Blogposts

#LetUsChill: Confusion and Opacity over OTT guidelines

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting may be considering regulating online content on Over-The-Top (OTT) platforms. We wrote a letter to the Ministry, in which we detailed potential harms, asked for clarity, and requested a thorough implementation of the pre-legislative consultation policy.

04 February, 2021

3 min read

Rohin Garg

accesstointernet

Mixed signals: Observations on the 2021-22 Budget

Budget 2021-22 is a mixed bag. Though it contains praiseworthy allocations towards programs such as Digital India and the USOF and provides a stimulus to R&D, allocations towards the PMGDISHA remain low, while concerns remain that signficant capital expenditure may not take place.

02 February, 2021

7 min read

Rohin Garg

internet shutdowns

Joint statement against internet shutdowns to suppress farmers' protests #KeepItOn

IFF along with FSMI and SFLC.in raises alarm about the use of internet shutdowns to undermine the fundamental right to peaceful protest. Such internet shutdowns will only increase the risk of violence and misinformation and they cannot be considered necessary or proportionate.

01 February, 2021

4 min read

Devdutta Mukhopadhyay

accesstointernet

Is internet access not a basic necessity? Should our privacy not be safeguarded in health and education?

While the emphasis laid on improving access and equity is commendable, there are certain concerns that the Economic Survey must address. These include questions raised about the commercialisation of healthcare and the viability of remote learning, as well as the overarching data paradigm.

30 January, 2021

5 min read

Rohin Garg

Data Protection

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

Read more about RTI work for the month of January, 2021.

28 January, 2021

4 min read

Anushka Jain

STI policy

STI policy needs more innovation!

Along with Civic Data Lab, we have submitted our comments on the Draft 5th National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy. In our comments, we highlighted several issues: the need to expand STI capacity by increasing R&D spending, improving inclusion and access, and promoting open science.

27 January, 2021

4 min read

Rohin Garg

Protect Trans Rights Now! Portal Leakages Must Be Addressed.

Last year, we had received a complaint that the National Portal for Transgender Persons contained several vulnerabilities that could be exploited to access the sensitive personal data contained within. While some of these issues were addressed, certain concerns about the portal's security remain.

A rose by any other name? CBSE's face matching technology is just facial recognition in disguise

Read our representation to CBSE highlighting the concerns that come along with the use of facial recognition technology which they have put in place for accessing digital documents.

21 January, 2021

4 min read

Anushka Jain

aarogyasetu

Delhi HC issues notice to govt in petition challenging denial of RTI regarding Aarogya Setu #SaveOurPrivacy

Today, the Delhi HC issued notice to the CPIOs of DeitY, MeitY, NeGD and NIC in a petition filed by RTI activist, Saurav Das, challenging denial of information relating to the creation of the Aarogya Setu app.

19 January, 2021

4 min read

Devdutta Mukhopadhyay

An Explainer on the Unique Health Identifier rules, 2021

Given that the proposed health IDs are to be used in the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, we thought we would create an explainer on the the Unique Health Identifier Rules, 2021. This explainer is our initial attempt at an analysis, through which we hope to start a public discussion on the issue.

19 January, 2021

7 min read

Rohin Garg

Blogposts

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