Transfer petitions filed by the Union of India, in respect of challenges across High Courts to the IT Rules, 2021 were heard. The Supreme Court stayed proceedings in the IT Rules challenges before HCs, but not on any orders passed by the HCs in these IT Rules challenges
Indian law requires governments to be reviewed by a committee of high-level government officials. We have written to the Chairperson of the Review Committee, i.e. the Chief Justice of Rajasthan urging greater scrutiny of shutdown orders.
To have an informed debate about the legal e-surveillance regime and practices in India, we filed RTI Applications seeking related information in 2018. We have not received this information till date, but we will continue to pursue it.
Mr Tanul Thakur is the creator of the satirical website dowrycalculator.com. In 2018, the Union Government blocked the website without granting him a hearing or providing a copy of the order. Mr Thakur has challenged the blocking order.
News publishers were sent notices under the IT Rules, even after major parts of the IT Rules were stayed. The MIB said that news publishers have only offered this information “voluntarily”, i.e. that there is no compulsion to respond to them.
To assist challenges to IT Rules, we reached out to Oxford Pro Bono Publico (OPBP) - a research centre at the Oxford University, requesting research on laws in other countries on social media platforms, digital news media and OTT platforms. OPBP has published their research report in December 2021.
At a hearing dated January 31, 2022, IFF's intervention application challenging the Telecom Suspension Rules, 2017 has been allowed by the Gauhati High Court, and IFF has been impleaded in the case. IFF is now allowed to assist the Court with oral and written submissions in the proceedings.
IFF filed an RTI Application to find out whether the MIB has issued notices for information to news publishers, and to which publishers. The MIB has admitted that it has indeed issued two such notices, and that more than two thousand publishers have responded to these notices!
As a digital liberties organisation, IFF’s mission statement is to ensure that Indian citizens can use the internet with liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. To that end, we engage in strategic litigation to defend the rights of the litigants that approach us and make incremental changes in society. In
Delhi High Court directs CIC to decide IFF's appeals which seek statistical data regarding the surveillance orders under Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.