Centre for Internet and Society

Regulating Sexist Online Harassment: A Model of Online Harassment as a Form of Censorship

amber — 2021-03-11T04:14:28Z

Amber Sinha wrote a paper on regulating sexist online harassment, and how online harassment serves as a form of censorship, for the “Recognize, Resist, Remedy: Addressing Gender-Based Hate Speech in the Online Public Sphere” project, a collaborative project between IT for Change, India and InternetLab, Brazil.

Read the full paper here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/regulating-sexist-online-harassment-a-model-of-online-harassment-as-a-form-of-censorship

Rethinking National Privacy Principles: Evaluating Principles for India's Proposed Data Protection Law

amber — 2017-09-11T02:22:01Z

This report is intended to be the first part in a series of white papers that CIS will publish which seeks to contribute to the discussions around the enactment of a privacy legislation in India. In subsequent pieces we will focus on subjects such as regulatory framework to implement, supervise and enforce privacy principles, and principles to regulate surveillance in India under a privacy law.

Edited by Elonnai Hickok and Vipul Kharbanda

This analysis intends to build on the substantial work done in the formulation of the National Privacy Principles by the Committee of Experts led by Justice AP Shah.1 This brief, hopes to evaluate the National Privacy Principles and the assertion by the Committee that right to privacy be considered a fundamental right under the Indian Constitution. The national privacy principles have been revisited in light of technological developments such as big data, Internet of Things, algorithmic decision making and artificial intelligence which are increasingly playing a greater role in the collection and processing of personal data of individuals, its analysis and decisions taken on the basis of such analysis. The solutions and principles articulated in this report are intended to provide starting points for a meaningful and nuanced discussion on how we need to rethink the privacy principles that should inform the data protection law in India.

Click to read the full blog post

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

Data for the Benefit of People

amber — 2018-12-01T04:21:32Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/data-for-the-benefit-of-people

Technical Appendix to 'Use of sentiment analysis by law enforcement: An analysis of scrutability for juridical purposes'

amber — 2020-05-03T12:43:05Z

This file contains the technical appendix to the paper titled 'Use of sentiment analysis by law enforcement: An analysis of scrutability for juridical purposes' by Dr. Hans Varghese Mathews and Amber Sinha

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/technical-appendix-to-use-of-sentiment-analysis-by-law-enforcement-an-analysis-of-scrutability-for-juridical-purposes

Unpacking Data Protection Law: A Visual Representation

amber — 2018-02-15T13:22:00Z

This visual explainer unpacking data protection law was developed by Amber Sinha (research) and Pooja Saxena (design), and published as part of the Data Privacy Week celebrations on the Privacy International blog. Join the conversation on Twitter using #dataprivacyweek.

Cross-posted from Privacy International blog.

Credits: Flag illustrations, when not created by the authors, are from Ibrandify / Freepik.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/unpacking-data-protection-law-a-visual-representation

CIS Submission to the Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India

amber — 2018-04-06T08:09:09Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/cis-submission-to-the-committee-of-experts-on-a-data-protection-framework-for-india

Programme Officer - Digital Identity

amber — 2019-03-29T11:02:42Z

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is seeking applications for the position of Programme Officer, to be associated with a two year long research project on digital identity. We may hire up to three Programme Officers as part of this project. The position is full time and will be based in the Delhi office of CIS.

To apply for this position please write to amber@cis-india.org along with a CV, two writing samples and contact details of two references. Interested candidates are invited to send their applications at the earliest - latest by April 15th.

Organisation Profile

The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is a non-profit organisation that undertakes interdisciplinary research on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. The areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, openness (including open data, free and open source software, open standards, open access, open educational resources, and open video), internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. The academic research at CIS seeks to understand the reconfiguration of social processes and structures through the internet and digital media technologies, and vice versa. Through its diverse initiatives, CIS explores, intervenes in, and advances contemporary discourse and practices around internet, technology and society in India, and elsewhere.

About Digital Identity Project

We are embarking on a two year research project on digital identity. As governments across the globe are implementing new, digital foundational identification systems or modernizing existing ID programs, there is a dire need for greater research and discussion about appropriate design choices for a digital identity framework. There is significant momentum on digital ID, especially after the adoption of UN Sustainable Development Goal 16.9, which calls for legal identity for all by 2030. Instances of emerging new digital identity schemes include national projects in Algeria, Belgium (mobile ID), Cameroon, Ecuador, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Iran, Japan, Senegal, Thailand, Turkey, major announcements in Afghanistan, Denmark, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, the Maldives, Norway, Liberia, Poland, Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Zambia and a pilot scheme in Myanmar.

The nature of choices made towards the creation of a digital identity system have significant consequences for privacy, security, inclusivity, scalability, fraud-detection capabilities and implementation costs of the framework. These choices exist in the context of a complex set of political, legal, technological, economic, and societal factors. In this project we will be looking at technical policy options and appropriate uses of a digital identity ecosystem.

The Role

Your role will require you to work closely with our team on research and policy analysis, and to engage with external researchers from whom we will commission research. Doing so will involve the following activities.

Interdisciplinary research and analysis: Literature review, policy design, detailed analysis on topics including technology design options and appropriate uses of digital identity systems;
Policy dissemination and stakeholder engagement: Supporting the Project Manager in the dissemination of research findings in innovative formats, as well as attending, planning, and executing events;
Writing op-eds, short notes, policy briefs and longer form academic writing for a range of audiences;
Presentations and formal discussions: Preparing and delivering presentations to various audiences;
Helping manage communications with stakeholders including international experts, regulators and policy makers;
Knowledge management: Staying up-to-date on developments of interest to the Initiative, and sharing and debating these with the team;
Contributing to documentary and knowledge management processes; and
Managing interns and team: Managing work outputs with our interns, and coordinating research with team members and the Project Manager.

Qualifications and Skills

We are looking for up to three professionals who may come from the following backgrounds: law, regulatory theory, public policy, economics, ethics, technology and development studies.

We are looking for candidates who can exhibit constructive problem-solving skills, sound analytical and critical thinking skills, with the ability to analyse issues from first principles and develop solutions.

This is a full-time position based out of Delhi. The position is for a duration of two years. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/jobs/programme-officer-digital-identity-2019

CIS Response to Draft E-Commerce Policy

amber — 2019-04-26T06:40:34Z

CIS is grateful for the opportunity to submit comments to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion on the draft national e-commerce policy. This response was authored by Amber Sinha, Arindrajit Basu, Elonnai Hickok and Vipul Kharbanda.

Access our response to the draft policy here: Download (PDF)

The E-Commerce Policy is a much needed and timely document that seeks to enable the growth of India's digital ecosystem. Crucially, it backs up India's stance at the WTO, which has been a robust pushback against digital trade policies that would benefit the developed world at the cost of emerging economies. However, in order to ensure that the benefits of the digital economy are truly shared, focus must not only be on the sellers but also on the consumers, which automatically brings in individual rights into the question. No right is absolute but there needs to be a fair trade-off between the mercantilist aspirations of a burgeoning digital economy and the civil and political rights of the individuals who are spurring the economy on. We also appreciate the recognition that the regulation of e-commerce must be an inter-disciplinary effort and the assertion of the roles of various other departments and ministries. However, we also caution against over-reach and encroaching into policy domains that fall within the mandate of existing laws.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/cis-response-to-draft-e-commerce-policy

Data Protection Submission

amber — 2018-04-18T16:37:05Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/data-protection-submission

Regulating Sexist Online Harassment: A Model of Online Harassment as a Form of Censorship

amber — 2021-05-31T09:39:14Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/it-for-change-february-2021-amber-sinha-regulating-sexist-online-harassment.pdf

Beyond Public Squares, Dumb Conduits, and Gatekeepers: The Need for a New Legal Metaphor for Social Media

amber — 2021-05-31T10:23:36Z

In the past few years, social networking sites have come to play a central role in intermediating the public’s access to and deliberation of information critical to a thriving democracy. In stark contrast to early utopian visions which imagined that the internet would create a more informed public, facilitate citizen-led engagement, and democratize media, what we see now is the growing association of social media platforms with political polarization and the entrenchment of racism, homophobia, and xenophobia.

There is a dire need to think of regulatory strategies that look beyond the ‘dumb conduit’ metaphors that justify safe harbor protection to social networking sites. Alongside, it is also important to critically analyze the outcomes of regulatory steps such that they do not adversely impact free speech and privacy. By surveying the potential analogies of company towns, common carriers, and editorial functions, this essay provides a blueprint for how we may envision differentiated intermediary liability rules to govern social networking sites in a responsive manner.

Introduction

Only months after Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory — a feat mired in controversy over alleged Russian interference using social media, specifically Facebook — Mark Zuckerberg remarked that his company has grown to serve a role more akin to government, rather than a corporation. Zuckerberg argued that Facebook was responsible for creating guidelines and rules that governed the exchange of ideas of over two billion people online. Another way to look at the same argument is to acknowledge that, today, a quarter of the world’s population (and of India) are subject to the laws of Facebook’s terms and conditions and privacy policies, and public discourse around the globe is shaped within the constraints and conditions they create. Social media platforms, like Facebook, wield hitherto unimaginable power to catalyze public opinions, causing a particular narrative to gather steam — that Big Tech can pose an existential threat to democracy.

This, of course, is in absolute contrast to the early utopian visions which imagined that the internet would create a more informed public, facilitate citizen-led engagement, and democratize media. Instead, what we see now is the growing association of social media platforms with political polarization and the entrenchment of racism, homophobia, and xenophobia. The regulation of social networking sites has emerged as one of the most important and complex policy problems of this time. In this essay, I will explore the inefficacy of the existing regulatory framework, and provide a blueprint for how to think of appropriate regulatory metaphors to revisit it.

Click on to read the article published by IT for Change
Download the PDF (34,328 Kb) to read the full article, pages 126 - 138.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/it-for-change-amber-sinha-beyond-public-squares-dumb-conduits-and-gatekeepers

Beyond Public Squares, Dumb Conduits, and Gatekeepers: The Need for a New Legal Metaphor for Social Media

amber — 2021-05-31T10:19:33Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/beyond-public-squares-dumb-conduits-and-gatekeepers.pdf

Amber Sinha and Pooja Saxena - The Fundamental Right to Privacy: A Visual Guide

amber — 2018-04-18T05:44:23Z

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/amber-sinha-and-pooja-saxena-the-fundamental-right-to-privacy-a-visual-guide

The Fundamental Right to Privacy - A Visual Guide

amber — 2018-02-16T05:31:37Z

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).

The Fundamental Right to Privacy - A Visual Guide: Download (PDF)

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-fundamental-right-to-privacy-a-visual-guide

A Series of Op-eds on Data Protection

amber — 2018-02-19T02:08:28Z

I wrote a short series of three op-eds for Asia Times this week.

The first article "User consent is the key to data protection in India" examines the debate around consent and the arguments made to discard it. I question the premise of big data exceptionalism, particularly in the absence of any mature governance models which address use regulation.

In the second article "Robust economic argument for a sound Indian data protection law", I examine the substance of the argument of 'innovation' as a legitimate competing interest with respect to privacy, and questionthe economic arguments made in support of innovation enabled by unregulated access to data.

In the third article "India’s data protection law needs graded enforcement mechanism", I look at the two competing arms of regulation - enforcement and compliance, and how a balance of two is need in India,with an empowered regulator and drawing from the principles from responsive regulation theory.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/a-series-of-op-eds-on-data-protection