Blogposts

66A

We write to the Supreme Court e-Committee with CDL to improve the eCourts platform

We write to Supreme Court e-Committee highlighting the difficulties we faced on eCourt platform while building the Zombie Tracker. We have also provided our recommendations which seek to enable others to conduct data-driven research of judicial trends.
12 May, 2021
5 min read
Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
DataProtectionTop10

#DataProtectionTop10: Exceptions to Consent - A Torn Safety Net

In part 3 of the #DataProtectionTop10 series, we look into various issues regarding the consent provisions for the processing of the personal data under the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.
11 May, 2021
7 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg
COWIN

Joint Statement: Ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and health care resources

> > > > India is in a crisis. As people across the country battle the second wave of COVID-19, ensuring equitable, fast and easy access to healthcare, medicines and the vaccines is critical. The undersigned organizations and persons call on the Central Government, State Governments, Health Secretaries of the Union and the States, and the District Magistrates to ensure that the vaccination process focuses on increasing reach and accessibility, that there are no onerous ID requirements, inclu
11 May, 2021
5 min read
IFF Public Policy TeamIFF Public Policy Team
freespeech

Indore administration curbs speech on social media

Indore administration issued an over-broad order under Section 144(1) CrPC, 1973 banning speech related to Covid-19 on social media platforms. We have filed an application before the Collector, Indore seeking withdrawal of the Order.
10 May, 2021
6 min read
Krishnesh BapatKrishnesh Bapat
accesstointernet

MEITY responds to our representation to unblock Twitter accounts. Confirms orders and denies disclosure.

In February, we had written to MeitY with regards to the blocking of Twitter accounts. MeitY responded to us recently, saying that they did nothing wrong. We have written back to the Ministry this week explaining how they are constitutionally required to disclose the blocking orders.
10 May, 2021
5 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg & Tanmay SinghTanmay Singh
algorithmic bias

#StandWithFarmers: Joint Letter by 55 Groups | Hold the Agriculture Ministry and Microsoft India Accountable

The government recently announced that Microsoft would be conducting a pilot for the Agristack. Along with several other organisations, we wrote to the Union Minister for Agriculture, asking for further consultations, highlighting the need for statutory backing, and demanding greater transparency.
06 May, 2021
7 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg
RTI

Digital Transparency: A Right to Information Report for April, 2021

Since our last report in the month of March, IFF has filed 7 RTI requests. Here, we give you an overview of the requests filed and why demanding transparency from government authorities is one of the key elements in our fight to protect digital rights which has taken a hit in the lockdown.
05 May, 2021
3 min read
Anushka JainAnushka Jain
PDPB

#DataProtectionTop10: Lost in Muddled Objectives

This is a new series on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 to deal exclusively with the issues and pathways for reform under the Bill. In this post we look at the objective and the Preamble of the Bill, and guage whether the bill serve ordinary Indians or the government and large corporations.
04 May, 2021
6 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg
facial recognition

Facial Recognition Laws in the United States #ProjectPanoptic

In the first part of our new series on FRT regulation around the world, we will take a look at what are the existing laws regulating FRT in the United States, how they developed and where regulation is headed.
03 May, 2021
6 min read
Anushka JainAnushka Jain
aadhaar

Bad Rules for Good Governance

We explain why the Aadhaar Good Governances Rules are unconstitutional as they exceed the limits of the Aadhaar Act, violate the Puttaswamy judgement and proportionality test, and are vague and non-voluntary. We have petitioned the Committees on Subordinate Legislation to review the Rules.
27 April, 2021
7 min read
Rohin GargRohin Garg

Donate to IFF

Help IFF scale up by making a donation for digital rights. Really, when it comes to free speech online, digital privacy, net neutrality and innovation — we got your back!