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Tejasi Panjiar

Tejasi Panjiar

Digital censorship in Punjab: internet shutdowns and account suspensions

Internet services in Punjab were shut down from March 18 till March 21 (in some districts till March 24). Reportedly, around 120 twitter accounts were suspended/ withheld. We wrote to the Punjab government and MeitY raising concerns about the internet shutdown and withheld accounts, respectively.
31 March, 2023
4 min read

Climb off the mandatory activation TRAIn

In this post, we analyse the 40 comments submitted in response to TRAI's consultation paper titled ‘Consultation Paper on Introduction of Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) in Telecommunication Networks’, highlighting privacy concerns, especially in the absence of a data protection law.
28 March, 2023
6 min read

A Silver Lining? We wrote to the Rajya Sabha Committee ahead of its consideration of the IT Rules, 2021

The Rajya Sabha Committee on Subordinate Legislation is meeting on March 27, 2023, to consider the IT Rules, 2021 and its subsequent amendments. We wrote to them expressing our gratitude for their consideration of the Rules, while citing our concerns as well as the impact on online free speech.
27 March, 2023
5 min read

Our comments on Draft 2.0 of the UNESCO Guidelines on Regulating Digital Platforms

We submitted our comments on draft 2.0 of the UNESCO Guidelines on Regulating Digital Platforms (“Guidelines”) on March 08, 2023. Having participated in the consultation for draft 1.1 of the Guidelines, we built upon our existing comments and inserted additional analysis.
13 March, 2023
4 min read

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC): An Explainer

‘Open Network for Digital Commerce’ (ONDC) is a government backed, network-centric, technology infrastructure. In this explainer we expand on what ONDC is, how it works, what the stated promises and potential challenges are, especially regarding ONDC's capability to address market issues.
10 March, 2023
9 min read

Censorship, Surveys, and Seizures: Developments around the BBC Documentary

The MIB banned re-sharing & uploading of links of the BBC Documentary using emergency powers under the IT Rules, 2021. The Income Tax Department carried out 3 day long survey operations at the BBC India offices in Delhi & Mumbai. We elaborate on our concerns with these actions in this post.
03 March, 2023
7 min read

#5 questions to ask the Grievance Appellate Committee

The three Grievance Appellate Committee(s) (GAC), constituted under the notified IT Amendment Rules, 2022, become functional today, i.e. March 01, 2023. As part of our series #5Questions, this post covers 5 questions that are worth raising with the GAC.
01 March, 2023
6 min read

Standing Committee on IT highlights lack of action taken by the Government and reiterates it recommendations on internet shutdowns

In our letter to the Standing Committee on IT, we note with appreciation the recommendations, made in its 37th Action Taken report, of bringing the issue of internet shutdowns to the forefront and recommending concrete steps to address it.
28 February, 2023
6 min read

Many mysteries of 'Digital India Bill'

This post is dedicated towards throwing some light on the much talked, heard, and discussed about ‘Digital India Bill’ (DIB), which strangely hasn’t even seen the light of the day yet.
20 February, 2023
9 min read

MeitY’s merry go round: Statement on blocking and unblocking(?) of apps by MeitY

MeitY has reportedly issued orders to block over 230 applications/ platforms, after receiving instructions from the Ministry of Home Affairs. MeitY hasn't yet furnished an official reasoning and justification for it. Read our full statement here.
10 February, 2023
6 min read

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