Centre for Internet and Society

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The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) India 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, internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. Through its diverse initiatives, CIS explores, intervenes in, and advances contemporary discourse and practices around internet, technology and society in India and elsewhere.

To support #KeepUsOnline CIS has authored a report that analyses the legal frameworks governing Internet shutdowns in various countries like India, Turkey, Pakistan, Gambia and Brazil. According to the paper, most countries which impose Internet shutdowns upon their citizens either do not have any legal backing for doing so or under law. Most of these network disruptions are implemented under broad and vague statutes.

Their research also indicates that in countries that impose Internet shutdowns, the telecom services are either state-owned or the state imposes licence conditions on private telecom operators. Such structures make network shutdowns easier. The paper makes an initial recommendation that there needs to be a globally accepted standard for circumstances that requires a government to shut down the Internet (including even if such an event may be permitted) including the norms to be used to determine the mode, extent, and duration for which the shutdown is to last.

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