. The 73rd amendment recognises this by placing the authority to plan and implement local works such as watershed management and drinking water provision under the purview of Panchayats.</p>
<p>To address this shortcoming Datameet and CIS in collaboration have taken first steps with a project to ensure that data and tools to plan for water resources are accessible to all. The strategy within this project has been to seek alternative data sources for water, other than government data much of which still isn’t open data. Two alternatives that have emerged are remote sensing open data and crowdsourced community data. A <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/precipitation/2017/12/31/OWD-Paper/" target="_blank">paper</a> put together by the team highlights the numerous sources available for datasets such as rainfall, soil moisture, groundwater levels, reservoir storages, river flows, and water demand including domestic and agricultural water. Besides the paper the team has also put together a first iteration of a <a href="https://datameet-pune.github.io/open-water-data/precipitation/2018/01/05/OWD-Web-App-Precipitation-Data/" target="_blank">web app</a> which seeks to provide these datasets in an easy to use intuitive and interactive format to users in the area of water planning and management. The first dataset available here is <a href="http://chg.geog.ucsb.edu/data/chirps/" target="_blank">CHIRPS</a>: a high resolution daily rainfall dataset for the whole of India.</p>
<p>The plans for this project in the future include making available more datasets (crop maps and Evapotranspiration) and features to access them. In addition to this the goal is also to improve our understanding of the usability of remote sensing water data with efforts to calibrate it with ground observations. A key element of these plans is to develop these resources in collaboration with end users of the data so that the tools are developed with their concerns in mind. <strong>We welcome ideas, queries, feedback, and partnerships - do contact us at <a href="mailto:pune@datameet.org">pune@datameet.org</a></strong>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/openness/on-world-water-day-open-data-for-water-resources'>https://cis-india.org/openness/on-world-water-day-open-data-for-water-resources</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen Water DataOpen DataOpen ScienceOpen Government DataEnvironmentFeaturedOpennessHomepage2019-01-28T14:41:51ZBlog EntryReclaiming AI Futures: Call for Contributions and Provocations
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/reclaiming-ai-futures-call-for-contributions-and-provocations
<b>CIS is pleased to share this call for contributions by Mozilla Fellow Divij Joshi. CIS will be working with Divij to edit, collate, and finalise this publication. This publication will add to Divij’s work as part of the AI observatory. The work is entirely funded by Divij Joshi.</b>
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<p id="docs-internal-guid-3165c9a9-7fff-9881-71cc-4b816e9c6877" dir="ltr"> </p>
<p> </p>
<p dir="ltr">Please visit this <a class="external-link" href="https://medium.com/@divij.joshi/reclaiming-ai-futures-call-for-contributions-and-provocations-ef6d75ce2a31">link</a> for the full call, and details on how to apply.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/reclaiming-ai-futures-call-for-contributions-and-provocations'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/reclaiming-ai-futures-call-for-contributions-and-provocations</a>
</p>
No publisherDivij JoshiFeaturedInternet Governance2020-11-18T09:04:25ZBlog EntryDIT's Response to RTI on Website Blocking
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-response-dit-blocking
<b>For the first time in India, we have a list of websites that are blocked by order of the Indian government. This data was received from the Department of Information Technology in response to an RTI that CIS filed. Pranesh Prakash of CIS analyzes the implications of these blocks, as well as the shortcomings of the DIT's response.</b>
<h2>Quick Analysis of DIT's Response to the RTI<br /></h2>
<h3>Blocked websites<br /></h3>
<p>The eleven websites that the DIT acknowledges are blocked in India are:</p>
<ol><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.zone-h.org">http://www.zone-h.org</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://donotdial100.webs.com">http://donotdial100.webs.com</a><br /></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.bloggernews.net/124029">http://www.bloggernews.net/124029</a> [<strong>accessible from Tata DSL, but not from others like Reliance Broadband and BSNL Broadband</strong>]</li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.google.co.in/#h1=en&source=hp&biw=1276&bih=843&=dr+babasaheb+ambedkar+wallpaper&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=dr+babas&gs_rfai=&fp=e791fe993fa412ba">http://www.google.co.in/#h1=en&source=hp&biw=1276&bih=843&=dr+babasaheb+ambedkar+wallpaper&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=dr+babas&gs_rfai=&fp=e791fe993fa412ba</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.cinemahd.net/desktop-enhancements/wallpaper/23945-wallpapers-beautiful-girl-wallpaper.html">http://www.cinemahd.net/desktop-enhancements/wallpaper/23945-wallpapers-beautiful-girl-wallpaper.html</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.chakpak.com/find/images/kamasutra-hindi-movie">http://www.chakpak.com/find/images/kamasutra-hindi-movie</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.submitlink.khatana.net/2010/09/jennifer-stano-is-engaged-to.html">http://www.submitlink.khatana.net/2010/09/jennifer-stano-is-engaged-to.html</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.result.khatana.net/2010/11/im-no-panty-girl-yana-gupta-wardrobe.html">http://www.result.khatana.net/2010/11/im-no-panty-girl-yana-gupta-wardrobe.html</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/l-Hate-Ambedkar/172025102828076">http://www.facebook.com/pages/l-Hate-Ambedkar/172025102828076</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://www.indybay.org">http://www.indybay.org</a></li><li><a class="external-link" href="http://arizona.indymedia.org">http://arizona.indymedia.org</a></li></ol>
<p> </p>
<p>Of the eleven blocked websites, one was still accessible on a Tata Communications DSL connection. Two of the blocked websites are grassroots news organizations connected to the Independent Media Centre: IndyBay (San Francisco Bay Area IMC) and the Arizona Indymedia website. The Bloggernews.net page that is on the blocked list is in fact an article by N. Vijayashankar (Naavi) from March 12, 2010 titled "Is E2 labs right in getting zone-h.org blocked?", criticising the judicial blocking of Zone-H.org by E2 Labs (with E2 Labs being represented by lawyer Pawan Duggal). The Zone-H.org case is still going through the judicial motions in the District Court of Delhi, but E2 Labs managed to get an <a class="external-link" href="http://www.naavi.org/cl_editorial_10/e2labs_zoneh_org.pdf"><em>ex parte</em> (i.e., without Zone-H being heard) interim order from the judge</a> asking Designated Officer (Mr. Gulshan Rai of DIT) to block access to Zone-H.org.</p>
<p>As has happened in the past, the government (or the court) <a class="external-link" href="http://support.webs.com/webs/topics/india_problems_seeing_your_site_read_this_first">accidentally ordered the blocking of all of website host webs.com</a>, instead of blocking only http://donotdial100.webs.com (which subdomain apparently hosted <a class="external-link" href="http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_police-still-to-shut-down-fake-account-maligning-force_1419951">'defamatory' and 'abusive' information about mafia links within the Maharashtra police and political circles</a>).</p>
<p>It is interesting to note that for most of the websites on most ISPs one gets a 'request timed out' error
while trying to access the blocked websites, and not a sign saying:
"site blocked for XYZ reason on request dated DD-MM-YYYY received from the DIT". On Reliance broadband connections, for some of the above websites an error message appears, which states: "This site has been blocked as per instructions from Department of Telecom".</p>
<h3>Judicial blocking<br /></h3>
<p>As per the response of the government, all eleven seem to have been blocked on orders received from the judiciary. While they don't state this directly, this is the conclusion one is led to since the Department admits to blocking eleven websites and also notes that there have been eleven requests for blocking from the judiciary. Normally the judiciary is often thought of as a check on the executive's penchant for banning (seen especially in the recent book banning cases in Maharashtra, for instance, where the Bombay High Court has overturned most of the government's banning orders). However, in these cases the ill-informed lower judiciary seem to be manipulated by lawyers to suppress freedom of speech and expression, even going to the extent of blocking grassroots activist news organizations like the Independent Media Centre.</p>
<h3>Websites not blocked by DIT<br /></h3>
<p>The DIT also notes that the blocks on Typepad.com was not authorized by it (nor, according to the RTI response received by Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama was the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.medianama.com/2011/04/223-indiablocks-indias-it-depts-response-to-our-rti-request-our-stand/">Mobango.com block authorised by the DIT</a>). Typepad.com, Mobango.com, and Clickatell.com don't seem to be blocked currently. However, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.medianama.com/2011/03/223-indian-government-blocks-typepad-mobango-clickatell/">as was reported by Medianama</a>, for a while when they were being blocked, some sites and ISPs (such as Typepad.com on Bharti Airtel DSL) showed a message stating that the website was blocked on request from the Department of Telecom, which we don't believe has the authority to order blocking of websites. While we still await a response from the Department of Telecom to the RTI we filed with them on this topic, in a letter to the Hindu, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article1574444.ece">the Department of Telecom has clarified</a> that it did not order any block on Typepad.com or any of the other websites. This leaves us unsure as to who ordered these blocks. Further, it points out a lacuna in our information policy that ISPs can <em>suo motu</em> block websites without justifications (such as violation of terms of use), proper notice to customers, or any kind of repercussions for wrongful blocking.</p>
<h3>Insufficient information on Committee for Examination of Requests</h3>
<p>All requests for websites blocking (except those directly from the judiciary) must be vetted by the Committee for Examination of Requests (CER) under Rule 8(4) of the Rules under s.69A of the IT Act. Given that the DIT admits that the Designated Officer (who carries out the blocking) has received 21 requests to date, there should be at least 21 recommendations of the CER. However, the DIT has not provided us with the details of those 21 requests and the 21 recommendations. We are filing another RTI to uncover this information.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Text of the DIT's Response<br /></h2>
<p>Government of India <br />Ministry of Communications & Information Technology <br />Department of Information Technology <br />Electronics Niketan, 6 CGO Complex, <br />New Delhi-110003<br /> <br />No : 14(3)/2011-ESD<br /><br />Shri Pranesh Prakash <br />Centre for Internet and Society <br />194, 2-C Cross, <br />Domulur Stage II, <br />Bangalore- 560071.<br /><br />Subject: Request for information under RTI Act,<br /><br />Sir,<br />Reference your request dated 28lh February 2011 on the above subject.<br />The point wise information as received from the custodian of Information is enclosed for your reference and records.<br /><br />sd/-<br />(A.K.Kaushik) <br />Additional Director & CPIO <br />Tel: 011-24364803<br /><br /><br />Subject : RTI on website blocking requested by Shri Pranesh Prakash</p>
<blockquote>(i) Did the Department order Airtel to block TypePad under S.69A of the Information Technology Act ("IT Act"), 2000 read with the Information Technology (Procedures and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 ("Rules") or any other law for the time being in force? If so, please provide a copy of such order or orders. If not, what action, if at all, has been taken by the Department against Airtel for blocking of websites in contravention of S.69A of the IT Act?<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply </strong>- This Department did not order Airtel to block the said site.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(ii) Has the Department ever ordered a block under s.69A of the IT Act? If so, what was the information that was ordered to be blocked?<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - The Department has issued directions for blocking under section 69A for the following websites:<br />(a) www.zone-h.org.<br />(b) http://donotdial100.webs.com (IP 216.52.115.50)<br />(c) www.bloggernews.net/124029<br />(d) http://www.google.co.in/#h 1 =en&source=hp& biw=1276&bih=843&=dr+babasaheb+ambedkar+ wallpaper&aq=4&aqi=g10&aql =&oq=dr+ babas& gs_rfai=&fp=e791 fe993fa412ba<br />(e) http://www.cinemahd.net/desktop-enhancements/wallpaper/23945- wallpapers-beautiful-girl-wallpaper.html<br />(f) http://www.chakpak.com/find/images/ kamasutra-hindi-movie<br />(g) http://www.submitlink.khatana.net/2010/09/jennifer-stano-is-engaged- to.html<br />(h) http://www.result.khatana.net/2010/11/im-no-panty-girl-yana-gupta- wardrobe.html.<br />(i) http://www.facebook.com/pages/l-Hate-Ambedkar/172025102828076<br />(j) www.indybay.org<br />(k) www.arizona.indymedia.org<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(iii) How many requests for blocking of information has the Designated Officer received, and how many of those requests have been accepted and how many rejected? How many of those requests were for emergency blocking under Rule 9 of the Rules?<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - Designated Officer received 21 request for blocking of information. 11 websites have been blocked on the basis of orders received from court of law. One request has been rejected. For other requests, additional input/information has been sought from the Nodal Officer.<br /><br />No request for emergency blocking under rule 9 of the Rules have been received.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(iv) Please provide use the present composition of the Committee for Examination of Requests constituted under Rule 7 of the Rules.<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - The present composition of the Committee is :<br />(a) Designated Officer (Group Coordinator - Cyber Law)<br />(b) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs<br />(c) Joint Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting<br />(d) Additional Secretary and Ministry of Law & Justice<br />(e) Senior Director, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(v) Please provide us the dates and copies of the minutes of all meetings held by the Committee for Examination of Requests under Rule 8(4) of the Rules, and copies of their recommendations.<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - The Committee had met on 24-08-2010 with respect to request for blocking of website www.betfair.com.<br /><br /></p>
<blockquote>(vi) Please provide us the present composition of the Review Committee constituted under rule 419A of the Indian Telegraph Rules, 1951.<br />(vii) Please provide us the dates and copies of the minutes of all meetings held by the Review Committee under Rule 14 of the Rules, and copies of all orders issued by the Review Committee.<br /></blockquote>
<p><strong>Reply</strong> - This Department do not have details for above. The said information may be available with Department of Telecommunications.<br /><br /></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-response-dit-blocking'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rti-response-dit-blocking</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshIT ActFeaturedInternet GovernanceCensorship2011-08-02T07:13:47ZBlog EntryRebuttal of DIT's Misleading Statements on New Internet Rules
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries
<b>The press statement issued on May 11 by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) on the furore over the newly-issued rules on 'intermediary due diligence' is misleading and is, in places, plainly false. We are presenting a point-by-point rebuttal of the DIT's claims.</b>
<p>In its <a class="external-link" href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=72066">press release on Wednesday, May 11, 2011</a>, the DIT stated:
<blockquote>The
attention of Government has been drawn to news items in a section of
media on certain aspects of the Rules notified under Section 79
pertaining to liability of intermediaries under the Information
Technology Act, 2000. These items have raised two broad issues. One is
that words used in Rules for objectionable content are broad and could
be interpreted subjectively. Secondly, there is an apprehension that the
Rules enable the Government to regulate content in a highly subjective
and possibly arbitrary manner. <br /></blockquote>
<p>There are actually more issues than merely "subjective interpretation" and "arbitrary governmental regulation".</p>
<ul><li style="list-style-type: disc;">The
Indian Constitution limits how much the government can regulate
citizens’ fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression. Any
measure afoul of the constitution is invalid. </li><li style="list-style-type: disc;">Several
portions of the rules are beyond the limited powers that Parliament had
granted the Department of IT to create interpretive rules under the
Information Technology Act. Parliament directed the Government to merely
define what “due diligence” requirements an intermediary would have to
follow in order to claim the qualified protection against liability that
Section 79 of the Information Technology Act provides; these current
rules have gone dangerously far beyond that, by framing rules that
insist that intermediaries, without investigation, has to remove content within 36-hours of receipt of a
complaint, keep records of a users' details and provide them to
law enforcement officials.</li></ul>
<p>The Department of Information Technology (DIT), Ministry of
Communications & IT has clarified that the Intermediaries Guidelines
Rules, 2011 prescribe that due diligence need to be observed by the
Intermediaries to enjoy exemption from liability for hosting any third
party information under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act,
2000. These due diligence practices are the best practices followed
internationally by well-known mega corporations operating on the
Internet. 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.</p>
<ol><li>We are not aware of any country that actually goes to the extent of
deciding what Internet-wide ‘best practices’ are and actually converting
those ‘best practices’ into law by prescribing a universal terms of
service that all Internet services, websites, and products should enforce.</li><li>The Rules require all intermediaries to include the
government-prescribed terms in an agreement, no matter what services
they provide. It is one thing for a company to choose the terms of its
terms of service agreement, and completely another for the government to
dictate those terms of service. As long as the terms of service of an
intermediary are not unlawful or bring up issues of users’ rights (such
as the right to privacy), there is no reason for the government to jump
in and dictate what the terms of service should or should not be.</li><li>The DIT has not offered any proof to back up its assertion that 'most'
intermediaries already have such terms. Google, a ‘mega corporation’
which is an intermediary, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS?hl=en">does not have such an overarching policy</a>. Indiatimes, another ‘mega
corporation’ intermediary, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indiatimes.com/policyterms/1555176.cms">does not either</a>. Just because <a class="external-link" href="http://www.rediff.com/termsofuse.html">a
company like Rediff</a> and <a class="external-link" href="http://us.blizzard.com/en-us/company/legal/wow_tou.html">
Blizzard's World of Warcraft</a> have some of those terms does not mean a) that they should have all of those terms, nor that b) everyone else should as well.<br /><br />In
attempting to take different terms of service from different Internet
services and products—the very fact of which indicate the differing
needs felt across varying online communities—the Department has put in
place a one-size-fits-all approach. How can this be possible on the Internet, when we wouldn't regulate the post-office and a book publisher under the same rules of liability for, say, defamatory speech.</li><li>There is also a significant difference between the effect of those
terms of service and that of these Rules. An intermediary-framed terms of service
suggest that the intermediary <em>may</em> investigate and boot someone off a service for violation, while the Rules insist that
the intermediary simply has to mandatorily remove content, keep records of users' details and provide them to law enforcement officials,
else be subject to crippling legal liability.</li></ol>
<p>So
to equate the effect of these Rules to merely following ‘existing
practices’ is plainly wrong. An intermediary—like the CIS website—should have the freedom to choose not to have terms of service
agreements. We now don’t.“In case any issue arises concerning the interpretation of the terms
used by the Intermediary, which is not agreed to by the user or affected
person, the same can only be adjudicated by a Court of Law. The
Government or any of its agencies have no power to intervene or even
interpret. DIT has reiterated that there is no intention of the
Government to acquire regulatory jurisdiction over content under these
Rules. It has categorically said that these rules do not provide for any
regulation or control of content by the Government.”</p>
<p>The
Rules are based on the presumption that all complaints (and resultant
mandatory taking down of the content) are correct, and that the
incorrectness of the take-downs can be disputed in court. Why not just
invert that, and presume that all complaints need to be proven first, and the correctness of the complaints (instead of the take-downs) be disputed in court? </p>
<p>Indeed,
the courts have insisted that presumption of validity is the only
constitutional way of dealing with speech. (See, for instance, <em>Karthikeyan R. v. Union
of India</em>, a 2010 Madras High Court judgment.)</p>
<p>Further,
only constitutional courts (namely High Courts and the Supreme Court)
can go into the question of the validity of a law. Other courts have to
apply the law, even if it the judge believes it is constitutionally
invalid. So, most courts will be forced to apply this law of highly
questionable constitutionality until a High Court or the Supreme Court
strikes it down.</p>
<p>What
the Department has in fact done is to explicitly open up the floodgates
for increased liability claims and litigation - which runs exactly
counter to the purpose behind the amendment of Section 79 by Parliament
in 2008.</p>
<blockquote>“The
Government adopted a very transparent process for formulation of the
Rules under the Information Technology Act. The draft Rules were
published on the Department of Information Technology website for
comments and were widely covered by the media. None of the Industry
Associations and other stakeholders objected to the formulation which is
now being cited in some section of media.”<br /></blockquote>
<p>This is a blatant lie.</p>
<p>Civil
society voices, including <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/2011/02/25/intermediary-due-diligence" class="external-link">CIS</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.softwarefreedom.in/index.php?option=com_idoblog&task=viewpost&id=86&Itemid=70">Software Freedom Law Centre</a>, and
individual experts (such as the lawyer and published author <a class="external-link" href="http://www.iltb.net/2011/02/draft-rules-on-intermediary-liability-released-by-the-ministry-of-it/">Apar Gupta</a>)
sent in comments. Companies <a class="external-link" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704681904576314652996232860.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hps_LEFTTopWhatNews">such as Google</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://e2enetworks.com/2011/05/13/e2e-networks-response-to-draft-rules-for-intermediary-guidelines/">E2E Networks</a>, and others had apparently
raised concerns as well. The press has published many a cautionary note, including editorials, op-ed and articles in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article1487299.ece">the</a> <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/article1515144.ece">Hindu</a>, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?sectionId=6&mod=1&pg=1&valid=true&storyid=5163">the Hoot</a>, Medianama.com, and Kafila.com, well before the new rules were notified. We at CIS even received a 'read notification'
from the email account of the Group Coordinator of the DIT’s Cyber Laws
Division—Dr. Gulshan Rai—on Thursday, March 3, 2011 at 12:04 PM (we had
sent the mail to Dr. Rai on Monday, February 28, 2011). We never
received any acknowledgement, though, not even after we made an express
request for acknowledgement (and an offer to meet them in person to
explain our concerns) on Tuesday, April 5, 2011 in an e-mail sent to Mr.
Prafulla Kumar and Dr. Gulshan Rai of DIT.</p>
<p>The
process can hardly be called 'transparent' when the replies received
from 'industry associations and other stakeholders' have not been made
public by the DIT. Those comments which are public all indicate that
serious concerns were raised as to the constitutionality of the Rules.</p>
<p>The Government has been forward looking to create a conducive
environment for the Internet medium to catapult itself onto a different
plane with the evolution of the Internet. The Government remains fully
committed to freedom of speech and expression and the citizen’s rights
in this regard.</p>
<p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.8528041979429147">The DIT has limited this statement to the rules on intermediary due
diligence, and has not spoken about the controversial new rules that
stifle cybercafes, and restrict users' privacy and freedom to receive
information.<br /></span></p>
<p><span id="internal-source-marker_0.8528041979429147"></span>If
the government is serious about creating a conducive environment for
innovation, privacy and free expression on the Internet, then it wouldn’t be
passing Rules that curb down on them, and it definitely will not be
doing so in such a non-transparent fashion.</p></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/rebuttal-dit-press-release-intermediaries</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshFreedom of Speech and ExpressionIT ActFeaturedIntermediary Liability2012-07-11T13:18:04ZBlog EntryGoogle Policy Fellowship Program: Asia Chapter
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/google-policy-fellowship
<b>For the ardent followers of free and open Internet and for those who love to debate on technology, media law and Internet-related policy issues, there is some good news. The Centre for Internet and Society, India is conducting a Google Policy Fellowship program this summer!</b>
<p>Offered for the first time in Asia Pacific, the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.google.com/policyfellowship/">Google Policy Fellowship</a> offers successful applicants the opportunity to develop research and debate on issues relating to freedom of expression for a minimum of ten weeks from June to August 2011. The applicants will be selected in Australia, India and Hong Kong respectively.</p>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society will select the India Fellow, and is accepting applications for the position before March 27, 2011. Google is providing a USD 7,500 stipend to the India Fellow, who will be selected by April 18, 2011. </p>
<p>To apply, please send to <a href="mailto:google.fellowship@cis-india.org">google.fellowship@cis-india.org</a> the following materials:</p>
<ul><li>Statement of Purpose: A brief write-up outlining about your interest and qualifications for the programme including the relevant academic, professional and extracurricular experiences. As part of the write-up, also explain on what you hope to gain from participation in the programme and what research work concerning free expression online you would like to further through this programme. (About 1200 words max).</li><li>Resume</li><li>Three references</li></ul>
<p>More information about the focus of the work that the Google Policy Fellow will take on is described below<a href="#1">1</a>. More information about the Google Policy Fellowship program is available in the FAQ<a href="#2">2</a>.</p>
<p class="discreet"><a name="1"></a></p>
<h2><a name="1">Research Agenda Outline</a></h2>
<p>The research proposals, and the fellowship itself, are to be anchored in the reality of the growing threat to civil liberties in cyberspace, with the consequent curbs on free expression that arise. The aim of the research is to chart out a comprehensive map of the legal and policy frameworks relating to free expression within the Asia-Pacific region and also examine people’s attitudes and ground-level movements relating to the same. This second component will necessarily involve some amount of empirical research: the fellows across different regions (for 2011, there will be fellows from India, Australia and Hong Kong) will be expected to use a survey on similar lines, so that the results could be adequately contrasted.</p>
<p>The research would involve but not necessarily be limited to the following areas:</p>
<h3><span class="Apple-style-span">Understanding Dissent</span></h3>
<p>This component would involve looking at how dissent is negotiated in the region by the legal system and the ways in which governments seek to stifle and control online dissent. Specific points of interrogation would include:</p>
<ol><li>The extent to which the constitution and other laws in the region protect freedom of expression and the extent to which they are enforced.</li><li>Judicial decisions relating to free expression, censorship and dissent. Have they examined how speech and other activities on the Internet should be afforded free speech protection?</li><li>The kind of material deemed objectionable and subject to censorship and/or penalization.</li><li>The kind of penalties placed on writers, commentators and bloggers for posting objectionable materials on the Internet.</li><li>Understanding the economic environment in which free expression operates: chains of media ownership, state restrictions on the means of journalistic production and distribution, and the levels of state control through allocation of advertising or subsidies would be part of this question.</li><li>Further, what are the laws relating to encryption and telecom security, as well as to intermediary liability, and how do they affect free expression?</li></ol>
<h3><span class="Apple-style-span">Understanding Free Expression</span></h3>
<p>To be examined here is the question of how freedom of expression is perceived by people. What is the extent to which people believe the right is available to them — as balanced by conceivably conflicting rights such as privacy?</p>
<ol><li>One part of proceeding on this would be to track a set of activist bloggers, gauging their take on various issues.</li><li>Another part would include tracking public opinion through comments pages on articles relating to free speech issues; taking a survey or coordinating focus group research. However, this is by no means the most reliable way to gauge the same and is, in particular, one area that will require an appropriate methodology to be developed by the fellows in consultation with the partner organizations.</li></ol>
<p>Both these components are essential in being able to proceed with the third aspect, mentioned below.</p>
<h3><span class="Apple-style-span">Understanding and Facilitating Movements</span></h3>
<p>This final aspect will involve looking at how free expression advocates come together, or fail to do so.</p>
<ol><li>Is there a defined activist community in the region?</li><li>If not, what are the possible reasons behind failure of collaboration or organization? Have there been attempts towards the same?</li></ol>
<h2><span class="Apple-style-span"><a name="2">Frequently Asked Questions</a></span></h2>
<p><strong>What is the Google Policy Fellowship program?</strong></p>
<p>The Google Policy Fellowship program offers students interested in Internet and technology related policy issues with an opportunity to spend their summer working on these issues at the Centre for Internet and Society at Bangalore. Students will work for a period of ten weeks starting from June 2011. The research agenda for the program is based on legal and policy frameworks in the region connected to the ground-level perception of free expression.<br /><strong>Applications for the Fellowship should carry these:</strong></p>
<ul><li>Statement of Purpose: A brief write-up outlining about your interest and qualifications for the programme including the relevant academic, professional and extracurricular experiences. As part of the write-up, also explain on what you hope to gain from participation in the programme and what research work concerning free expression online you would like to further through this programme. (About 1200 words max).</li><li>Resume</li><li>Three references</li></ul>
<p><strong>Important Dates<br /></strong>What is the program timeline?</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td> March 27, 2011:</td>
<td>
<p>Student application deadline; applications must be received by midnight 00:00 GMT. </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>April 18, 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Student applicants are notified of the status of their applications.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> June 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Students begin their fellowship with the host organization (start date to be determined by students and the host organization); Google issues initial student stipends. </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td> July 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Mid-term evaluations; Google issues mid-term stipends.</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>August 2011:</td>
<td>
<p> Final evaluations; Google issues final stipends.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h3>Eligibility<span class="Apple-style-span">I am an International student can I apply and participate in the program?</span></h3>
<div>
<div><strong>Are there any age restrictions on participating?</strong></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Yes. You must be 18 years of age or older by 1 January 2011 to be eligible to participate in Google Policy Fellowship program in 2011.</span></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong>Are there citizenship requirements for the Fellowship?</strong></span></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">For the time being, we are only accepting students eligible to work in India (e.g. Indian citizens, permanent residents of India, and individuals presently holding an Indian student visa. Google cannot provide guidance or assistance on obtaining the necessary documentation to meet the criteria.</span></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong>Who is eligible to participate as a student in Google Policy Fellowship program?</strong></span></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">In order to participate in the program, you must be a student. Google defines a student as an individual enrolled in or accepted into an accredited institution including (but not necessarily limited to) colleges, universities, masters programs, PhD programs and undergraduate programs. Eligibility is based on enrollment in an accredited university by 1 January 2011.</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><strong>I am an International student can I apply and participate in the program?</strong></span></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">In order to participate in the program, you must be a student (see Google's definition of a student above). You must also be eligible to work in India (see section on citizen requirements for fellowship above). Google cannot provide guidance or assistance on obtaining the necessary documentation to meet this criterion.</span></p>
<div><strong>I have been accepted into an accredited post-secondary school program, but have not yet begun attending. Can I still take part in the program?</strong></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">As long as you are enrolled in a college or university program as of 1 January 2011, you are eligible to participate in the program.</span></p>
<div><strong>I graduate in the middle of the program. Can I still participate?</strong></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">As long as you are enrolled in a college or university program as of 1 January 2011, you are eligible to participate in the program.</span></p>
<div>
<div>
<h3>Payments, Forms, and Other Administrative Stuff</h3>
<div>
<div>How do payments work*?</div>
</div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span">Google will provide a stipend of USD 7,500 equivalent to each Fellow for the summer.</span></div>
<div>
<ul><li>Accepted students in good standing with their host organization will receive a USD 2,500 stipend payable shortly after they begin the Fellowship in June 2011.</li><li>Students who receive passing mid-term evaluations by their host organization will receive a USD 1,500 stipend shortly after the mid-term evaluation in July 2011.</li><li>Students who receive passing final evaluations by their host organization and who have submitted their final program evaluations will receive a USD 3,500 stipend shortly after final evaluations in August 2011.</li></ul>
<span class="Apple-style-span"><em>Please note: Payments will be made by electronic bank transfer, and are contingent upon satisfactory evaluations by the host organization, completion of all required enrollment and other forms. Fellows are responsible for payment of any taxes associated with their receipt of the Fellowship stipend.</em></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span">*<em>While the three step payment structure given here corresponds to the one in the United States, disbursement of the amount may be altered as felt necessary. </em></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div><strong>What documentation is required from students?</strong></div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Students should be prepared, upon request, to provide Google or the host organization with transcripts from their accredited institution as proof of enrollment or admission status. Transcripts do not need to be official (photo copy of original will be sufficient).</span></p>
<div><strong>I would like to use the work I did for my Google Policy Fellowship to obtain course credit from my university. Is this acceptable?</strong></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Yes. If you need documentation from Google to provide to your school for course credit, you can contact Google. We will not provide documentation until we have received a final evaluation from your mentoring organization.</span></p>
<h3>Host Organizations</h3>
<div>
<div>
<div><strong>What is Google's relationship with the Centre for Internet and Society?</strong></div>
</div>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">Google provides the funding and administrative support for individual fellows directly. Google and the Centre for Internet and Society are not partners or affiliates. The Centre for Internet and Society does not represent the views or opinions of Google and cannot bind Google legally.</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/google-policy-fellowship'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/google-policy-fellowship</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedInternet Governance2011-08-02T07:34:24ZBlog EntryPrivacy Matters — Conference Report
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-nujsconference-summary
<b>A one-day conference on Privacy Matters was held on Sunday, 23 January 2011 at the National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) Law School in Kolkata. This was the first of a series of eleven conferences on ‘privacy’ that Privacy India is scheduled to host in different Indian cities from January to June this year. Members of Parliament, Sri Manoj Bhattacharya from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Sri Nilotpal Basu from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) spoke in the conference. Students, the civil society and lawyers also participated in it.</b>
<h3>Introduction<br /></h3>
<p>The conference was held to discuss elements of the privacy legislation that has been proposed to the Parliament of India, and the UID Bill and project. The conference focused on the tensions between privacy and society that exist in India today, and acted as a space for opinion sharing and discussion. Privacy India which was formed under the auspices of Privacy International, a UK based organization that works to protect the right of privacy around the world, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), an NGO based in Bangalore, and Society in Action Group (SAG), an NGO based in Delhi joined hands to host this event.</p>
<p>Rajan Gandhi, founder of SAG opened the conference with an explanation of the mandate of Privacy India, the objective of which is of raising awareness, sparking civil action and promoting democratic dialogue around privacy challenges and violations in India. One of Privacy India's goals is to build consensus towards the promulgation of comprehensive privacy legislation in India through consultations with the public, legislators and the legal and academic community.</p>
<h3>Keynote</h3>
<p>The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Sudhir Krishnaswamy professor of law and governance. Dr. Krishnaswamy began by outlining the present situation of privacy in India. The right to privacy has been read into Sections 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India through case law, which has defined privacy — among other things — as the right to personal autonomy, the right against unreasonable search and seizure, and as a fundamental right that is critical to the person, but does not supersede public or national interest. Dr. Krishnaswamy also raised many intriguing questions including: what does privacy mean to India — is it linked to a person’s dignity and their honour? Or is it purely concerned with misappropriation of information, and further is privacy in India an issue of the individual or an issue of the family and the community? He also described the philosophical groundings of privacy as being in the right to dignity, the right to autonomy, and the misappropriation of information. </p>
<h3>Privacy Challenges</h3>
<p>The conference was spread into three sessions. In the first session Prashant Iyengar, head researcher of the project at Privacy India, spoke about the challenges that India specifically is facing in shaping a privacy legislation including: the need to balance the right to information/transparency and privacy, the need to create a definition of privacy that does not exclude lower classes and is not a negative right, but instead a positive right, and the problem of ubiquitous surveillance that is happening in society today. Elonnai Hickok, policy analyst at Privacy India, spoke specifically on wire tapping, and the Nira Radia tapes. In her presentation she first outlined other countries definitions of privacy which include: the right to be left alone, the protection from unauthorized searches, and the right to control information about oneself through consent. Using the case study of Nira Radia and Ratan Tata she spoke about the rising concern of wire tapping in the country as being indicative of a social change and relationship of the state and government. Elonnai also raised questions concerning whether privacy should be made inversely proportional to public figures, and if public interest will always supersede the private right of individuals.</p>
<h3>UID and Privacy</h3>
<p>The second session of the conference focused on the UID Bill and privacy. Presentations from NUJS student Amba Kak and Sai Vinod raised concerns about the UID project and privacy. Their presentation also compared and contrasted identity schemes of other countries with the UID. A few similarities that they found amongst all scheme were: the collection of data, the processing of data, and the storing of data. Deva Prasad from the National Law School of Bangalore presented on constitutional elements of the UID scheme ranging from loopholes in the Bill to connections that can be made when the UID Bill is placed in the larger picture. Sri Manoj Bhattacharya (MP) from RSP voiced his concerns of the UID, and emphasized that by giving an individual a number which acts as their fundamental identity which they use to function in society, the government in fact is eroding an individual’s actual identity, and that is an invasion of privacy. Sri Nilotpal Basu (MP) from CPI (M) spoke out strongly against the UID, voicing that his greatest concern with the UID is that it will be a way for corporate bodies to target individuals as consumers, and that privacy legislation could be used as a way for corporate bodies to hide from the public eye.</p>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>In the concluding session the floor was opened up to the public for questions and opinion sharing. Many participants shared what they believed needed to be included in privacy legislation, and what issues a privacy legislation needs to address. A few of these include: privacy rights and the media, privacy and the right to information, the privacy rights of minorities, and the privacy rights of the government. Also types of regulatory models for privacy were discussed. For instance, should privacy in India be represented and protected through a data protection law, or should privacy be seen as a fundamental right to privacy? Should privacy be represented through a broad framework, or through sector specific statutes? What should the redressal and enforcement mechanisms look like? </p>
<p>As seen from the presentations and the comments at the conference one thing which is clear is that privacy is an issue that concerns every person in India. Over the next six months Privacy India will be conducting ten more conferences in different Indian cities to engage the public in dialogues of privacy and raise awareness around the issues of privacy. The next workshop will be held on 5 February 2011 in Bangalore.</p>
<p>Download the conference summary <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-kolkata-report" class="internal-link" title="Privacy India Calcutta Conference">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-nujsconference-summary'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-nujsconference-summary</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedPrivacy2011-01-27T10:22:55ZBlog Entry'Privacy Matters', Ahmedabad: Conference Report
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-matters-report-from-ahmedabad
<b>On 26 March 2011, civil society, lawyers, judges, students and NGO’s, gathered together at the Ahmedabad Management Association to take part in 'Privacy Matters' – a public conference organised by Privacy India in partnership with IDRC and Research Foundation for Governance in India (RFGI) — to discuss the challenges of privacy in India, with an emphasis on national security and privacy. The conference was opened by Prashant Iyengar, head researcher at Privacy India and Kanan Drhu, director of RFGI. Mr. Iyengar explained Privacy India’s mandate to raise awareness of privacy, spark civil action, and promote democratic dialogue around privacy challenges and violations in India. RFGI is a think tank established in 2009 which aims to research, promote, and implement various reforms to improve the legal and political process in Gujarat and across India. ‘Privacy Matters – Ahmedabad’ is the third conference out of the eight that Privacy India will be hosting across India. The next conference will take place in Hyderabad on 9 April 2011. It will focus on human rights and privacy.</b>
<h2>The keynote speech, delivered by Usha Ramanathan, focused on links not often made between privacy and social phenomenon.<br /></h2>
<p></p>
<p align="left"><img class="image-left" src="../it-act/usha.jpg/image_preview" alt="Usha Ramanathan " />Ms. Usha Ramanathan opened the conference by examining the links not often made between privacy and personal security, between databases and national security, and the centrality of dislodging privacy in projects of social control. In her presentation she spoke about the inverse relationship between national and personal security, making the point that an important part of privacy is the ability of an individual to secure their own person. Today, because national security follows a policy of ubiquitous surveillance, it is almost impossible for an individual to secure their person from the state. Ms. Ramanathan also traced the beginnings of ubiquitous surveillance to the increasing global fear of terrorism, and the national break down of the criminal justice system in India. Instead of looking to the roots of terrorism and the roots of failure in the criminal justice system, the Indian State has responded to both these factors by superimposing a system of surveillance on top of the existing rule. Consequently, the state has become pan-optical — closely following the movement of its entire population. The state has been able to achieve this level of surveillance through technology, which it has used to create identifiers for its population. The use of technology by the state mediates a link between corporate interest and state interest. Thus, by facilitating the easy and ubiquitous creation of identifiers and surveillance, technology is changing the idea and the nature of privacy. For example, it is now important that a privacy law allows for individuals to protect and secure their identity, something that every individual has and every individual controls, while regulating the creation and external use of identifiers — something that is used by another (not you) to distinguish a person from the rest of the population. </p>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>How can privacy legislation work to positively regulate the use of technology by the government, so that invasion of privacy does not consequently become state policy? </li></ul>
<ul><li>How can privacy legislation distinguish between and work to protect an identity while regulating the creation and use of personal information as identifiers?</li></ul>
<h2>Session I of the Conference featured a Judicial Perspective of Privacy and a Presentation on the Connections between Privacy and the Federal Income Tax Regime in India.</h2>
<h3>Privacy and the Constitution</h3>
<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/judge.jpg/image_preview" alt="Justice Bhatt" />
<p><strong> J N Bhatt</strong>, the former Chief Justice of Gujarat and Bihar, and currently the head of the Gujarat State Law Commission, spoke about privacy as a fundamental right that has been written into articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p> As privacy is already a recognized fundamental right, the question at hand is not if there is a right to privacy, but instead how can the right to privacy be best proliferated. </p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>Within the question of how a privacy can best be proliferated, is a question about rights and duties. Wherever there is a right to privacy there is also a corresponding duty to privacy — as rights and duties are interdependent.</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>Though privacy has been recognized as a fundamental right in India, when looking at the actual assertion of the right, it is important to be aware of the cultural realities of India. India is a country with 39 per cent of her population living below the poverty line, with an even lower literacy rate, and there is a direct connection between the assertion of civil liberties, an individual’s civic sense, and education.</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>When looking at how to best proliferate the right to privacy, governance and common law, a methodology to reach the poorest of the poor should be laid out first.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>
<p>What is the best way to proliferate the right to privacy ?</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>What legal structures need to be in place to ensure that the poor can assert their right to privacy?</p>
</li><li>
<p>What social structures need to be in place to ensure that the poor can assert their right to privacy?</p>
</li></ul>
<h3><img class="image-left" src="../it-act/profdrhu.jpg/image_preview" alt="Prof. Drhu" /> Privacy and the Indian Tax Regime<br /></h3>
<p><strong>Professor Amal Dhru</strong>, visiting professor from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a practicing Chartered Accountant spoke on the connections between privacy and the federal income tax regime in India. In his presentation he explained how the information collected by the federal income tax regime in India can be both useful in holding a citizen accountable, and invasive of one’s personal privacy if mis-used. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>The Indian tax regime highlights the tension between public interest as tax evasion is considered an exception to the right to privacy as it is a matter of public interest.</li></ul>
<ul><li> There is a lack of confidence in the existing banking and tax system in India. For example in the business sector, Indian investors have deposited over 700 billion dollars abroad as they are given complete privacy and security over their money. </li></ul>
<ul><li>Though there is a lack of confidence in the current banking and tax system, a tighter law is not necessarily the solution. For example, studies have found that tighter tax regimes lead to greater evasion, while looser tax regimes have higher compliance rates.</li></ul>
<ul><li>On April 1, 2011 the new tax codes for India will be implemented. The reform will give enormous power to tax offices, and as the tax authorities will become equipped to do taxes smarter – this will come at a cost to citizen’s privacy. </li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li> Just as a tighter tax law leads to a higher percentage of tax evasion, will a tight privacy law simply lead to greater numbers of privacy violations?</li></ul>
<ul><li>What creates public confidence in a law?</li></ul>
<ul><li>Should a privacy legislation be responsible for defining the public good?</li></ul>
<ul><li>Should privacy protection of tax-related information be incorporated into a privacy legislation or contained only in tax law?</li></ul>
<ul><li>To what extent should tax authorities be allowed to investigate potential tax evasion i.e., one’s computer, house or e-mail? </li></ul>
<ul><li>How does one balance the private vs. the public good? </li></ul>
<h2> Session II of the Conference focused on National Security and Privacy, and Cultural Conceptions of Privacy <br /></h2>
<h3>National Security and Privacy<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/mathew.jpg/image_preview" alt="Mr. Thomas " /></h3>
<p style="text-align: left;">In the second session on Privacy and National Security, Colonel Mathew Thomas spoke on privacy and national security. Colonel Thomas is a management consultant and activity leader for development centers and has held top positions in the Indian Army, and the Defence Research and Development Organisation, where he headed the missile manufacturing facility. Sharing his personal experiences in the army he explained the connection between privacy and national security. Important points from his presentation include: </p>
<ul><li> National Security is often not an internal threat, but instead an external threat. </li></ul>
<ul><li>There is a connection between the increase in surveillance and liberalization of Government. </li></ul>
<ul><li>More surveillance does not bring more security. </li></ul>
<ul><li>Foreign software poses as a threat to national security.</li></ul>
<ul><li>Greater security is gained through intelligent use and analysis of data. </li></ul>
<ul><li>A strong national security plan should not rely solely on surveillance of its citizens. Instead national security should be brought about through strong economic policies, non-reliance on foreign software, neutrality in foreign policy, fair trade policies, rural development and prevention of migration to cities, and having a politically honest and accountable governance.</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>Is it effective for privacy to be compromised in the name of anti- terror laws?</li><li> Can the development and distribution of indigenous software protect national privacy?</li><li> How can strong economic policies indirectly protect an individual's privacy?</li><li> How can a strong foreign policy protect an Indian citizen's privacy when it is stored or sent abroad?</li></ul>
<h3> <img class="image-left" src="../it-act/gagan.jpg/image_preview" alt="Gagan Sethi" />Privacy as a Cultural Construct<br /></h3>
<p>Gagan Sethi from the Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad shared his opinion on privacy. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>Privacy is a cultural construct that changes with context, perspective, and time.</p>
</li><li>
<p>When considering a privacy policy it is important to create a policy that does not strictly define what privacy is and what it is not, but instead create a policy that defines and promotes a common respect for human dignity.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li> If a privacy policy is developed to promote a common respect for human dignity – will it be effective?</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p>Can you develop a policy that has a loose definition and mandate, but has strong legal teeth?</p>
</li></ul>
<h2>Session III of the Conference focused on Minority Identities and Privacy, Prisoner Rights, and Cyber Security.</h2>
<h3>Privacy and Minority Identities<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/copy_of_bobby.jpg/image_preview" alt="Bobby Kuhnu " /><br /></h3>
<p><strong>Bobby Kuhnu</strong>, a lawyer and activist, presented in the third session on Privacy, Minority Identities, and Security. In his talk Mr. Kuhnu through the use of three examples examined the ideological underpinnings of the discourse on privacy and its bearings on socially marginalized identities in the context of the Indian State and the constitutional right to privacy. Important points from his presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>In India, names can be sensitive and personal information like one’s religion, family, caste, and background can all be known through a name.</p>
</li><li>
<p>Because of the sensitivity of a person’s name, many people do not feel safe or comfortable in their own identity.</p>
</li><li>
<p>Reservation lists and public postings of information, can and have been used to discriminate and violate another’s privacy.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>
<p>Should a privacy legislation requirement throughout institutions and government bodies that names should not be publicly displayed to the point of identification?</p>
</li><li>
<p>What is the most effective way of legally protecting an individual from discrimination based on their name?</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Perspectives of Privacy <br /></h3>
<p><img class="image-left" src="../it-act/interns.jpg/image_preview" alt="Interns " />In the last portion of the day, Yash Sampat and Aditya Yagnik spoke on the origins of privacy and privacy in the cyber world. Vimmi Surti spoke on prisoner's rights and privacy and Ramswaroop Chaudhary presented on minority identities in South Asia and privacy. Important points from their presentation include:</p>
<ul><li>
<p> Internet has led to an increase in privacy violations.</p>
</li><li>
<p>The result of privacy infringements is often the deprivation of individuals from safe access to services availed to them.</p>
</li><li>
<p>When looking at privacy as the protection of human dignity, prisoner’s rights are violated through overcrowding in prisons, poor health, and poor sanitation.</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Questions to Consider</h3>
<ul><li>
<p> Are there legal mechanisms that can be put in place to ensure the least amount of deprivation to services when an individual’s privacy is invaded?</p>
</li></ul>
<ul><li>
<p> To what extent should prisoners be availed the right to privacy?</p>
</li></ul>
<h2>The concluding session was a time for discussion and opinion sharing<img class="image-right" src="../it-act/kananandjudge.jpg/image_preview" alt="Kanan and the Judge " /></h2>
<p>From the closing session, and the above sessions many themes and questions pertaining to privacy came out that will need to be addressed when considering the way forward for a privacy legislation including:</p>
<ul><li>Regulation of ubiquitous surveillance in the name of national security</li><li>Regulation over public display of names and personal information</li><li>The need to distinguish between identity and identifier. </li><li>The need to protect an individual's identity while regulating the production and use of identifiers.</li><li>Privacy rights and prisoners: what does the right to privacy mean to a prisoner, i.e., clean facilities and health care. </li><li>Can the right to privacy be a platform for individuals to claim sanitary/safe working and living conditions. </li><li>Recognize the changing nature of privacy rights in a technological society.</li><li>Privacy implications of biometric usage.</li><li>Creation of a definition of when privacy rights will supersede identification needs.</li><li>How can government institutions, like the tax department, incorporate and protect the right to privacy with the collection of large amounts of data for more efficient services. </li><li>Privacy and the family</li></ul>
<strong>
<div><strong><br /></strong></div>
</strong>
<div class="pullquote"><strong>
Download the report and agenda <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-conference-ahmedabad.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Privacy Conference in Ahmedabad PDF">here</a> [pdf - 452kb]</strong></div>
<p class="callout"><strong>Also see Matthew's <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-ahmedabad-conference-presentation.pptx" class="internal-link" title="Privacy Conference in Ahmedabad Powerpoint Presentation">presentation</a> [powerpoint file 116kb]</strong></p>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-matters-report-from-ahmedabad'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy/privacy-matters-report-from-ahmedabad</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaFeaturedPrivacy2011-04-04T04:45:49ZBlog EntryIndia's untapped potential: Are a billion people losing out because of spectrum?
https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential
<b>As one of the world’s fastest growing economies and with over 65% of its billion-plus population under 35, India has huge potential. But according to Shyam Ponappa of the Centre for Internet & Society, its spectrum management – the electromagnetic waves that are used from home appliances like microwaves and remote controls, to radios, cell phones, and of course, the internet – could be a huge barrier to the country’s economic and social development.</b>
<p>Until the global economic downturn that began about two years ago, the economic model for spectrum distribution in India and many developing countries was based on the free market. But Ponappa demonstrates in a <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/node/11864/">new report </a>for APC that spectrum is worth treating as a public utility the way we do roads, electricity and other basic infrastructure, which would allow for people in rural areas to access spectrum-dependant services like mobile phones and wifi and increase quality of services for all.</p>
<p>Currently in India, as in most other countries, spectrum is being treated as a property, where “chunks” of spectrum are sold to the mobile phone and telecommunications operators with the highest bid. Commonly there are 3 – 4 operators in a developed country; however, in India there are up to sixteen. The extreme competition has resulted in the Indian bidders paying outrageous fees that they are never able to recuperate. So while the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> makes a profit on the sale, this profit comes at a societal cost.</p>
<p>Ponappa proposes pooling spectrum and to have a set of network providers, who in turn serve operators for retail users. This effectively opens up the spectrum and could make costs ten or fifteen times cheaper than they are now.</p>
<p>“It is appropriate to push the concept of open spectrum in developed markets who underwent their development phase some 60 – 100 years ago and put in place basic infrastructure systems. But in countries like India and the Asian sub-continent, it does not make sense to do this because we are not at the same stage of economic development,” Ponappa told APCNews.</p>
<p>“When markets are well structured and organised,” he continues, “[<a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> control] can be less effective and efficient for society as a whole, compared with open competition. However developing economies don’t have the integrated systems in place that advanced economies do. India does not have an adequately developed network of copper, optical <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/293">fibre</a> or microwaves covering most of its population. And we are at a stage of development at which infrastructure is a fundamental determinant of productivity, as well as of a reasonable quality of life.”</p>
<p>Ponappa argues that in India’s case it would be advisable for governments to work with other stakeholders – corporations, <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/354">state</a>-owned agencies, and civil society – on a collaborative solution. “It would be much more conducive to a sound economy to have either the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/glossary/term/353">government</a> step in and open up the commercial spectrum, or to have two to three main operators (possibly subsidised, but not necessarily) as we do with the provision of utilities,” he says. Yet, the free market mentality continues to reign, and a surfeit of operators is trying to make a profit in the telecommunications <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/325">wireless</a> sector.</p>
<h3>Everybody wants a piece of the pie</h3>
<p>In India, every operator is assigned a sliver of spectrum for their exclusive use and the rest is assigned to the government, the public sector and defence.</p>
<p>The result is high-cost infrastructure for operators (setting up networks with multiple sets of more advanced equipment because of the limited spectrum, with the capital constraints resulting in less extensive networks in rural areas) as well as for users (who have to pay for all this equipment).</p>
<p>“Too many operators make for increased capital costs for each operator, and cumulatively for all operators,” Ponappa explains.</p>
<p>And these higher costs are increasingly difficult to recover from consumer-generated revenue, as India undergoes huge price wars. Many operators may eventually go bankrupt. While no consumers ever complain about low costs –and India has some of the world’s lowest mobile rates– they will complain about poor quality and unreliable service. Consequently, consumers may not have to pay much to use mobile services, but they may not always be able to make or receive calls when they need to, and do not have access to broadband.</p>
<p>While most countries have moved on to 3G networks (which has more capacity for a given spectrum band than 2G, meaning better call quality) as many as four of India’s sixteen operators have not even developed their 2G networks. Making the switch to 3G seems like a good idea, but there are substantial costs associated with deploying these more advanced techniques to both operators (for network upgrades) and for end users (in terms of new handsets).</p>
<p>Too much competition in this case has made operators inefficient.</p>
<h3>Spectrum as a national common good</h3>
<p>If spectrum were treated as if it were a public utility, posits Ponappa, each operator would have access to a bigger chunk of spectrum, and the traffic-handling capacity of each would increase at a lower cost.</p>
<p>“With the current model the capacity of networks is suffering because networks cannot afford to expand or make technical improvements without economic losses. Other infrastructure services such as electricity and water supply are managed by utility companies, which are typically monopolies for a product-segment, or duopolies for purposes of competition. So why not treat spectrum the same way?” suggests Ponappa.</p>
<p>Ponappa suggests treating networks, and spectrum as a part of networks, as we would an oil pipeline, where everyone accesses the same one, and pays a fee for its use.</p>
<p>This would bring more people onto the network and increase revenues, since operating costs would be shared. The more revenue it can generate, the more efficient operators will be, using the same high-capacity circuits. The more revenue the main operators have, the more they could invest in up-to-date technology to extend their networks and provide a better service to clients. The better the technology, the more people could access the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/258">internet</a> and other now vital sources of information, as well as focus on broadband and infrastructure to the country’s isolated rural areas, which today have rudimentary communications infrastructure.</p>
<h3>India’s rural populations, the lost resource</h3>
<p>As a predominantly rural country, lack of basic IT infrastructure means that the largest segment of India’s population has no <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/taxonomy/term/300">access to information </a>and communications technologies.</p>
<p>Ponappa grew up on a farm in a rural area some 200 km from Bangalore where even fixed line phone networks were unreliable. “We have multiple telephone lines because we never know which one will work,” he says.</p>
<p>Given India’s massive rural population, this means that there are hundreds of millions of people that are unable to access the internet. Services like quality distance education are not even an option if basic infrastructure such as fixed telephone lines is not in place and the country itself is losing out on the incalculable potential of this untapped human resource.</p>
<p>Download the report <a href="https://cis-india.org/telecom/publications/india-untapped-potential" class="internal-link">here</a> [pdf - 280 kb]</p>
<p>See the report in the APC <a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/pubs/research/open-spectrum-development-india-case-study">website</a></p>
<p><i>This article was written as part of the APC’s project work on </i><a class="external-link" href="http://www.apc.org/en/node/10445/"><i>Spectrum for development</i></a><i>, an initiative that aims to provide an understanding of spectrum regulation by examining the situation in Africa, Asia and Latin America.</i></p>
<p>Photo by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kiwanja/3170290086/">kiwanja</a>. Used with permission under Creative Content licensing.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential'>https://cis-india.org/telecom/blog/untapped-potential</a>
</p>
No publisherShyam PonappaTelecomFeatured2012-12-14T10:31:43ZBlog EntryDigital Natives Workshop in Taipei: Only a Few Seats Left!!!
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/open-call
<b>The Centre for Internet and Society in collaboration with the Frontier Foundation is holding a three day Digital Natives workshop in Taipei from 16 to 18 August, 2010. The three day workshop will serve as an ideal platform for the young users of technology to share their knowledge and experience of the digital and Internet world and help them learn from each other’s individual experiences.</b>
<p>Everybody has a story to tell, and with the Internet, it is possible to tell the story and be heard. Young people around the world use digital technologies to find a voice, an expression, a creative output and a space for dialogue. Gone are the days when the young were only to be seen and not heard. In the Web 2.0 world, the young are seen, heard and are making a dramatic change in the world that we live in.</p>
<p>As Internet and digital technologies become more widespread, the world is shrinking, time is replaced by Internet time, we are constantly connected and intricately linked to our contexts, our people, our cultures and our networks. And you, yes YOU are a part of this change. In fact, as <a class="external-link" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz4KoL3jzi0">Digital Natives</a> – people who have found technologies as central to their lives – you are directly affecting the lives of many, sometimes even without knowing about it.</p>
<h3>An Open Call for Participation<br /></h3>
<p>The Centre for Internet and Society (Bangalore, India) in collaboration with the Frontier Foundation (Taipei, Taiwan) are calling out to young technology users to share stories about how they have tried to change things around them with the use of digital and Internet technologies. Conversely, if you feel that the presence of these technologies has significantly changed you in some way, we want to hear about that too! These can be stories where you have made a significant impact by initiating campaigns or movements for a particular cause, stories where you have used technologies to cope with problems in your personal and social life through your online persona in the virtual World Wide Web or stories where a small blog you started, or a facebook group you created, or a plurk network that you started, or a discussion group that you participated in, led to a change that has a story to tell. </p>
<p>The three day workshop will select 20 participants from all around Asia and in the Middle East to come and share these stories, to interact with facilitators and scholars who have worked in different countries and areas, and to form a network of collaboration and support. We will give your stories a face, a voice and a platform where they can be heard in your own voice, in your own style and in your own formats. Participants can fill in an application form (as given below) and forward it to digitalnatives@cis-india.org by 15th July 2010.</p>
<p>Simultaneously a website will also be hosted online where the Digital Natives will contribute to the content. Selected participants will be encouraged to document in it. Expenses relevant to the project will be granted to the selected participants.</p>
<h3>Application Form<br /></h3>
<ul><li>Name:</li><li>Gender:</li><li>Age:</li><li>Primary language of communication:</li><li>Other languages you can read and write:</li><li>Email:</li><li>Postal address:</li><li>Describe your Internet related experience / initiative(s) in 300 words. Furnish with URLs where necessary. Optionally, if images and videos are part of the description, then upload them in a high resolution version to a secure website and provide the URL.</li><li>Write in a few sentences about your expectation from the workshop.</li><li>I declare that the above information is true to the best of my knowledge.</li><li>I agree that Digital Natives will use the material I have provided for public use.</li></ul>
<p>
Please note that the information you provide will be kept for purposes
of the Digital Natives project. Materials which you submit will be used
for reporting to sponsors and for public use relevant to the project.</p>
<p>Dates: 16, 17 and 18 August, 2010<br />Venue: Taipei (Taiwan)</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/open-call'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/open-call</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaDigital ActivismCyberculturesFeaturedDigital Natives2011-08-04T10:29:26ZBlog EntryDigital Natives : Talking Back
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback
<b>One of the most significant transitions in the landscape of social and political movements, is how younger users of technology, in their interaction with new and innovative technologised platforms have taken up responsibility to respond to crises in their local and immediate environments, relying upon their digital networks, virtual communities and platforms. In the last decade or so, the digital natives, in universities as well as in work spaces, as they experimented with the potentials of internet technologies, have launched successful socio-political campaigns which have worked unexpectedly and often without precedent, in the way they mobilised local contexts and global outreach to address issues of deep political and social concern. But what do we really know about this Digital Natives revolution? </b>
<p><strong>Press Release</strong></p>
<p> Youth are often seen as potential agents of change for reshaping
their own societies. By 2010, the global youth population is expected
reach almost 1.2 billion of which 85% reside in developing countries.
Unleashing the potential of even a part of this group in developing
countries promises a substantially impact on societies. Especially now
when youths thriving on digital technologies flood universities, work
forces, and governments and could facilitate radical restructuring of
the world we live in. So, it’s time we start listening to them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> Because of the age bias and the dependence of a large section of
Digital Natives around the world, on structures of authority, there has
always been a problem of power that has restricted or reduced the scope
of their practice and intervention. For younger Digital Natives,
Parental authority and the regulation from schools often becomes a
hindrance that thwarts their ambitions or ideas. Even when they take the
initiative towards change, they are often stopped and at other times
their practices are dismissed as insignificant. In other contexts,
because of existing laws and policies around Internet usage and freedom
of expression, the voices of Digital Natives get obliterated or
chastised by government authorities and legal apparatuses which monitor
and regulate their practices. The workshop organised at the Academia
Sinica brings in 28 participants from contested contexts – be it the
micro level of the family or the paradigmatic level of governance – to
discuss the politics, implications and processes of ‘Talking Back’.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> What does it mean to Talk Back? Who do we Talk Back against? Are we
alone in our attempts or a part of a larger community? How do we use
digital technologies to find other peers and stake-holders? What is the
language and vocabulary we use to successfully articulate our problems?
How do we negotiate with structures of power to fight for our rights?
These are the kind of questions that the workshop poses. The workshop
focuses on uncovering the circuitous routes and ways by which Digital
Natives have managed to circumvent authorities in order to make
themselves heard. The workshop also dwells on what kind of support
structures need to be developed at global levels for Digital Natives to
engage more fruitfully, with their heads held high and minds without
fear, with their immediate environments.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The proceedings of the first workshop in Taipei, 16-18th August, 2010 are available at <a class="external-link" href="http://digitalnatives.in/">http://digitalnatives.in/</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/talkingback</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital ActivismDigital NativesYouthFeaturedWorkshopDigital subjectivitiesResearchers at Work2015-05-15T11:50:19ZBlog EntryPolitical is as Political does
https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/political
<b>The Talking Back workshop has been an extraordinary experience for me. The questions that I posed for others attending the workshop have hounded me as they went through the course of discussion, analysis and dissection. Strange nuances have emerged, certain presumptions have been questioned, new legacies have been discovered, novel ideas are still playing ping-pong in my mind, and a strange restless excitement – the kind that keeps me awake till dawning morn – has taken over me, as I try and figure out the wherefore and howfore of things. I began the research project on Digital Natives in a condition of not knowing, almost two years ago. Since then, I have taken many detours, rambled on strange paths, discovered unknown territories and reached a mile-stone where I still don’t know, but don’t know what I don’t know, and that is a good beginning.</b>
<p> <strong>The researcher in his heaven, all well with the world</strong></p>
<p> This first workshop is not merely a training lab. For me, it was the
extension of the research inquiry, and collaboratively producing some
frames of reference, some conditions of knowing, and some ways of
thinking about this strange, ambiguous and ambivalent category of
Digital Natives. The people who have assembled at this workshop have
identified themselves as Digital Natives as a response to the open call.
They all have practices which are startlingly unique and simultaneously
surprisingly similar. Despite the great dissonance in their
geo-political contexts and socio-cultural orientations, they seem to be
bound together by things beyond the technological.</p>
<p> Each one chose a definition for him/herself that straddles so many
different ideas of how technologies interact with us; there are writers
who offer a subjective position and affective relation to technologies
and the world around them; there are artists who seek to change the
world, one barcode at a time; there are optimist warriors who have waged
battles against injustice and discrimination in the worlds they occupy;
there are explorers who have made meaning out of socio-cultural
terrains that they live in; there are leaders who have mobilized
communities; there are adventurers who have taken on responsibilities
way beyond their young years; there are researchers who have sought
higher grounds and epistemes in the quest of knowledge. The varied
practice is further informed by their own positions as well as their
relationship with the different realities they engage with.</p>
<p> How, then, does one make sense of this babble of diversity? How does
one even begin to articulate a collective identity for people who are
so unique that sometimes they are the only ones in their contexts to
initiate these interventions? Where do I find a legacy or a context that
makes sense of these diversities without conflating or coercing their
uniqueness? This is not an easy task for a researcher, and I have
struggled over the two days to figure out a way in which I can start
develop a knowledge framework through which I can not only bring
coherence to this group but also do it without imposing my questions,
suggestions or agendas on you. And it is only now, at a quarter to dawn,
as I think and interact more with the different digital natives that
things get shapes for me – shapes that are not yet clear, probably
obscured by the blurriness of sleep and the rushed time that we have
been living in the last few days – and I now attempt to trace the
contours if not the details of these shapes.</p>
<p> <strong>Questioning the Question</strong></p>
<p> The first insight for me came from the fact that the Digital Natives
in the workshop talked back – not only to the structures that their
practice engages with, but also the questions that I posed to them.
“What does it mean to be Political?” I has asked on the first day,
knowing well that this wasn’t going to be an easy dialogue. Even after
years of thinking about the Political as necessarily the Personal (and
vice versa), it still is sometimes difficult to actually articulate the
process or the imagination of the Political. It is no wonder that so
many people take the easy recourse of talking about governments,
judiciaries, democracies and the related paraphernalia to talk about
Politics.</p>
<p> I knew, even before I posed the question, that this was going to
lead to confusion, to conditions of being lost, to processes of
destabilising comfort zones. However, what I was not ready for was a
schizophrenic moment of epiphany where I tried to ask myself what I
understood as the Political. And as I tried to explain it to myself, to
explain it to others, to push my own knowledge of it, to understand
others’ ideas and imaginations, I came up with a formulation which goes
beyond my own earlier knowledges. There are five different articulations
of the legacies and processes of the Political that I take with me from
the discussions (some were suggested by other people, some are my
flights of fancy based on our conversations), and it is time to reflect
on them:</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as dialogue</strong></em></p>
<p> This was perhaps, the easiest to digest because it sounds like a
familiar formulation. To be political is to be in a condition of
dialogue. Which means that Talking Back was suddenly not about Talking
Against or Being Talked To. It was about Talking With. It was a
conversation. Sometimes with strangers. Sometimes with people made
familiar with time. Sometimes with people who we know but have not
realised we know. Sometimes with the self. The power of names, the
strength of being in a conversation – to talk and also to listen is a
condition of the Political. In dialogue (as opposed to a babble) is the
genesis of being political. Because when we enter a dialogue, we are no
longer just us. We are able to detach ourselves from US and offer a
point of engagement to the person who was, till now, only outside of us.</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as concern</strong></em></p>
<p> This particular idea of the political as being concerned was a
surprise to me. I have, through discourses and practice within gender
and sexuality fields, understood affective relationships as sustaining
political concerns and subjectivities. However, I had overlooked the
fact that the very act of being concerned, what a young digital native
called ‘being burned’ about something that we notice in our immediate
(or extended) environments is already a political subjectivity
formation. To be concerned, to develop an empathetic link to the
problems that we identify, is a political act. It doesn’t always have to
take on the mantle of public action or intervention. Sometimes, just to
care enough, is enough.</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as change</strong></em></p>
<p> This is a debate that needs more conversations for me. Politics,
Knowledge, Change, Transformation – these are the four keywords (further
complicated by self-society binaries) that have strange permutations
and combination. To Know is to be political because it produces a
subjectivity that has now found a new way of thinking about itself and
how it relates to the external reality. This act of Knowing, thus
produces a change in our self. However, this change is not always a
change that leads to transformation. Knowledge for knowledge’s sake can
often be indulgent. Even when the knowledge produces a significant and
dramatic change, often this change is restricted to the self.</p>
<p> When does this knowing self, which is in a condition of change,
become a catalyst for transformation? When does this knowing-changing
translate into a transformation for the world outside of us? Just to be
in a condition of knowing does not grant the agency required for the
social transformation that we are trying to understand. Where does this
agency come from? How do we understand the genesis and dissemination of
this agency? And what are the processes of change that embody and foster
the Political?</p>
<p> <em><strong>Political as Freedom</strong></em></p>
<p> On the first thought, the imagination of Political as Freedom seemed
to obvious; commonsense and perhaps commonplace. However, I decided put
the two in an epistemological dialogue and realised that there are many
prismatic relationships I had not talked about before I was privy to
these conversations. Here is a non-exhaustive list: Political Freedom,
Politics of Freedom, Free to be Political, Political as Freedom, Freedom
as Political... is it possible to be political without the quest of
freedom? Is the freedom we achieve, at the expense of somebody else’s
Political stance? How does the business of being Political come to be?
Not Why? But How? If Digital Natives are changing the state of being
political what are they replacing? What are they inventing? Where, in
all these possibilities lies Freedom?</p>
<p> <a href="http://northeastwestsouth.net/brief-treatise-despair-meaning-or-pointlessness-everything#comment-2131"><em><strong>Political as Reticence</strong></em></a></p>
<p> We all talked about voice – whose, where, for whom, etc. It was a
given that to give voice, to have voice, to speak, to talk, to talk back
were conditions of political dialogue and subversion, of intervention
and exchange. So many of us – participants or facilitators – talked
about how to speak, what technologies of speech, how to build conditions
of interaction... and then, like the noise in an otherwise seamless
fabric of empowerment came the idea of reticence. Is it possible to be
silent and still be political? If I do not speak, is it always only
because I cannot? What about my agency to choose not to speak? As
technologies – of governance, of self, and of the social constantly
force us to produce data and information, through ledgers and censuses
and identification cards – make speech a normative way of engagement,
isn’t the right of Refusal to Speak, political?</p>
<p> Sometimes, it is necessary to exercise silence as a tool or a weapon
of political resistance. The non-speaking subject holds back and
refuses to succumb to pressures and expectations of a dominant
erstwhile, and in his/her silence, produces such a cacophony of meaning
that it asks questions that the loudest voices would not have managed to
ask.</p>
<p> <strong>The Beginning of a Start; Perhaps also the other way round</strong></p>
<p> These are my first reflections on the conversations we have had over
the two days. I feel excited, inspired, moved and exhilarated as I
carry myself on these flights of ideation, thought and
conceptualisation. It is important for me that these are questions that I
did not think of in a vacuum but in conversation and dialogue with this
varied pool of people who have spent so much of their time and effort
to not only make their work intelligible but also to reflect on the
processes by which we paint ourselves political. I have learned to
sharpen questions of the political that I came with and I have learned
to ask new questions of Digital Natives practice. I don’t have a
definition that explains the work that these Digital Natives do. But I
now have a framework of what is their understanding of the political and
what are the various points of engagement and investment.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/political'>https://cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/political</a>
</p>
No publishernishantDigital ActivismDigital NativesPoliticalYouthFeaturedCyberculturesDigital subjectivitiesWorkshop2011-08-04T10:30:51ZBlog Entry