Blogposts

internet shutdowns
Featured

Internet shutdown in Meghalaya without suspension order!

Since August 15, 2021, internet services have been suspended in four districts of Meghalaya due to ongoing civil unrest. We wrote to the Meghalaya government to publish all orders related to the current internet shutdowns as well as proactively publish any subsequent internet shutdown orders.
19 August, 2021
5 min read
YashaswiniYashaswini
Parliament
Featured

Monsoon Session 2021: A Digital Rights Review

The Monsoon session of Parliament saw frequent disruptions of big issues such as the Pegasus attacks and the farm reforms. In this post, we take a look at these disruptions, and analyse how the Parliament fared with respect to digital rights. Unfortunately there was not much progress.
18 August, 2021
6 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg
IFF Explainer
Featured

Bombay High Court stays the operation of Rule 9(1) and Rule 9(3) of IT Rules, 2021

The Court found these rules, which prescribed a Code of Ethics and a 3-tier grievance redressal mechanism, to be prima facie violative of Article 19(1)(a) and beyond the rule-making power conferred by the Parliament on the Government.
17 August, 2021
6 min read
Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
Supreme Court
Featured

MEITY filed a limited affidavit in Supreme Court without confirming or denying if the Government used Pegasus

The Government has filed a limited affidavit before the SC which proposes to constitute a Committee of Experts but does not categorically comment on whether the government used the Pegasus Spyware. The SC has heard submissions on the limited affidavit and has listed the case for 17.08.2021.
16 August, 2021
4 min read
Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
Project Panoptic
Featured

We wrote to the Govt. of Meghalaya against the use of FRT for verification of pensioner's identities

We provided support to Mr. Jade Jeremiah Lyngdoh, a law student, in drafting a letter to the Govt. of Meghalaya in which we highlighted the possible privacy concerns of using FRT to verification of pensioners' identity.
16 August, 2021
3 min read
Anushka JainAnushka Jain
Surveillance
Featured

The Arsenal Reports: The rise of targeted surveillance in India

The reports by Arsenal Consulting show that some of the BK-16 were surveilled and incriminating documents planted on their computers. We analyse what this means for the rise of targeted surveillance in India in light of the recent Pegasus revelations.
12 August, 2021
6 min read
Anushka JainAnushka Jain
ITRules
Featured

The Government again seeks time to respond to Mr T.M. Krishna’s petition

In proceedings instituted by Mr TM Krishna, challenging the validity of IT Rules, 2021, the Madras High Court directed the government to explain why appropirate action should not be taken against those responsible for the delay in their filing. The case is now listed for 13th August 2021.
11 August, 2021
4 min read
Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
Net Neutrality
Featured

BSNL is injecting code on to your browsers, and here's what it does. #SaveTheInternet

We wrote to BSNL about the code injections that continue to persist on their network. In our representation, we highlighted the inadequacy of their past responses to our earlier representations and RTIs, and outlined some key questions that need to be addressed by BSNL.
09 August, 2021
5 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg
Access to Information
Featured

"Information sought is not available”: MHA claims to have destroyed all records when asked total number of Surveillance orders

In response to IFF's RTI applications seeking data on the electronic surveillance authorised by the government, the MHA initially refused the information on the grounds of national security and now claims that it cannot provide the information because it simply does not have it.
06 August, 2021
4 min read
YashaswiniYashaswini, Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat & Tanmay SinghTanmay Singh
cybersec charcha
Featured

#4 Cybersec Charcha: A Global overview of the state of surveillance after the pegasus revelations

Your monthly round-up of all things cybersecurity! This edition of Cybersec Charcha focuses on spyware, the Pegasus Project reports and the booming surveillance industry.
05 August, 2021
5 min read
Shivani SinghShivani Singh

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