Digital Transparency: A Right to Information Report for September, 2021
In September, IFF filed IFF has filed 26 RTI requests and 3 First Appeals with various public authorities to uncover vital information on issues of public interest.
transparency
The case of the missing consultation response: Missing submissions to the Agristack consultations
Responses to our RTIs indicate that submissions from some organisations on the Agristack consultation paper were not received. Together with the AIKS, we wrote to the Agristack Working Group and the DACFW, re-submitting our suggestions and asking why they were not received in the first place.
MeitY blocks information about Actor Sushant Singh’s account takedown
Twitter unilaterally and arbitrarily suspended the account of Sushant Singh (@sushant_says) twice, i.e. on February 1 and May 26, 2021. We helped him file RTI requests with the Meity, DoT and MHA. Meity invoked the 2009 Blocking Rules and the RTI Act to deny information to Mr. Singh.
Pegasus: Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Shatakshi and other journalists approach SC
Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Shatakshi, activists reporting on issues related to Adivasi people in Jharkhand, approached the SC asking to declare that the use of a spyware such as Pegasus is unconstitutional. IFF has provided legal assistance.
Digital Transparency: A Right to Information Report for July, 2021
Since our last report for the month of June, IFF has filed 29 RTI requests, 3 First Appeals and 3 Second Appeals. Here, we give you an overview of the requests filed and why demanding transparency and accountability from Government authorities is important.
Big Tech releases its transparency reports in compliance with the IT Rules: Here’s what we found
Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter have released their transparency reports in compliance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (the 2021 IT Rules).
Digital Transparency: A Right to Information Report for June, 2021
Since our last report for the month of May, IFF has filed 18 RTI requests, 2 First Appeals and 1 Second Appeal. Here, we give you an overview of the requests filed and why demanding transparency and accountability from Government authorities essential in our fight to protect digital rights.
Striking the balance between privacy and public interest in judicial proceedings: Our comments to the Supreme Court’s Draft Live Streaming Rules
Draft Model Rules for Live-Streaming and Recording of Court Proceedings were released by the Supreme Court’s e-Committee. IFF submitted its comments to the Draft Rules welcoming the Rules, and suggesting that the Rules can strike a better balance between privacy and public interest.
Twitter must apply its own policies transparently and consistently when suspending users’ accounts
Twitter unilaterally and arbitrarily suspended the account of Sushant Singh (@sushant_says) twice. He sent a formal representation to Twitter highlighting issues with Twitter’s policies and actions, relating to transparency, free expression and consistency, and urged an open dialogue on its policy.
Live and let Live: The Supreme Court releases draft rules for live streaming of court proceedings
The e-Committee has released draft rules for live streaming of all proceedings in all courts. We strongly welcome this step, and offer small changes which can further improve the Rules.