Blogposts

Deep dive : How the intermediaries rules are anti-democratic and unconstitutional.

An overview of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the “safeguards” it seeks to establish, how they affect your internet usage experience, and your fundamental rights.

27 February, 2021

14 min read

Latest Draft Intermediary Rules: Fixing big tech, by breaking our digital rights?

Everything that has happened and is happening with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

25 February, 2021

13 min read

Anushka Jain,

Devdutta Mukhopadhyay,

MHA's new programme allows volunteers to report "anti-national" online content for removal

A new programme allows citizens to register themselves as "unlawful content flaggers" to report online content for removal. Mindful of the chilling effect this could have on free speech on the internet, we wrote to the MHA highlighting our concerns related to the programme.

23 February, 2021

5 min read

Anushka Jain

internet shutdowns

The Rajasthan Government Must Fix Its Internet Shutdown Problem #KeepItOn

We wrote to the Rajasthan Government expressing concerns about unauthorised government officials imposing internet shutdowns and lack of periodic review and proactive publication of internet shutdown orders.

23 February, 2021

5 min read

Devdutta Mukhopadhyay

IFF Explainer

DNA Bill : On democratic processes and dystopian outcomes #IFFExplainer #SaveOurPrivacy

The Standing Committee on Science and Technology recently submitted its report on the DNA Bill. Several concerns have been raised over the report, with two Committee members filing dissent notes. We decided to provide an explainer that breaks down the key issues with both the report and the Bill.

18 February, 2021

10 min read

Rohin Garg

ITRules

The Times Are A-Changing: Ensuring IT Act amendments are progressive

Given recent media reports and parlimentary responses, we wrote to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asking them to publicly detail any potential amendments to the Information Technology Act, 2000 and engage in extensive consultations over the changes.

16 February, 2021

3 min read

Rohin Garg

accesstointernet

The PM-WANI Scheme: An Explainer

The PM-WANI scheme aims to increase internet connectivity across the country by implementing a decentralised system of public access points. We created an explainer in which we discuss how, while a step towards the right direction, the scheme faces both foundational and implementational challenges.

10 February, 2021

6 min read

Rohin Garg

Project Panoptic

The Increasing Use of Facial Recognition Technology in India

In a letter to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, we relay our concerns to them and ask them to call relevant stakeholders such as ministry officials and privacy experts to depose before them.

09 February, 2021

3 min read

Anushka Jain

Government censorship and the dire need for transparency

Recent events regarding the blocking of pro farmer protests Twitter accounts reek of government censorship. Furthermore, the process by which MEITY initiated the blocks is excessively opaque. We wrote to the Ministry asking them to make the orders publicly available so as to increase transparency.

Statement on long overdue 4G mobile internet restoration in Jammu & Kashmir after 550 days #KeepItOn

No citizen of a democracy should have to suffer through what the people of Jammu & Kashmir experienced and we will keep pushing for broader internet shutdown reform.

06 February, 2021

5 min read

Devdutta Mukhopadhyay

Blogposts

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