Centre for Internet and Society

#NetNeutrality, Data Protection Laws among topics at ITechLaw Conference

praskrishna — 2016-01-30T09:21:20Z

The who’s-who of the technology law sector convened at the ITechLaw India International Conference held from January 27-29 in Bangalore.

The last three days saw panel discussions being held on a varied set of topics related to technology law. The debates were led by a number of Indian and international legal professionals from law firms, companies and policy houses.

On Day 2, some of the panel discussions included Commercialization of Data, Aggregator Model – Licensing and Regulatory Issues Faced by Shared Economy Models, Digital Underworld, and Legal Challenges faced in New Media and Entertainment, among others.

The speakers present at these sessions included lawyers like Talha Salaria, Founder of Lawyers at Work; JSA Partner Sajai Singh; Trilegal Partner Rahul Matthan; MCM Law Partner Samuel Mani, apart from a host of In-House counsel from Intel, Amazon, IBM, Cognizant et al.

The highlight of Day 3 was a debate on Net Neutrality; Deepali Liberhan from Facebook, Pranesh Prakash from Centre for Internet and Society and Rohan George from Samvad Partners were among the panelists.

For more info, click here.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/netneutrality-data-protection-laws-among-topics-at-itechlaw-conference

#NAMA: The Future of Indic Languages

praskrishna — 2014-07-24T07:40:36Z

Medianama is hosting an open house session on "The Digital Future of Indic Languages" at the Oberoi in Bangalore on Thursday, July 24, 2014. The event will begin at 4.30pm and be followed by cocktails and dinner. Subhashish Panigrahi will participate in the event.

The following will be discussed in the event:

Growth of consumption of content in Indic languages in India.
Impact of mobile on Indic languages consumption.
Challenges of discovery of Indic language content: role of social and search.
Defining standards and the role of tools and translation.
Driving user generated Indic language content creation.
Video versus Text in Indic languages.
The role of government policy in supporting Indic language content.
The role of mobile devices and touch screens.
Beyond content: service delivery in Indic languages.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/nama-the-future-of-indic-languages

"Whatever happened to Privacy?" - International Activism Conference

praskrishna — 2014-02-03T05:56:27Z

Maria Xynou gave a keynote speech and participated as a panelist on the "Suspect Societies" panel. The event was organized by Heinrich Boell Foundation in Berlin on December 5 and 6, 2013.

"Whatever happened to privacy" brought together international activists on focal topics and combined bar camp style work sessions and political round tables with a classic public event, It focussed on an issue which has far reaching consequences for politically active people across the world - the issue of privacy and surveillance. The revelations around the NSA and GCHQ as well as other countries secret service digital surveillance activities have spurred political debate. This debate was intensified at "Whatever happened to Privacy?" formulating political demands, developing action strategies and debating questions such as:

What cultural and political value does privacy have today?
What are the societal implications of the wide spread "I have nothing to hide" attitude?
What political actions are necessary to protect citizens from mass surveillance and what tools exist for people to secure their communications, movements and lives?

For video and more info, click here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/whatever-happened-to-privacy

"Privacy matters"

praskrishna — 2011-04-04T07:20:22Z

Privacy India invites individuals to attend the second "Privacy matters" conference, a one-day event on the 5th February 2011 at the TERI Southern Regional Centre, Bangalore. Privacy India, Society in Action Group, and the Centre for Internet & Society have joined hands to organize the event.

The “Privacy matters” conference will focus on discussing the challenges to privacy that India is currently facing. The right to privacy in India has been a neglected area of study and engagement. Although sectoral legislation deals with privacy issues, e.g., the TRAI Act for telephony or RBI guidelines for banking, India does not as yet have a horizontal legislation that deals comprehensively with privacy across all contexts. This lack of uniformity has led to ironically imbalanced results. In India today one has a stronger right to privacy over telephone records than over one’s own medical records. The absence of a minimum guarantee of privacy is felt most heavily by marginalized communities, including HIV patients, children, women, sexuality minorities, prisoners, etc. – people who most need to know that sensitive information is protected.

The emergence of information and communications technologies over the past two decades has radically transformed the speed and costs of access to information. However, this enhanced climate of access to information has been a mixed blessing. Whilst augmenting our access to knowledge, this new networked information economy has also now made it much easier, quicker, and cheaper to gain access to intimate personal information about individuals than ever before. As people expose more and more of their lives to others through the use of social networks, reliance on mobile phones, global trade, etc., there has emerged a heightened risk of privacy violations in India. As privacy continues to be a growing concern for individuals, nations, and the international community, it is critical that India understands and addresses the questions, challenges, implications and dilemmas that violations of privacy pose.

Who We Are

Privacy India was set up in collaboration with The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), Bangalore and Society in Action Group (SAG), under the auspices of the international organization ‘Privacy International.’ Privacy International is a non-profit group that provides assistance to civil society groups, governments, international and regional bodies, the media and the public in a number of countries (see www.privacyinternational.org). Its Advisory Board is made up of distinguished intellectuals, academicians, thinkers and activists such as Noam Chomsky, the late Harold Pinter, and others, and it has collaborated with organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

'Privacy Matters' conference agenda

February 5th, 2011 --- 10:30 am - 4:30pm

TERI Southern Regional Centre

4th Main, Domlur II Stage
Bangalore - 560 071

Time	Item
10:30 -10:45	Welcome Address Who is PI and what are our objectives Why is privacy important in India Prashant Iyengar (Lead Researcher at Privacy India)
10:45-11:15	Keynote: Ashish Rajadhyaksha (Senior Fellow, Centre for the Study of Culture & Society)
11:15-11:30	Tea Break
11:30 –12:30	Session I: Privacy and Open Government Data Property Rights, Privacy, and Open Government Data: Zainab Bawa (CIS-RAW Fellow)
12:30 – 1:30	Session II: Privacy Rights and Minorities Privacy Rights of Sexualality Minorities: Arvind Narrain (Alternative Law Forum) Now you see her, now you don’t - Issues of sex workers and questions around privacy: Shubha Chacko (Sangama) The UID and Refugees: Sahana Basavapatna
1:30 – 2:30	Lunch
2:30 – 3:00	Session III: Identity and Privacy Malavika Jarayam (Jayaram & Jayaram) Hamish Fraser (Partner at Truman Hoyle, Sydney Australia) Michael Whitener (Principal and co-founder of VistaLaw International LLC)
3:00-3:30	Session IV: Privacy and the Media/Social Networking Privacy and Social Networking: Ujjvala Ballal (Inclusive Planet) Privacy Issues in Social Networking Websites: Gagan K. (NLSIU law student)
3:30 – 3:45	Tea break
3:45 – 4:30	Session V: Open discussion and opinion sharing

RSVP:

prashant@privacyindia.org
elonnai@privacyindia.org

Download the poster here

VIDEOS

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/events/privacy-conferencefeb5

"Decoding the Digital"- Winter School at IIIT Bangalore

praskrishna — 2016-12-17T01:39:20Z

The Centre for IT and Public Policy at IIIT Bangalore organized a winter school from December 12 to 14, 2016 at the IIIT campus on Decoding the Digital, where the theme for the same was Smart Cities and Social Media. Vanya Rakesh participated in it.

The event involved lectures, interactive discussions, film screenings and group activities on topics ranging from smart communities, smart phones, intelligent transportation, big data, privacy, surveillance, etc. For more inflo, click here

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/decoding-the-digital-winter-school-at-iiit-bangalore

"ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಜೊತೆ ಜೊತೆಗೆ..."

praskrishna — 2012-01-16T03:59:59Z

ನಾನು ಏನಾದರು ಮಾಡಬೇಕು ಎಂದುಕೊಂಡರೆ ಸಾಲದು, ಬನ್ನಿ, ಕಾರ್ಯೋನ್ಮುಖರಾಗಿ...

ಮೊದಲ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ

ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಳ್ಳುವ ಆಸೆಯೇ?

ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗನಲ್ಲೂ ಕನ್ನಡಕ್ಕೆ ದುಡಿಯುವ ಬಲವಾದ ಆಸೆಯಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಕ್ಷರ ಕಲಿಯುವ ದೆಸೆಯಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು, ದುಡಿದು ದೊಡ್ಡವನಾಗುವವರೆಗೂ ಹೇಗೆ ತನ್ನ ಆಸೆಯನ್ನು ಈಡೇರಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದೆಂಬ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸುಳಿಯುತ್ತಲೇ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಮಾಹಿತಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದಲ್ಲಂತೂ, ಅದನ್ನು ಬಳಸುವ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯನಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು, ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಜೊತೆಗೇ ದಿನದೂಡುವ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞನವರೆಗೂ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಕನ್ನಡ ಬಳಸುವ ಮತ್ತು ಬೆಳೆಸುವ ಆಸೆ ಖಂಡಿತ ಇರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಂತಹ ಆಸೆಗಳನ್ನು ಮತ್ತೆ ಚಿಗುರಿಸಿ, ಮಾಹಿತಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಬಳಕೆದಾರನ ದಿನನಿತ್ಯದ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಉತ್ತರಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಕನ್ನಡದ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ನಾಂದಿಯಾಗಲು ನಾವು ಇಡಬೇಕಾದ ‘ಹೆಜ್ಜೆಗಳು” ಅನೇಕ.

ದೈನಂದಿನ ಬದುಕಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ಮುಖೇನ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೇ ವ್ಯವಹರಿಸಬಹುದೇ? ಕನ್ನಡದ ತಾಂತ್ರಿಕ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯ? ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ತಮ್ಮನ್ನು ತಾವು ತೊಡಗಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಬಗೆ ಹೇಗೆ? ಕನ್ನಡ ಭಾಷಾ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಯ ತೊಡಕುಗಳ ನಿವಾರಣೆ ಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ? ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶಗಳು ನಡೆಯಬೇಕಿರುವ ಹಾದಿಯ ಕಿರು ಪರಿಚಯ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಗಬಹುದು? ಇದಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಸಮುದಾಯವಿದೆಯೇ? ಈ ಸಮುದಾಯ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ದಿಯ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಏನು? ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತರ ಕಂಡುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಸಲುವಾಗಿ ‘ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ’ ರೂಪಿತಗೊಂಡಿದೆ.

ಮಾಹಿತಿ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನದ ವಿವಿಧ ಸ್ತರಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಬೆಳವಣಿಗೆಗೆ ಬೇಕಾದ ವಿಷಯಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಅನುಭವಿ ತಜ್ಞರು, ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞರು ತಮ್ಮ ಅನುಭವವನ್ನು ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದರ ಮೂಲಕ ಪ್ರಾರಂಭವಾಗುವ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ, ಮೇಲೆ ಹೇಳಿದ ಅನೇಕ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತರವನ್ನು ಪಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ‘ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ’ಗಳ ಹಾದಿಯನ್ನು ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮುಂದೆ ತೆರೆಯಲಿದೆ.

ಬನ್ನಿ ನಮ್ಮೊಡನೆ ಜೊತೆಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ ಹೆಜ್ಜೆ ಹಾಕಿ, ನಿಮ್ಮ ಬರುವಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಇಂದೇ ಕಾಯ್ದಿರಿಸಿ.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/c95ca8ccdca8ca1-caeca4ccdca4cc1-ca4c82ca4ccdcb0c9cccdc9ecbeca8ca6-c9cca4cc6-c9cca4cc6c97cc6...

"All Indian Enterprises should Be Very Worried": Centre for Internet and Society

praskrishna — 2013-02-28T09:21:32Z

This blog post by Shubhra Rishi was published in Computer World on February 25, 2013. Pranesh Prakash is quoted.

The chairman of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM) is having a Barbara Streisand moment.

The American entertainer Barbra Streisand, in 2003, attempted to suppress photographs of her residence, involuntarily and indirectly fuelling further publicity. Arindam Chaudhuri’s order from a Gwalior Court has unfortunately resulted in more or less the same.

The DoT’s CERT team has successfully censored more than 70 URLs that didn’t particularly contain praises of IIPM. Amusingly, a URL containing a public notice issued by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in July 2012 was also blocked. The UGC notice said that IIPM cannot be recognized as a university according to the provisions of a particular section.

So while this issue has managed to hold our attention, it has also fervently highlighted the misappropriation of section 69 of India’s Information Technology (IT) Act 2000. According to this act, if the Director of Controller is satisfied that it is necessary or expedient so, he/she may order or direct any agency of the Government to intercept any information transmitted through any computer resource.

In short, intercepting or blocking is counter-productive in today’s scenario and is often seen as a direct infringement of people’s online freedom. “The Constitution of India does not put so many restrictions on the freedom of speech and expression that IT Act puts under a particular section,” says cyber law expert, Pavan Duggal.

Legal experts are also of the opinion that several provisions of the IT Act are unconstitutional. “It does not have built-in safeguards, especially transparency-related ones, around surveillance and censorship. Censorship in India, especially under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011, is completely opaque and results in invisible censorship, meaning that we don't even get to find out that censorship has happened and thus cannot challenge it,” says Pranesh Prakash, policy director, Centre for Internet and Society.

In the past, independent activists such as Binayak Sen, Assem Trivedi, and Arundhati Roy, or even commoners such as Shaheen Dhadha have come under fire of the said Act.

Frankly, if this loophole in the IT Act is not addressed, even Indian corporations could face a similar problem.

“I believe all intermediaries (websites that host user content, and networks that carry user traffic among others) are threatened now. Their executives can be dragged to court without any protection; thanks to the broad wording of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2011, despite the IT Act itself granting them some protections. This is dangerous, and all Indian enterprises should be very worried,” says Prakash.

CorporateIndiawill have to tighten its belts. Despite the fact that the entire IT Act needs to be overhauled and employees need to be sensitized, currently, the first thing that corporate India needs to do is ensure that its operations in electronic format comply with the IT Act and its rules. “There's a lack of awareness about compliances in the corporate sector. Any kind of “jugaad” may not help a company get out of a potential exposure under the IT Act. An effective implementation of these compliances will relieve companies of the IT Act’s potential liabilities, both civil and criminal,” advises Duggal.

So the Streisand effect in the IIPM case will slowly wear off, but the potential threat of the IT Act will continue to haunt enterprises.

For more details visit https://cis-india.org/news/computer-world-india-feature-shubra-rishi-feb-25-2013-all-indian-enterprises-should-be-very-worried