The Centre for Internet and Society
http://editors.cis-india.org
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Joining the Dots in India's Big-Ticket Mobile Phone Patent Litigation (Updated)
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/joining-the-dots-in-indias-big-ticket-mobile-phone-patent-litigation
<b>An analysis of the significant commonalities and differences in various big-ticket lawsuits in India over the alleged infringement of mobile device patents. </b>
<p>This blog post has been merged with <a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/compilation-of-mobile-phone-patent-litigation-cases-in-india">another on the same topic</a> and published as a paper. The paper was last updated in October 2017.</p>
<h3><strong><a class="external-link" href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3120364">View paper on SSRN.</a></strong></h3>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/joining-the-dots-in-indias-big-ticket-mobile-phone-patent-litigation'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/joining-the-dots-in-indias-big-ticket-mobile-phone-patent-litigation</a>
</p>
No publisherrohiniFeaturedAccess to KnowledgePervasive Technologies2018-05-06T03:51:49ZBlog EntryInvisible Censorship: How the Government Censors Without Being Seen
http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/invisible-censorship
<b>The Indian government wants to censor the Internet without being seen to be censoring the Internet. This article by Pranesh Prakash shows how the government has been able to achieve this through the Information Technology Act and the Intermediary Guidelines Rules it passed in April 2011. It now wants methods of censorship that leave even fewer traces, which is why Mr. Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology talks of Internet 'self-regulation', and has brought about an amendment of the Copyright Act that requires instant removal of content.</b>
<h2>Power of the Internet and Freedom of Expression</h2>
<p>The Internet, as anyone who has ever experienced the wonder of going online would know, is a very different communications platform from any that has existed before. It is the one medium where anybody can directly share their thoughts with billions of other people in an instant. People who would never have any chance of being published in a newspaper now have the opportunity to have a blog and provide their thoughts to the world. This also means that thoughts that many newspapers would decide not to publish can be published online since the Web does not, and more importantly cannot, have any editors to filter content. For many dictatorships, the right of people to freely express their thoughts is something that must be heavily regulated. Unfortunately, we are now faced with the situation where some democratic countries are also trying to do so by censoring the Internet.</p>
<h2>Intermediary Guidelines Rules</h2>
<p>In India, the new <a class="external-link" href="http://www.mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/GSR314E_10511%281%29.pdf">'Intermediary Guidelines' Rules</a> and the <a class="external-link" href="http://mit.gov.in/sites/upload_files/dit/files/GSR315E_10511%281%29.pdf">Cyber Cafe Rules</a> that have been in effect since April 2011 give not only the government, but all citizens of India, great powers to censor the Internet. These rules, which were made by the Department of Information Technology and not by the Parliament, require that all intermediaries remove content that is 'disparaging', 'relating to... gambling', 'harm minors in any way', to which the user 'does not have rights'. When was the last time you checked wither you had 'rights' to a joke before forwarding it? Did you share a Twitter message containing the term "#IdiotKapilSibal", as thousands of people did a few days ago? Well, that is 'disparaging', and Twitter is required by the new law to block all such content. The government of Sikkim can run advertisements for its PlayWin lottery in newspapers, but under the new law it cannot do so online. As you can see, through these ridiculous examples, the Intermediary Guidelines are very badly thought-out and their drafting is even worse. Worst of all, they are unconstitutional, as they put limits on freedom of speech that contravene <a class="external-link" href="http://lawmin.nic.in/coi/coiason29july08.pdf">Article 19(1)(a) and 19(2) of the Constitution</a>, and do so in a manner that lacks any semblance of due process and fairness.</p>
<h2>Excessive Censoring by Internet Companies</h2>
<p>We, at the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore, decided to test the censorship powers of the new rules by sending frivolous complaints to a number of intermediaries. Six out of seven intermediaries removed content, including search results listings, on the basis of the most ridiculous complaints. The people whose content was removed were not told, nor was the general public informed that the content was removed. If we hadn't kept track, it would be as though that content never existed. Such censorship existed during Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union. Not even during the Emergency has such censorship ever existed in India. Yet, not only was what the Internet companies did legal under the Intermediary Guideline Rules, but if they had not, they could have been punished for content put up by someone else. That is like punishing the post office for the harmful letters that people may send over post.</p>
<h2>Government Has Powers to Censor and Already Censors<br /></h2>
<p>Currently, the government can either block content by using section 69A of the Information Technology Act (which can be revealed using RTI), or it has to send requests to the Internet companies to get content removed. Google has released statistics of government request for content removal as part of its Transparency Report. While Mr. Sibal uses the examples of communally sensitive material as a reason to force censorship of the Internet, out of the 358 items requested to be removed from January 2011 to June 2011 from Google service by the Indian government (including state governments), only 8 were for hate speech and only 1 was for national security. Instead, 255 items (71 per cent of all requests) were asked to be removed for 'government criticism'. Google, despite the government in India not having the powers to ban government criticism due to the Constitution, complied in 51 per cent of all requests. That means they removed many instances of government criticism as well.</p>
<h2>'Self-Regulation': Undetectable Censorship</h2>
<p>Mr. Sibal's more recent efforts at forcing major Internet companies such as Indiatimes, Facebook, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft, to 'self-regulate' reveals a desire to gain ever greater powers to bypass the IT Act when censoring Internet content that is 'objectionable' (to the government). Mr. Sibal also wants to avoid embarrassing statistics such as that revealed by Google's Transparency Report. He wants Internet companies to 'self-regulate' user-uploaded content, so that the government would never have to send these requests for removal in the first place, nor block sites officially using the IT Act. If the government was indeed sincere about its motives, it would not be talking about 'transparency' and 'dialogue' only after it was exposed in the press that the Department of Information Technology was holding secret talks with Internet companies. Given the clandestine manner in which it sought to bring about these new censorship measures, the motives of the government are suspect. Yet, both Mr. Sibal and Mr. Sachin Pilot have been insisting that the government has no plans of Internet censorship, and Mr. Pilot has made that statement officially in the Lok Sabha. This, thus seems to be an instance of censoring without censorship.</p>
<h2>Backdoor Censorship through Copyright Act</h2>
<p>Further, since the government cannot bring about censorship laws in a straightforward manner, they are trying to do so surreptitiously, through the back door. Mr. Sibal's latest proposed amendment to the Copyright Act, which is before the Rajya Sabha right now, has a provision called section 52(1)(c) by which anyone can send a notice complaining about infringement of his copyright. The Internet company will have to remove the content immediately without question, even if the notice is false or malicious. The sender of false or malicious notices is not penalized. But the Internet company will be penalized if it doesn't remove the content that has been complained about. The complaint need not even be shown to be true before the content is removed. Indeed, anyone can complain about any content, without even having to show that they own the rights to that content. The government seems to be keen to have the power to remove content from the Internet without following any 'due process' or fair procedure. Indeed, it not only wants to give itself this power, but it is keen on giving all individuals this power. <br /><br />It's ultimate effect will be the death of the Internet as we know it. Bid adieu to it while there is still time.</p>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/invisible-censorship.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Invisible Censorship (Marathi version)">The article was translated to Marathi and featured in Lokmat</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/invisible-censorship'>http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/invisible-censorship</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshIT ActGoogleAccess to KnowledgeSocial mediaFreedom of Speech and ExpressionIntellectual Property RightsIntermediary LiabilityFeaturedInternet GovernanceCensorship2012-01-04T08:59:14ZBlog EntryInternet Speech: Perspectives on Regulation and Policy
http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/internet-speech-perspectives-on-regulation-and-policy
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society and the University of Munich (LMU), Germany are jointly organizing an international symposium at India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on April 5, 2019</b>
<p><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/FreeSpeechSymposium_Poster_02.jpg/@@images/89fe6323-7608-482a-8072-dc241e9f0fda.jpeg" alt="Free Speech Poster" class="image-inline" title="Free Speech Poster" /></p>
<hr />
<p><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/free-speech-symposium-agenda"><b>Click to download the agenda</b></a></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/free-speech-symposium-agenda"> </a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/internet-speech-perspectives-on-regulation-and-policy'>http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/internet-speech-perspectives-on-regulation-and-policy</a>
</p>
No publisherakritiFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet GovernanceFeaturedInternet FreedomEvent2019-04-01T16:38:54ZEventInternet Shutdown Stories
http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-shutdown-stories
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) has published a collection of stories of the impact of internet shutdowns on people's lives in the country. This book seeks to give a glimpse into the lives of those directly affected by these internet shutdown experiments. When seen in a larger context, we hope that the stories in this book also demonstrate that access to the internet and freedom of speech is not just about an individual’s rights, but are also required for the collective good. This is a project funded by Facebook and MacArthur Foundation, and the stories were provided by 101 Reporters. Case studies from the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Telangana, West Bengal, Tripura, Manipur, Nagaland, and Uttar Pradesh have been highlighted in this compilation.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Read the report here: <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/internet-shutdown-stories/at_download/file">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<p>The report is shared under Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.</p>
<h4>Edited by Debasmita Haldar, Ambika Tandon, and Swaraj Barooah</h4>
<h4>Print Design by Saumyaa Naidu</h4>
<h4>Advisor: Nikhil Pahwa, Founder and Editor at <a href="https://www.medianama.com/" target="_blank">MediaNama</a></h4>
<hr />
<h2>Foreword</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Aside from the waves of innovation that the digital revolution brought with it, the ever increasing pervasiveness of the internet has had a tremendous impact on empowerment and freedoms in society. We are seeing unprecedented levels of access to information, along with a democratization of the means of creation, production and dissemination of information to anyone with an internet connection. This in turn has greatly amplified, and in many cases even created the ability, particularly for those traditionally left in the margins, to more meaningfully participate in their global as well as local societies. Recognising the significance of the internet to the freedom of expression as well as for the development and exercising of human rights more broadly, the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously passed a resolution confirming internet access being a fundamental human right.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Simultaneously however, we are seeing Indian states discover and experiment with their power to clamp down on these new modes of communication for a variety of reasons, ranging from the ill-intentioned to the ill-informed. An internet shutdown tracker maintained by the Software Freedom Law Centre, shows that the number of shutdowns in India is increasing every year, with 70 shutdowns reported in 2017,and 45 shutdowns already <a class="external-link" href="https://internetshutdowns.in/">reported from 1st Jan, 2018 to 4th May, 2018</a>. These shutdowns also come at a significant economic cost. A 2016 <a class="external-link" href="http://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/intenet-shutdowns-v-3.pdf">Brookings report</a> estimates that India faced a loss of about $968 million due to internet shutdowns. However, the democratic harms we have been accruing are more difficult to quantify and demonstrate.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This book seeks to give a glimpse into the lives of those directly affected by these internet shutdown experiments. From Jammu and Kashmir to Telangana, from Gujarat to Nagaland, we have collected 30 stories from across the country for an up-close look at how the everyday lives of common citizens have been impacted by internet shutdowns and website blocks. From CRPF members posted in Srinagar who use the internet to connect with their family, to students who have been cut off from education resources for competitive exams; from the disruptions in day to day life brought about by non-functional bank services in Darjeeling, to stock brokers in Ahmedabad who faced costly slowdowns; the idea of a Digital India is facing severe setbacks with these continuously increasing internet shutdowns.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When seen in a larger context, we hope that the stories in this book also demonstrate that access to the internet and freedom of speech is not just about an individual’s rights, but are also required for the collective good. The diversity of perspectives and activities that a healthy democracy demands is not met by the versioning of dominant narratives, but by allowing for, if not directly encouraging, the voices and activities of the unheard, oppressed and marginalised. We hope that in the telling of these personal stories of the day-to-day of people affected by such internet shutdowns, this book joins in the effort to position the dehumanized internet kill switches more aptly as dangers to democracy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Sunil Abraham</strong><br />Executive Director<br />The Centre for Internet and Society</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-shutdown-stories'>http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/internet-shutdown-stories</a>
</p>
No publisherambikaFeaturedHomepageInternet GovernanceCensorship2019-09-03T09:57:40ZBlog EntryInternet Researchers' Conference 2022 (IRC22): #Home, May 25-27
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc-22-home
<b>We are excited to announce that the fifth edition of the Internet Researchers' Conference will be held online on May 25-27, 2022.This annual conference series was initiated by the researchers@work (r@w) programme at CIS in 2016 to gather researchers and practitioners engaging with the internet in/from India to congregate, share insights and tensions, and chart the ways forward. This year, the conference brings together a set of reflections and conversations on how we imagine and experience the home —as a space of refuge and comfort, but also as one of violence, care, labour and movement-building.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Venue: Online on Zoom</strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Registration: <a class="external-link" href="https://tinyurl.com/reg-irc22">https://tinyurl.com/reg-irc22</a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Code of Conduct:<a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/IRC22_CoCFSP" class="external-link"> Download (PDF)</a></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Conference Programme: <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/IRC22.Programme.Final%20" class="external-link">Download (PDF)</a></strong></p>
<hr />
<p> </p>
<p><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_IRCPoster2.jpg/@@images/fa92d73e-af12-492b-b55c-f06e7a661415.jpeg" alt="null" class="image-inline" title="IRC Poster 2" /></p>
<p dir="ltr">The ‘home’ has been a key line of defence in efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Public health recommendations and governmental measures have enforced numerous restrictions on daily living, including physical distancing and isolation, home confinement, and quarantining. These mandates to be at home have relied on the construction, and assumption, of home as a familiar, stable and safe space.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">However, home has always been a site of intense political contestation—be it through the temporal frames of belonging, ideas of citizenship and regionalism, role in the reproduction of capital accumulation, or as material signifiers of social status. Over the past 2 years, digital infrastructures have played an intensified role in the meaning making of the home. Coming to terms with the pandemic entailed an accelerated embedding of digital systems in many of our relationships. Be it with the state, educational institutions, workplaces, or each other. Solutions to the many challenges of infrastructure and mobility emerging over the last year have been sought in digital technologies. The digital mediation of the pandemic has ushered in visions of the ‘new normal’ as situated wholly in the digital.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">While the initial anxieties of living through the pandemic may have now eased, and we make forays into a changed world, the spectre of the ‘next normal’ awaits. As we continue to come to terms with, and find ways to reorient the disruption of life, being at home has acquired many new meanings. What has it meant to be at home, and what is home? What is and has been the role of the internet and digital media technologies in navigating the contours of a changing ‘normal’? How have/can digital technologies help overcome, or exacerbate existing social, economic and political challenges during the pandemic? What forms of digital infrastructure—tools, platforms, devices and services—help build, sustain and alter the notion of home?</p>
<p dir="ltr">For IRC22, we invited sessions across a range of formats and themes to explore and challenge conceptions of the home. Different people imagine and experience the home in various ways—as a space of refuge and comfort, but also as one of violence, care, labour and/or movement-building. We invited contributions that speak to these provocations through one or more of the above thematic areas. A set of 12 sessions were finalised for the conference (including 4 individual presentations), based on peer selection by teams and presenters who proposed sessions as well as an external review.</p>
<h3 dir="ltr"></h3>
<h3><strong>Sessions</strong></h3>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-waitingforfood">#WaitingForFood</a> - Rhea Bose and Nisha Subramanian</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-thismightnotbeonline">#thismightnotbeonline</a> - Kaushal Sapre and Aasma Tulika</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-identitiesvulnerabilitiesopportunitiesdissentir">#IdentitesVulnerabilitiesOpportunitiesDissent</a> - Saumya Tewari, Manisha Madhava, Dhrupadi Chattopadhyay and Aparna Bose</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-homeandtheinternet">#HomeAndTheInternet</a> - Dona Biswas, Bhanu Priya Gupta and Ekta Kailash Sonwane </p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-letsmovein">#LetsMoveIn</a> - Arathy Salimkumar, Faheem Muhammed, Hazeena T and Manisha Madapathy</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-lockdownsandshutdowns">#LockdownsAndShutdowns</a> - Michael Collyer, Joss Wright, Andreas Tsamados, Marianne Díaz Hernández and Nathan Dobson</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-identifyingtheideaoflabourinteaching">#IdentifyingtheIdeaoflLaborinTeaching</a> - Sunanda Kar and Bishal Sinha</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-homebasedflexiworkincovid19">#HomeBasedFlexiworkInCovid19</a> - Sabina Dewan, Mukta Naik, Ayesha Zainudeen, Gayani Hurulle, Hue-Tam Jamme and Devesh Taneja</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-involutejaggedseamsofthedomesticandthevocational">#Involute:Jagged Seams of the Domestic and the Vocational -</a> Akriti Rastogi, Deepak Prince, Misbah Rashid and Satish Kumar</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-digitisingcrisesremakinghome">#DigitisingCrisesRemakingHome</a> - Vidya Subramanian, Kalindi Kokal and Uttara Purandare</p>
<p dir="ltr"><strong><br /></strong></p>
<h3><strong>Individual Presentations</strong></h3>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-goinghomeconstructionofadigitalurbanplatforminterfaceindelhincr">#GoingHome: Constructions of a Digital-Urban Platform Interface in Delhi-NCR</a> - Anurag Mazumdar</p>
<p dir="ltr"><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-socialmediaactivism">#SocialMediaActivism</a> - Anushka Bhilwar</p>
<p><a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22-proposed-session-transactandwhatfollowed">#TransActandWhatFollowed</a> - Brindaalakshmi K</p>
<h3><strong>About the IRC Series</strong></h3>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">Researchers and practitioners across the domains of arts, humanities, and social sciences have attempted to understand life on the internet, or life after the internet, and the way digital technologies mediate various aspects of our being today. These attempts have in turn raised new questions around understanding of digital objects, online lives, and virtual networks, and have contributed to complicating disciplinary assumptions, methods, conceptualisations, and boundaries.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">The researchers@work programme at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) initiated the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) series to address these concerns, and to create an annual temporary space in India, for internet researchers to gather and share experiences.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The IRC series is driven by the following interests:</p>
<ul>
<li>creating discussion spaces for researchers and practitioners studying internet in India and in other comparable regions,</li>
<li>foregrounding the multiplicity, hierarchies, tensions, and urgencies of the digital sites and users in India,</li>
<li>accounting for the various layers, conceptual and material, of experiences and usages of internet and networked digital media in India, and</li>
<li>exploring and practicing new modes of research and documentation necessitated by new (digital) objects of power/knowledge.</li></ul>
<p><span id="docs-internal-guid-e32d113c-7fff-b48f-7af4-0a47077cf4a6"> </span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;" dir="ltr">The<a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc16"> first edition of the Internet Researchers' Conference</a> series was held in February 2016. It was hosted by the<a href="https://www.jnu.ac.in/SSS/CPS/"> Centre for Political Studies</a> at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and was supported by the CSCS Digital Innovation Fund. The<a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc17"> second Internet Researchers' Conference</a> was organised in partnership with the<a href="http://citapp.iiitb.ac.in/"> Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy</a> (CITAPP) at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) campus on March 03-05, 2017. The<a href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc18"> third Internet Researchers' Conference</a> was organised at the<a href="http://www.sambhaavnaa.org/"> Sambhaavnaa Institute</a>, Kandbari (Himachal Pradesh) during February 22-24, 2018, and the theme of the conference was *offline*. The<a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc19-list"> fourth Internet Researcher's Conference </a>was held at <a class="external-link" href="https://digital.lamakaan.com/">Lamakaan, Hyderabad</a> from January 30 - February 01, on the theme of the 'list'.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc-22-home'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc-22-home</a>
</p>
No publisherPuthiya Purayil SnehaResearchers at WorkInternet Researcher's ConferenceFeaturedIRC22HomepageInternet Studies2022-05-24T14:38:57ZBlog EntryInternet Researchers' Conference 2022
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/internet-researchers-conference-2022
<b>Due to internal delays related to the pandemic, the Internet Researchers' Conference will now take place online in May 2022. Please see below for a link to the updated call for sessions.</b>
<p> </p>
<p><img src="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc22poster.jpg/" alt="null" width="100%" /></p>
<p> </p>
<h2 dir="ltr">
<hr /></h2>
<h2 id="docs-internal-guid-6b2cca91-7fff-8d10-8f96-da4506b6b1fb" dir="ltr">IRC22</h2>
<h2 dir="ltr">#Home</h2>
<div> </div>
<div>The ‘home’ has been a key line of defence in efforts to curtail the spread of COVID-19. Public health recommendations and governmental measures have enforced numerous restrictions on daily living, including physical distancing and isolation, home confinement, and quarantining. These mandates to be at home have relied on the construction, and assumption, of home as a familiar, stable and safe space.</div>
<div> </div>
<p dir="ltr">However, home has always been a site of intense political contestation—be it through the temporal frames of belonging, ideas of citizenship and regionalism, role in the reproduction of capital accumulation, or as material signifiers of social status. Over the past 2 years, digital infrastructures have played an intensified role in the meaning making of the home. Coming to terms with the pandemic entailed an accelerated embedding of digital systems in many of our relationships. Be it with the state, educational institutions, workplaces, or each other. Solutions to the many challenges of infrastructure and mobility emerging over the last year have been sought in digital technologies. The digital mediation of the pandemic has ushered in visions of the ‘new normal’ as situated wholly in the digital.</p>
<div>While the initial anxieties of living through the pandemic may have now eased, and we make forays into a changed world, the spectre of the ‘next normal’ awaits. As we continue to come to terms with, and find ways to reorient the disruption of life, being at home has acquired many new meanings. What has it meant to be at home, and what is home? What is and has been the role of the internet and digital media technologies in navigating the contours of a changing ‘normal’? How have/can digital technologies help overcome, or exacerbate existing social, economic and political challenges during the pandemic? What forms of digital infrastructure—tools, platforms, devices and services—help build, sustain and alter the notion of home?</div>
<div> </div>
<div>For IRC22, we invite you to pause and reflect on the relational and material linkages between being at home and being connected. We invite sessions across a range of formats and themes to explore and challenge conceptions of the home. Different people imagine and experience the home in various ways—as a space of refuge and comfort, but also as one of violence, care, labour or movement-building. We invite contributions that speak to these provocations through one or more of the above thematic areas.</div>
<div> </div>
<div><strong>Read the complete call for sessions, including sub-themes, session formats and timeline <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc22-call-for-sessions-pdf" class="internal-link" title="IRC22 Call for Sessions pdf">here</a>. <br /></strong></div>
<div><strong><br /></strong></div>
<p dir="ltr">To propose a session, please send the following documents (as attached text files; the file name should include the session title and your name) to <strong>workshops@cis-india.org</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: disc;" dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr">Session Title: The session should be named in the form of a hashtag (check the <a class="external-link" href="https://cis-india.org/raw/irc19-list">sessions proposed for IRC19</a> for example).</p>
</li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc;" dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr">Session Type: Please select the session type among the four types mentioned in the call for sessions.</p>
</li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc;" dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr">Session Plan: This should describe the objectives of the session (the motivations and expectations driving it), what will be done and discussed during the session, and who among the people organising the session will be responsible for what. This note need not be more than 500 words long. If your session involves inviting others to present their work (say papers), then please provide a description and timeline of the process through which these people will be identified.</p>
</li>
<li style="list-style-type: disc;" dir="ltr">
<p dir="ltr">Session Team Details: Please share brief biographical notes of each lead of the session team, and their email addresses.</p>
</li></ul>
<p dir="ltr"><strong>The deadline for submission of session proposals is 9 March, 2022.</strong></p>
<p dir="ltr"> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/internet-researchers-conference-2022'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/internet-researchers-conference-2022</a>
</p>
No publisherpranavFeaturedHomepage2022-02-11T09:54:09ZBlog Entry Internet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17) - Selection of Sessions
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selection
<b>We have a wonderful range of session proposals for the second Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC17) to take place in Bengaluru on March 03-05, 2017. From the 23 submitted session proposals, we will now select 10 to be part of the final Conference agenda. The selection will be done through votes casted by the teams that have proposed the sessions. This will take place in December 2016. Before that, we invite the session teams and other contributors to share their comments and suggestions on the submitted sessions. Please share your comments by December 14, either on session pages directly, or via email (sent to raw at cis-india dot org).</b>
<p> </p>
<p>The Internet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17) will be organised by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in partnership with the <a href="http://citapp.iiitb.ac.in/">Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy</a> at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B).</p>
<hr />
<h3><strong>Proposed Sessions</strong></h3>
<h4>01. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/notfewnotweird.html" target="_blank">#NotFewNotWeird</a> (Surfatial: Malavika Rajnarayan, Prayas Abhinav, and Satya Gummuluri)</h4>
<h4>02. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/virtualfringe.html" target="_blank">#VirtualFringe</a> (Ritika Pant, Sagorika Singha, and Vibhushan Subba)</h4>
<h4>03. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/studentindicusageonline.html" target="_blank">#StudentIndicUsageOnline</a> (Shruti Nagpal and Sneha Verghese)</h4>
<h4>04. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/speakmylanguageinternet.html" target="_blank">#SpeakMyLanguageInternet</a> (Anubhuti Yadav, Sunetra Sen Narayan, Shalini Narayanan, Anand Pradhan, and Shashwati Goswami)</h4>
<h4>05. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/archivesforstorytelling.html" target="_blank">#ArchivesForStorytelling</a> (V Jayant, Venkat Srinivasan, Chaluvaraju, Bhanu Prakash, and Dinesh)</h4>
<h4>06. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/selfiesfromthefield.html" target="_blank">#SelfiesFromTheField</a> (Kavitha Narayanan, Oindrila Matilal and Onkar Hoysala)</h4>
<h4>07. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/openaccessscholarlypublishing.html" target="_blank">#OpenAccessScholarlyPublishing</a> (Nirmala Menon, Abhishek Shrivastava and Dibyaduti Roy)</h4>
<h4>08. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalpedagogies.html" target="_blank">#DigitalPedagogies</a> (Nidhi Kalra, Ashutosh Potdar, and Ravikant Kisana)</h4>
<h4>09. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalmusicanddigitalreactions.html" target="_blank">#DigitalMusicAndDigitalReactions</a> (Shivangi Narayan and Sarvpriya Raj)</h4>
<h4>10. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/renarrationweb.html" target="_blank">#RenarrationWeb</a> (Dinesh, Venkatesh Choppella, Srinath Srinivasa, and Deepak Prince)</h4>
<h4>11. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/indiclanguagesandinternetcohabitation.html" target="_blank">IndicLanguagesAndInternetCoHabitation</a> (Sreedhar Kallahalla, Ranjeet Kumar, Mohan Rao, and Anjali K. Mohan)</h4>
<h4>12. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalpedagogy.html" target="_blank">#DigitalPedagogy</a> (Padmini Ray Murray and Dibyaduti Roy)</h4>
<h4>13. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/copyleftrightleft.html" target="_blank">#CopyLeftRightLeft</a> (Ravishankar Ayyakkannu and Srikanth Lakshmanan)</h4>
<h4>14. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/objectsofdigitalgovernance.html" target="_blank">#ObjectsofDigitalGovernance</a> (Marine Al Dahdah, Rajiv K. Mishra, Khetrimayum Monish Singh, and Sohan Prasad Sha)</h4>
<h4>15. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/materializingwriting.html" target="_blank">#MaterializingWriting</a> (Sneha Puthiya Purayil, Padmini Ray Murray, Dibyadyuti Roy, and Indrani Roy)</h4>
<h4>16. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/dotbharatadoption.html" target="_blank">#DotBharatAdoption</a> (V. Sridhar and Amit Prakash)</h4>
<h4>17. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitaldesires.html" target="_blank">#DigitalDesires</a> (Dhiren Borisa, Akhil Kang, and Dhrubo Jyoti)</h4>
<h4>18. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/thedigitalcommonplace.html" target="_blank">#TheDigitalCommonplace</a> (Ammel Sharon and Sujeet George)</h4>
<h4>19. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalidentities.html" target="_blank">#DigitalIdentities</a> (Janaki Srinivasan, Savita Bailur, Emrys Schoemaker, Jonathan Donner, and Sarita Seshagiri)</h4>
<h4>20. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/toolstoamultitextuniverse.html" target="_blank">#ToolsToAMultitextUniverse</a> (Spandana Bhowmik and Sunanda Bose)</h4>
<h4>21. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalisingknowledge.html" target="_blank">#DigitalisingKnowledge</a> (Sneha Ragavan)</h4>
<h4>22. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/ICTDethics.html" target="_blank">#ICTDEthics</a> (Bidisha Chaudhuri, Andy Dearden, Linus Kendall, Dorothea Kleine, and Janaki Srinivasan)</h4>
<h4>23. <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/representationandpower.html" target="_blank">#RepresentationAndPower</a> (Bidisha Chaudhuri, Andy Dearden, Linus Kendall, Dorothea Kleine, and Janaki Srinivasan)</h4>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selection'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selection</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroInternet StudiesInternet Researcher's ConferenceResearchers at WorkFeaturedLearningIRC17Homepage2016-12-12T13:37:23ZBlog EntryInternet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17) - Call for Sessions
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17-call
<b>It gives us great pleasure to announce that the second Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC17) will take place in Bengaluru on March 03-05, 2017. It will be organised by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in partnership with the Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B). It is a free and open conference. Sessions must be proposed by teams of two or more members on or before Friday, October 28. All submitted session proposals will go though an open review process, followed by each team that has proposed a session being invited to select ten sessions of their choice to be included in the Conference agenda. Final sessions will be chosen through these votes, and be announced on January 09, 2017.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>IRC17 Call for Sessions: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/irc/raw/master/IRC17_Call-for-Sessions.pdf">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<h4>IRC17 Selection of Sessions: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selection">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selection</a></h4>
<h4><em>Deadline for submission was Friday, October 28.</em></h4>
<hr />
<h3><strong>IRC17: Key Provocations</strong></h3>
<p>Two critical questions that emerged from the conversations at the previous edition of the Conference (IRC16) were about the <strong>digital objects of research</strong>, and the <strong>digital/internet experiences in Indic languages</strong>. As we discussed various aspects and challenges of 'studying internet in India', it was noted that we have not sufficiently explored how ongoing research methods, assumptions, and analytical frames are being challenged (if at all) by the <strong>becoming-digital</strong> of the objects of research across disciplines: from various artifacts and traces of human and machinic interactions, to archival entries and sites of ethnography, to practices and necessities of collaboration.</p>
<p>We found that the analyses of such <strong>digital objects of research</strong> often tend to assume either an aesthetic and functional <strong>uniqueness</strong> or <strong>sameness</strong> vis-à-vis the pre-/proto-digital objects of research, while neither of these positions are discussed in detail. Further, we tend to universalise the English-speaking user's/researcher's experience of working with such digital objects, without sufficiently considering their lives and functions in other (especially, Indic) languages.</p>
<p>These we take as the key provocations of the 2017 edition of IRC:</p>
<ul>
<li>How does the <strong>becoming-digital</strong> of the research objects challenge our current research practices, concerns, and assumptions?</li>
<li>How do we appreciate, study, and theorise the functioning of and meaning-making by digital objects in <strong>Indic languages</strong>?</li>
<li>What <strong>research tools and infrastructures</strong> are needed to study, document, annotate, analyse, archive, cite, and work with (in general) digital objects, especially those in Indic languages?</li></ul>
<h3><strong>Call for Sessions</strong></h3>
<p>We invite teams of two or more researchers and practitioners to propose sessions for IRC17. We do understand that finding team members for a session you have in mind might be difficult in certain cases. Please feel free to share initial sessions ideas on the <strong>researchers@cis-india</strong> mailing list <strong>[1]</strong>. Also, please keep an eye on the list to see what potential topics are being discussed.</p>
<p>All sessions will be one and half hours long, and will be fully designed and facilitated by the team concerned, including moderation (if any). The sessions are expected to drive conversations on the topic concerned. They may include presentation of research papers but this is <strong>not at all</strong> mandatory.</p>
<p>If you plan to organise a session structured around presentation of research papers, please note that we are exploring potential publication outlets for a collection of full-length research papers. If your session is selected for IRC17, we will notify you of guidelines to be followed for the submission and review of full-length papers prior to the conference. If you are interested in this publication possibility, <strong>please indicate</strong> that in your session proposal submission.</p>
<p>Sessions that involve collaborative work (either in group or otherwise), including discussions, interactions, documentation, learning, and making, are <strong>most welcome</strong>.</p>
<p>Further, we look forward to sessions conducted in <strong>Indic languages</strong>. The proposing team, in such a case, should consider how participants who do not understand the language can participate in it. IRC organisers and other participants will play an active role in making such engagements possible.</p>
<p>The only <strong>eligibility criteria</strong> for proposing sessions are that they must be proposed by a <strong>team of at least two members</strong>, and that they must engage with <strong>one (or more) of the three key provocations</strong> mentioned above. Further, the teams whose sessions are selected for IRC17 must commit to producing at least <strong>one post-conference essay/documentation</strong> on the topic of their session.</p>
<p>The <strong>deadline</strong> for submission of sessions proposals for IRC17 is <strong>Friday, October 28</strong>.</p>
<p>To propose a session, please send the following documents (as attached text files) to <strong>raw[at]cis-india[dot]org</strong>:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Title and Description of the Session:</strong> The session should be named in the form of a hashtag (check the IRC16 sessions for reference <strong>[2]</strong>). The description of the session should clearly state what the key focus of the session is, and which of the three central concerns it will address. The description should be approximately <strong>300 words</strong> long.</li>
<li><strong>Session plan:</strong> This should describe how the session will be conducted and moderated. Any specific requirements (technical, language support, etc.) of the session should also be noted here. This should not be more than <strong>200 words</strong> long. If your session plan involves presentation of research papers, please indicate whether you would be interested in having these papers considered for academic publication.</li>
<li><strong>Documentation plan:</strong> This should indicate how documentation will be done during the session, and more importantly what form the post-conference essay/documentation will take and what issue(s) it will address. This should not be more than <strong>100 words</strong> long.</li>
<li><strong>Short Abstracts (Only for Sessions with Paper Presentations):</strong> If your session involves presentation of research papers, please share a <strong>250 words</strong> abstract for each paper.</li>
<li><strong>Details of the Team:</strong> Please share brief biographic notes of each member of the session team, and contact details.</li></ul>
<h3><strong>Session Selection Process</strong></h3>
<p><strong>October 28:</strong> Deadline of submission of session proposals.</p>
<p><strong>October 31:</strong> All submitted sessions will be posted on the CIS website, along with the names, biographic brief, and contact details of the members of the session teams.</p>
<p><strong>November 01 - December 24:</strong> Open review period. All session teams, as well as other interested contributors, may review the submitted proposals and share comments directly with the session teams, or discuss the session on the researchers@cis-india list. The session teams may fully and continuously edit the proposal during this period, including adding/changing session teams.</p>
<p><strong>December 25:</strong> Open review ends and voting begins. All session teams will select 10 sessions to be included in the IRC17 programme. The votes will be anonymous, that is which session team has voted for which set of sessions will not be made public.</p>
<p><strong>January 05:</strong> Voting ends.</p>
<p><strong>January 09:</strong> Announcement of selected sessions.</p>
<p><strong>February 12:</strong> Deadline for selected session teams to submit a detailed session plan, information about which will be shared later. If a selected session involves presentation of papers, then the draft papers are to be submitted by this date (no need to submit a detailed session plan in that case).</p>
<h3><strong>Venue, Accommodation, and Travel</strong></h3>
<p>The conference will take place at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) during March 03-05, 2017 <strong>[3]</strong>.</p>
<p>The conference does <strong>not</strong> have any participation fees. The organisers will cover <strong>all</strong> costs related to accommodation and hospitality during the conference. We look forward to offer a limited number of (domestic) travel fellowships for students and other deserving applicants. We will also confirm this on <strong>January 02, 2017</strong>.</p>
<h3><strong>About the IRC Series</strong></h3>
<p>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme <strong>[4]</strong> at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) initiated the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) series to address these concerns, and to create an annual temporary space in India, for internet researchers to gather and share experiences.</p>
<p>The IRC series is driven by the following interests:</p>
<ul>
<li>creating discussion spaces for researchers and practitioners studying internet in India and in other comparable regions,</li>
<li>foregrounding the multiplicity, hierarchies, tensions, and urgencies of the digital sites and users in India,
accounting for the various layers, conceptual and material, of experiences and usages of internet and networked digital media in India, and</li>
<li>exploring and practicing new modes of research and documentation necessitated by new (digital) objects of power/knowledge.</li></ul>
<p>The first edition of the Internet Researchers' Conference series was held in February 2016 <strong>[5]</strong>. It was hosted by the Centre for Political Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University <strong>[6]</strong>, and was supported by the CSCS Digital Innovation Fund <strong>[7]</strong>. The Conference was constituted by eleven discussion sessions (majority of which were organised around presentation of several papers), four workshop sessions (which involved group discussions, activities, and learnings), a book sprint over three sessions to develop an outline of a (re)sourcebook for internet researchers in India, and a concluding round table. The audio recordings and notes from IRC16 are now being compiled into an online Reader. A detailed reflection note on the IRC16 has already been published <strong>[8]</strong>.</p>
<h3><strong>Endnotes</strong></h3>
<p><strong>[1]</strong> See: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[2]</strong> See: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[3]</strong> See: <a href="http://iiitb.ac.in/">http://iiitb.ac.in/</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[4]</strong> See: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/">http://cis-india.org/raw/</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[5]</strong> See: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[6]</strong> See: <a href="http://www.jnu.ac.in/SSS/CPS/">http://www.jnu.ac.in/SSS/CPS/</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[7]</strong> See: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/cscs-digital-innovation-fund">http://cis-india.org/raw/cscs-digital-innovation-fund</a>.</p>
<p><strong>[8]</strong> See: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/iirc-reflections-on-irc16">http://cis-india.org/raw/iirc-reflections-on-irc16</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17-call'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17-call</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroResearchers at WorkInternet Researcher's ConferenceFeaturedLearningIRC17Homepage2016-12-12T13:40:08ZBlog EntryInternet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17)
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17
<b>With great pleasure we announce the second edition of the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC), an annual conference series initiated by the Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at CIS to gather researchers, academic or otherwise, studying internet in/from India to congregate, share insights and tensions, and chart the ways forward. The Internet Researchers' Conference 2017 (IRC17) will be held at the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) campus on March 03-05, 2017. It is being organised by the Centre for Information Technology and Public Policy (CITAPP) at IIIT-B and the CIS.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>Registration is closed now.</h4>
<h4>Propose open sessions <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-OpenSessionProposals">here</a>.</h4>
<h4>Agenda (final): <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/irc/raw/master/irc17/IRC17_Agenda.pdf">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<h4>Programme: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/irc/raw/master/irc17/IRC17_Programme.pdf">Download</a> (PDF)</h4>
<h4>Poster (high resolution): <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/irc/raw/master/irc17/IRC17_Poster-HighRes.jpg">Download</a> (JPG)</h4>
<hr />
<img src="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17/leadImage" alt="IRC17 Poster" height="400" />
<h3><strong>IRC17: Key Provocations</strong></h3>
<p>Two critical questions that emerged from the conversations at the previous edition of the Conference (IRC16) were about the digital objects of research, and the digital/internet experiences in Indic languages. As we discussed various aspects and challenges of 'studying internet in India', it was noted that we have not sufficiently explored how ongoing research methods, assumptions, and analytical frames are being challenged (if at all) by the becoming-digital of the objects of research across disciplines: from various artifacts and traces of human and machinic interactions, to archival entries and sites of ethnography, to practices and necessities of collaboration.</p>
<p>We found that the analyses of such digital objects of research often tend to assume either an aesthetic and functional uniqueness or sameness vis-à-vis the pre-/proto-digital objects of research, while neither of these positions are discussed in detail. Further, we tend to universalise the English-speaking user's/researcher's experience of working with such digital objects, without sufficiently considering their lives and functions in other (especially, Indic) languages.</p>
<p>These we take as the key provocations of the 2017 edition of IRC:</p>
<ul><li>
<p>How does the becoming-digital of the research objects challenge our current research practices, concerns, and assumptions?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>How do we appreciate, study, and theorise the functioning of and meaning-making by digital objects in Indic languages?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>What research tools and infrastructures are needed to study, document, annotate, analyse, archive, cite, and work with (in general) digital objects, especially those in Indic languages?</p>
</li></ul>
<p>This conference series is specifically driven by the following interests: 1) creating discussion spaces for researchers studying internet in India and in other comparable regions, 2) foregrounding the multiplicity, hierarchies, tensions, and urgencies of the digital sites and users in India, 3) accounting for the various layers, conceptual and material, of experiences and usages of internet and networked digital media in India, and 4) exploring and practicing new modes of research and documentation necessitated by new (digital) forms of objects of power/knowledge.</p>
<h3><strong>Dates and Venue</strong></h3>
<p>The conference is being hosted by the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIIT-B) during March 03-05, 2017.</p>
<p><strong>Address:</strong> 26/C, Electronics City, Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560100, <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/chHchxAMkrK2">location on Google Map</a>.</p>
<h3><strong>Session Details and Notes</strong></h3>
<p>Day 01, Friday, March 03</p>
<p><strong>#DigitalIdentities:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalidentities.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-DigitalIdentities">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#IndicLanguagesAndInternetCohabitation:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/indiclanguagesandinternetcohabitation.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-IndicLanguagesAndInternetCohabitation">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#SelfiesFromTheField:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/selfiesfromthefield-revised.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-SelfiesFromTheField">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#HookingUp:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/hookingup-revised.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-HookingUp">Etherpad</a></p>
<p>Day 02, Saturday, March 04</p>
<p><strong>#DotBharatAdoption:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/dotbharatadoption.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-DotBharatAdoption">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#DigitalPedagogies:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/digitalpedagogies.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-DigitalPedagogies">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#MaterializingWriting:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/materializingwriting.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-MaterializingWriting">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#RenarrationWeb:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/renarrationweb.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-RenarrationWeb">Etherpad</a></p>
<p>Day 03, Sunday, March 05</p>
<p><strong>#ArchivesForStorytelling:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/archivesforstorytelling.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-ArchivesForStorytelling">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#ObjectsOfDigitalGovernance:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/objectsofdigitalgovernance.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-ObjectsOfDigitalGovernance">Etherpad</a></p>
<p><strong>#OpenAccessScholarlyPublishing:</strong> <a href="https://cis-india.github.io/irc/irc17/sessions/openaccessscholarlypublishing.html">Details</a> and <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC17-OpenAccessScholarlyPublishing">Etherpad</a></p>
<h3><strong>Session Selection Process</strong></h3>
<p>Call for sessions: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17-call">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17-call</a>.</p>
<p>Selected sessions: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selected-sessions">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc17-selected-sessions</a>.</p>
<p>Please join the <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">researchers@cis-india</a> mailing list to take part in pre- and post-conference conversations.</p>
<h3><strong>About the IRC Series</strong></h3>
<p>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) initiated the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC) series to address these concerns, and to create an annual temporary space in India, for internet researchers to gather and share experiences.</p>
<p>The IRC series is driven by the following interests:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>creating discussion spaces for researchers and practitioners studying internet in India and in other comparable regions,</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>foregrounding the multiplicity, hierarchies, tensions, and urgencies of the digital sites and users in India,
accounting for the various layers, conceptual and material, of experiences and usages of internet and networked digital media in India, and</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>exploring and practicing new modes of research and documentation necessitated by new (digital) objects of power/knowledge.</p>
</li></ul>
<p>The first edition of the Internet Researchers' Conference series was held in <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/cis-india.org/raw/irc16">February 2016</a>. It was hosted by the <a href="http://www.jnu.ac.in/SSS/CPS/">Centre for Political Studies</a> at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and was supported by the <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/cscs-digital-innovation-fund">CSCS Digital Innovation Fund</a>. The Conference was constituted by eleven discussion sessions (majority of which were organised around presentation of several papers), four workshop sessions (which involved group discussions, activities, and learnings), a book sprint over three sessions to develop an outline of a (re)sourcebook for internet researchers in India, and a concluding round table. The audio recordings and notes from IRC16 are now being compiled into an online Reader. A detailed <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/iirc-reflections-on-irc16">reflection note on IRC16</a> has been published.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc17</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroInternet Researcher's ConferenceFeaturedIRC17Researchers at WorkEvent2018-07-02T18:29:55ZEventInternet Researchers' Conference 2016 (IRC16) - Selected Sessions
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-selected-sessions
<b>We are proud to announce that the first Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC16), organised around the theme of 'studying internet in India,' will be held on February 26-28, 2016, at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi. We are deeply grateful to the Centre for Political Studies (CPS) at JNU for hosting the Conference, and to the CSCS Digital Innovation Fund (CDIF) for generously supporting it. Here are the details about the session selection process, the selected sessions, the Conference programme (draft), the pre-Conference discussions, accommodation, and travel grants. The Conference will include a book sprint to produce an open handbook on 'methods and tools for internet research.'</b>
<p> </p>
<h2>Session Selection Process</h2>
<p>We received 23 superb session proposals for the IRC16. All the teams that submitted sessions were invited to vote for their eight favourite session in a double-blind manner - the teams did not know the names of the people who proposed other sessions, and we at CIS did not know which team has voted for which particular set of sessions. After receiving all the votes, we could not help but change the format of the Conference (as planned earlier) to accommodate 15 sessions in total. All Discussion and Workshop sessions of the Conference are double track, except for the three Discussion sessions that received most number of votes.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Selected Sessions</h2>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-digitaldesires"><strong>#DigitalDesires</strong></a>: Received 8.15% votes. Proposed by Silpa Mukherjee, Ankita Deb, and Rahul Kumar.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-followthemedium"><strong>#FollowTheMedium</strong></a>: Received 7.60% votes. Proposed by Zeenab Aneez and Neha Mujumdar.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-stsdebates"><strong>#STSDebates</strong></a>: Received 7.60% votes. Proposed by Sumandro Chattapadhyay and Jahnavi Phalkey.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-digitalliteraciesatthemargins"><strong>#DigitalLiteraciesAtTheMargins</strong></a>: Received 7.06% votes. Proposed by Aakash Solanki, Sandeep Mertia, and Rashmi M.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-internetmovements"><strong>#InternetMovements</strong></a>: Received 7.06% votes. Proposed by Becca Savory, Sarah McKeever, and Shaunak Sen.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-futurebazaars"><strong>#FutureBazaars</strong></a>: Received 5.97% votes. Proposed by Maitrayee Deka, Adam Arvidsson, Rohini Lakshané, and Ravi Sundaram.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-minimalcomputing"><strong>#MinimalComputing</strong></a>: Received 5.97% votes. Proposed by Padmini Ray Murray and Sebastian Lütgert.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-webofgenealogies"><strong>#WebOfGenealogies</strong></a>: Received 5.97% votes. Proposed by Ishita Tiwary, Sandeep Mertia, and Siddharth Narrain.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-wikishadows"><strong>#WikiShadows</strong></a>: Received 5.97% votes. Proposed by Tanveer Hasan and Rahmanuddin Shaik.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-literaryspaces"><strong>#LiterarySpaces</strong></a>: Received 5.43% votes. Proposed by P.P. Sneha and Arup Chatterjee.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-archiveanarchy"><strong>#ArchiveAnarchy</strong></a>: Received 4.34% votes. Proposed by Ranjani M Prasad and Farah Yameen.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-afcinema2.0"><strong>#AFCinema2.0</strong></a>: Received 3.80% votes. Proposed by Akriti Rastogi and Ishani Dey.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-manypublicsofinternet"><strong>#ManyPublicsOfInternet</strong></a>: Received 3.80% votes. Proposed by Sailen Routray and Khetrimayum Monish.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-politicsonsocialmedia"><strong>#PoliticsOnSocialMedia</strong></a>: Received 3.80% votes. Proposed by Rinku Lamba and Rajarshi Dasgupta.</li>
<li><a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-spottingdata"><strong>#SpottingData</strong></a>: Received 3.80% votes. Proposed by Dibyajyoti Ghosh and Purbasha Auddy.</li></ol>
<p> </p>
<h2>Dates and Venue</h2>
<p>The IRC16 will take place during <strong>February 26-28, 2016</strong>, at the <a href="http://jnu.ac.in/"><strong>Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)</strong></a>, Delhi. We are delighted to announce that the Conference will be hosted by the <a href="http://www.jnu.ac.in/SSS/CPS/"><strong>Centre for Political Studies (CPS)</strong></a> at JNU, and will be generously supported by the <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/cscs-digital-innovation-fund"><strong>CSCS Digital Innovation Fund (CDIF)</strong></a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Conference Programme</h2>
<p>Access the draft programme (v.2.1): <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/IRC16/raw/master/IRC16_Programme-v.2.1.pdf">Download</a> (PDF).</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Pre-Conference Conversations</h2>
<p>Please join the researchers@cis-india mailing list to take part in the pre-conference conversations: <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Accommodation</h2>
<p>CPS and CIS will provide accommodation to all non-Delhi-based team members of the selected sessions, during the days of the Conference.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Travel Grants</h2>
<p>We will offer 10 travel grants, up to Rs. 10,000 each, for within-India travel. The following non-Delhi-based team members of the selected sessions have been selected for travel grants: Aakash Solanki, Dibyajyoti Ghosh, Neha Mujumdar, Purbasha Auddy, Rahmanuddin Shaik, Rashmi M, Rohini Lakshané, Sailen Routray, P.P. Sneha, and Zeenab Aneez.</p>
<p>The travel grants are made possible by the <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/cscs-digital-innovation-fund">CSCS Digital Innovation Fund (CDIF)</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-selected-sessions'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-selected-sessions</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroInternet Researcher's ConferenceFeaturedLearningIRC16Researchers at Work2016-01-18T09:23:06ZBlog EntryInternet Researchers' Conference 2016 (IRC16)
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16
<b>The first Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC16) will be organised at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, on February 26-28, 2016. The focus of the Conference is on the experiences, adventures, and methods of 'studying internet in India.' We are deeply grateful to the Centre for Political Studies (CPS), JNU, for hosting the Conference, and to the CSCS Digital Innovation Fund (CDIF) for the generous support. It is a free and open conference. Please use the form to register.</b>
<p> </p>
<h4>It is our great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC), an annual conference series initiated by the Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at CIS to gather researchers, academic or otherwise, studying internet in/from India to congregate, share insights and tensions, and chart the ways forward.</h4>
<p> </p>
<h4>This conference series is specifically driven by the following interests: 1) creating discussion spaces for researchers studying internet in India and in other comparable regions, 2) foregrounding the multiplicity, hierarchies, tensions, and urgencies of the digital sites and users in India, 3) accounting for the various layers, conceptual and material, of experiences and usages of internet and networked digital media in India, and 4) exploring and practicing new modes of research and documentation necessitated by new (digital) forms of objects of power/knowledge.</h4>
<p> </p>
<h4>The first edition of the Conference, IRC16, is engaging with the theme of 'studying internet in India.' The word <em>study</em> here is a shorthand for a range of tasks, from documentation and theory-building, to measurement and representation.</h4>
<p> </p>
<h2>Dates and Venue</h2>
<p>The IRC16 will take place during <strong>February 26-28, 2016</strong>, at the Convention Centre of the <a href="http://jnu.ac.in/">Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)</a>, Delhi. We are grateful to <a href="http://www.jnu.ac.in/SSS/CPS/">Centre for Political Studies (CPS)</a> at JNU for hosting the Conference, and to the <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/cscs-digital-innovation-fund">CSCS Digital Innovation Fund (CDIF)</a> for its generous support.</p>
<p> </p>
<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m12!1m3!1d1752.512135244194!2d77.16642650602853!3d28.53899019877363!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!5e0!3m2!1sen!2s!4v1455124383423" frameborder="0" height="300" width="600"></iframe>
<p> </p>
<h2>Registration and Programme</h2>
<p>Conference programme: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/IRC16/raw/master/IRC16_Programme-v.2.2.pdf">Download</a> (PDF).</p>
<p>Programme booklet: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/IRC16/raw/master/IRC16_Programme-Booklet.pdf">Download</a> (PDF).</p>
<p><strong>[Important]</strong> Invitation letter to help you enter JNU campus: <a href="https://github.com/cis-india/IRC16/raw/master/IRC16_Invitation-Letter.pdf">Download</a> (PDF).</p>
<p>Please register for the Conference here: <a href="http://goo.gl/forms/uu0HjXWbxK" target="_blank">Form</a> (Google).</p>
<p>We apologise for not being able to provide travel or accommodation support.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Etherpads</h2>
<p>#Methods&ToolsForInternetResearch : <a class="external-link" href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-InternetResearch">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-InternetResearch</a></p>
<p>#DigitalDesires: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-DigitalDesires">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-DigitalDesires</a>.</p>
<p>#InternetMovements: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-InternetMovements">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-InternetMovements</a>.</p>
<p>#WebOfGenealogies: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-WebOfGenealogies">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-WebOfGenealogies</a>.</p>
<p>#MinimalComputing: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-MinimalComputing">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-MinimalComputing</a>.</p>
<p>#STSDebates: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-STSDebates">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-STSDebates</a>.</p>
<p>#ArchiveAnarchy: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-ArchiveAnarchy">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-ArchiveAnarchy</a>.</p>
<p>#ManyPublicsOfInternet: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-ManyPublicsOfInternet">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-ManyPublicsOfInternet</a>.</p>
<p>#DigitalLiteraciesAtTheMargins: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-DigitalLiteraciesAtTheMargins">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-DigitalLiteraciesAtTheMargins</a>.</p>
<p>#FutureBazaars: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-FutureBazaars">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-FutureBazaars</a>.</p>
<p>#PoliticsOnSocialMedia: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-PoliticsOnSocialMedia">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-PoliticsOnSocialMedia</a>.</p>
<p>#SpottingData: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-SpottingData">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-SpottingData</a>.</p>
<p>#WikiShadows: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-WikiShadows">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-WikiShadows</a>.</p>
<p>#FollowTheMedium: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-FollowTheMedium">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-FollowTheMedium</a>.</p>
<p>#AFCinema2.0: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-AFCinema2.0">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-AFCinema2.0</a>.</p>
<p>#LiterarySpaces: <a href="https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-LiterarySpaces">https://public.etherpad-mozilla.org/p/IRC16-LiterarySpaces</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<p>Call for sessions: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-call" target="_blank">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-call</a>.</p>
<p>Proposed sessions: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-sessions" target="_blank">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-proposed-sessions</a>.</p>
<p>Selected sessions: <a href="http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-selected-sessions" target="_blank">http://cis-india.org/raw/irc16-selected-sessions</a>.</p>
<p>Please join the <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers">researchers@cis-india</a> mailing list to take part in pre- and post-conference conversations.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroConferenceCDIFInternet Researcher's ConferenceFeaturedLearningIRC16Researchers at WorkEvent2016-02-27T06:19:33ZEventInternet Researchers' Conference (IRC) 2016 - Studying Internet in India: Call for Sessions (Extended to Nov 22)
http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-call
<b>With great excitement, we are announcing the beginning of an annual conference series titled Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC), the first edition of which is to take place in Delhi during February 25-27, 2016 (yet to be confirmed). This first conference will focus on the theme of 'Studying Internet in India.' The word 'study' here is a shorthand for a range of tasks, from documentation and theory-building, to measurement and representation. We invite you to propose sessions for the conference by Sunday, November 22, 2015. Final sessions will be selected during December and announced by December 31, 2015. Below are the details about the conference series, as well instructions for proposing a session for the conference.</b>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Call for Sessions document: <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/internet-researchers-conference-irc-2016-studying-internet-in-india-call-for-sessions/at_download/file">Download (PDF)</a></strong></p>
<p><strong>Call for Sessions poster: <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/internet-researchers-conference-irc-2016-studying-internet-in-india-call-for-sessions-poster/at_download/file">Download (PNG)</a></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Internet Researchers’ Conference</h2>
<p>The last decades have seen a growing entanglement of our daily lives with the internet, not only as modes of communication but also as shared socio-politico-cultural spaces, and as objects of study. The emergence of new artifacts, conditions, and sites of power/knowledge with the prevalence of digital modes of communication, consumptions, production, distribution, and appropriation have expectedly attracted academic and non-academic explorers across disciplines, professions, and interests. Researchers across the domains of arts, humanities, and social sciences have attempted to understand life on the internet, or life after the internet, and the way digital technologies mediate various aspects of our being today. These attempts have in turn raised new questions around understanding of digital objects, online lives, and virtual networks, and have contributed to complicating disciplinary assumptions, methods, and boundaries.</p>
<p>The Researchers at Work (RAW) programme at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is very excited to invite you to take part in the first of a series of annual conferences for researchers (academic or otherwise) studying internet in India. These conferences will be called the Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC), with the abbreviation reminding us of an early protocol for text-based communication over internet. The first edition will be organised around the theme of ‘studying internet in India.’ The word study here is a shorthand for a range of tasks, from documentation and theory-building, to measurement and representation.</p>
<p>This conference series is founded on the following interests:</p>
<ul><li>Creating discussion spaces for researchers studying internet in India and in other comparable regions.</li>
<li>Foregrounding the multiplicity, hierarchies, tensions, and urgencies of the digital sites and users in India.</li>
<li>Accounting for the various layers, conceptual and material, of experiences and usages of internet and networked digital media in India.</li>
<li>Exploring and practicing new modes of research and documentation necessitated by new (digital) forms of objects of power/knowledge.</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h2>Studying Internet in India</h2>
<p>The inaugural conference will be held in Delhi (<strong>to be confirmed</strong>) on February 25-27, 2015. It will comprise of discussion and workshop sessions taking place during the first two days, and a writing sprint and a final round table taking place during the third day.</p>
<p>The conference will specifically focus on the following questions:</p>
<ul><li>How do we conceptualise, as an intellectual and political task, the mediation and transformation of social, cultural, political, and economic processes, forces, and sites through internet and digital media technologies in contemporary India?</li>
<li>How do we frame and explore the experiences and usages of internet and digital media technologies in India within its specific historical-material contexts shaped by traditional hierarchies of knowledge, colonial systems of communication, post-independence initiatives in nation-wide technologies of governance, a rapidly growing telecommunication market, and informal circuits of media production and consumption, among others?</li>
<li>What tools and methods are made available by arts, humanities, social science, and technical disciplines to study internet in India; how and where do they fail to meet the purpose; what revisions and fresh tool building are becoming necessary; and how should the usage of such tools and methods be taught?</li>
<li>Given the global techno-economic contours of the internet, and the starkly hierarchical and segmented experiences and usages of the same in India, how do we begin to use the internet as a space for academic and creative practice and intervention?</li></ul>
<p> </p>
<h2>Sessions</h2>
<p>The conference will not be organised around papers but sessions. Each session will be one and half hour long. Potential participants may propose sessions that largely engage with one of the questions listed above.</p>
<p>Each proposed session must have at least two, and preferably three, co-leaders, who will drive the session, and prepare a session document after the conference. The proposed session can either involve a discussion, or a workshop.</p>
<p>In a discussion session, the co-leaders may present their works (not necessarily of the academic kind), or invite others to present their works, on a specific theme, which will be followed by a discussion, as structured by the co-leaders.</p>
<p>In a workshop session, the co-leaders will engage the participants to undertake individual or collaborative work in response to a series of questions, challenges, or provocations offered by the co-leaders at the beginning of the session. The proposed work may involve writing, searching, copying, building, etc., but <strong>not</strong> speaking.</p>
<p>Both the kinds of sessions are open to presentations and collaborations in the textual format or in other formats, including but not limited to code-based works and multimedia installations.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Writing Sprint</h2>
<p>At the writing sprint, on the third day morning, all the participants will collaboratively put together the first draft of a handbook on tools and methods of studying Internet in India. It will be created as an online, open access, multilingual, and editable (wiki-like) book, and will be meant for extensive usage and augmentation by students, researchers, and others.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Final Round Table</h2>
<p>This will take place after the lunch on the third day to wrap-up the conversations (and propose new initiatives, hopefully) emerging during the previous days of the conference, to make plans for follow-up works (including the first IRC Reader), and to speculate about the shape of the next year’s conference.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>IRC Reader</h2>
<p>The IRC Reader will be produced as documentation of the conversations and activities at the conference. The Reader, obviously, will have the same theme as the conference, and will largely comprise of the session documentation (not necessarily textual) prepared by the co-leaders of the session concerned. Once all the session documentation is shared by the co-leaders and is temporarily published online, all the participants will be invited to share their comments, which will all be part of the final Reader of the conference.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Proposing a Session</h2>
<p>To propose a session, each team of two/three co-leaders will have to submit the following documents:</p>
<ul><li>The name of the session: It should be created as a <strong>hashtag</strong>, as in #BlackLivesMatter, or #RefugeesWelcome.</li>
<li>A plan of the proposed session that should clarify its context, the key questions/challenges/provocations for the session, and how they connect to any one of the four questions listed above. Write no more than one page.</li>
<li>If it is a discussion session: Mention what will be presented at the session, and who will present it. Share the abstracts of the papers to be presented (if any). Each abstract should not be longer than 300 words.</li>
<li>If it is a workshop session: Mention what you expect the participants to do during the session, and how the co-leaders will support them through the work. Write no more than one page.</li>
<li>Three readings, or objects, or software that you expect the participants to know about before taking part in the session.</li>
<li>CVs of all the co-leaders of the session.</li></ul>
<p>We understand that finding co-leaders for a session you have in mind might be difficult in certain cases. One possible way for you to find co-leaders is by sharing your session idea on the <a href="https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/researchers" target="_blank">researchers@cis-india.org</a> mailing list. Alternatively, you may keep an eye on the list to see what potential topics are being discussed. If you are facing any difficulty subscribing to the mailing list, please write to <a href="mailto:raw@cis-india.org">raw@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p>All session proposals must be submitted by <strong>Sunday, November 22</strong> (extended), 2015, via email sent to <a href="mailto:raw@cis-india.org">raw@cis-india.org</a>.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Selection of Sessions</h2>
<p>All proposed sessions, along with related documents, will be published online by <strong>November 30</strong>. All co-leaders of proposed sessions will be invited to vote for 8 sessions before <strong>December 15</strong>. The sessions with maximum votes will be selected for the conference, and the list of such sessions will be published on <strong>December 31</strong>, 2015.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Venue, Accommodation, and Travel</h2>
<p>The conference is most likely to take place in Delhi on <strong>February 25-27, 2016</strong>. The place, dates, and venue will be confirmed by <strong>December 31</strong>, 2015.</p>
<p>The conference organiser(s) will cover all costs related to accommodation and hospitality during the conference.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, we are not sure if we will be able to pay for travel expenses of the participants. We will confirm this by <strong>December 31</strong>, 2015.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-call'>http://editors.cis-india.org/raw/irc16-call</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroInternet Researcher's ConferenceFeaturedLearningIRC16Researchers at Work2015-11-15T07:48:17ZBlog EntryInternational Open Data Charter: Comments by CIS
http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/international-open-data-charter-comments-by-cis
<b>The second meeting of Stewards of the International Open Data Charter is in progress in Santiago, Chile, where the revisions made to the Charter based on the comments received during the public consultation period that ended on July 31, 2015, are being re-discussed and finalised by the Stewards. Here we are sharing the comments submitted by us on the first public draft of the Charter published during the International Open Data Conference in Ottawa, Canada, in May 2015. The comments include those submitted by Sumandro and Sharath Chandra Ram.</b>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>The draft International Open Data Charter and all the submitted comments can be accessed here: <a href="http://opendatacharter.net/charter/" target="_blank">http://opendatacharter.net/charter/</a></strong></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>Comments on the Public Draft</h2>
<p><em>Note: The text below contains excerpts from the public draft of the Charter, followed by submitted comments in <strong>bold</strong>.</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>1) The world is witnessing the growth of a global movement facilitated by technology and digital media and fuelled by information – one that contains enormous potential to create more accountable, efficient, responsive, and effective governments and businesses, and to spur economic growth.</p>
<p><strong>The word ‘movement’ can perhaps be replaced by ‘transformation.’ ‘Movement’ tends to suggest some kind of unity of purpose or objective, which is not perhaps what is meant here. Also, is it possible to add ‘transparent’ to ‘accountable, efficient, responsive, and effective’?</strong></p>
<p>Open data sit at the heart of this global movement.</p>
<p><strong>Perhaps ‘transformation’ and not ‘movement’.</strong></p>
<p>2) Building a more democratic, just, and prosperous society requires transparent, accountable governments that engage regularly and meaningfully with citizens. Accordingly, there is an ongoing effort to enable collaboration around key social challenges, to provide effective oversight of government activities, to support economic development through innovation, and to develop effective, efficient public policies and programmes.</p>
<p><strong>Perhaps insert ‘sustainable’ before ‘economic development’. In the second sentence, none of the action phrases (‘enable collaboration’ and ‘effective oversight’ and ‘innovation’ and ‘develop effective, efficient’) are speaking about either democracy or justice. The focus seems to be completely on effectiveness. Phrases like ‘transparent’, ‘accountable’, and ‘participatory’ should be introduced here.</strong></p>
<p>Open data is essential to meeting these challenges.</p>
<p><strong>The above point clarifies why ‘data is essential’ but not why ‘open data is essential’. The connection between democracy and justice on one hand, and open data on the other is not yet articulated clearly.</strong></p>
<p>3) Effective access to data allows individuals and organisations to develop new insights and innovations that can generate social and economic benefits to improve the lives of people around the world, and help to improve the flow of information within and between countries. While governments collect a wide range of data, they do not always share these data in ways that are easily discoverable, useable, or understandable by the public.</p>
<p><strong>Along with allowing ‘insights’ and ‘innovations’ to develop, can it also be highlighted that open data make decisions and processes transparent?</strong></p>
<p>This is a missed opportunity.</p>
<p><strong>I agree with above comments that it is perhaps better to articulate this not as ‘missed opportunity’ but to highlight this as the very ‘opportunity’ that the open data agenda is interested in capturing.</strong></p>
<p>4) Today, many people expect to be able to access high quality information and services, including government data, when and how they want. Others see the opportunity presented by government data as one which can provide innovative policy solutions and support economic and social benefits for all members of society. We have arrived at a point at which people can use open data to generate value, insights, ideas, and services to create a better world for all.</p>
<p><strong>This point may also mention that some people are interested in using government data to open up government decisions and processes and make them transparent, which is a necessary condition for making the government accountable.</strong></p>
<p>6) Providing access to government data can drive sustainable and inclusive growth by empowering citizens, the media, civil society, and the private sector to identify gaps, and work toward better outcomes for public services in areas such as health, education, public safety, environmental protection, and governance. Open data can do this by:</p>
<p><strong>Perhaps ‘democratic participation’ can be added after ‘sustainable and inclusive growth’. That is: ‘Providing access to government data can drive sustainable and inclusive growth, and democratic participation, by empowering citizens…’</strong></p>
<p>7) Open government data can be used in innovative ways to create useful tools and products that help to navigate modern life more easily. Used in this way, open data are a catalyst for innovation in the private sector, supporting the creation of new markets, businesses, and jobs. These benefits can multiply as more private sector and civil society organisations adopt open data practices modelled by government and share their own data with the public.</p>
<p><strong>The incentive for private sector and CSOs to open up data is not clear. Overall benefit may rise with them opening up data, but how does a private company / CSO benefit by opening up its data?</strong></p>
<p>8) We, the adherents to the International Open Data Charter, agree that open data are an under-used resource with huge potential to encourage the building of stronger, more interconnected societies that better meet the needs of our citizens and allow innovation and prosperity to flourish.</p>
<p><strong>Along with ‘stronger’ and ‘more interconnected’, please mention ‘more transparent’ and ‘more democratic’. Also it is not clear what is meant by ‘stronger’. ‘[B]etter meet the needs of our citizens’ does not necessarily suggest a more democratic or just society, but a more effective welfare distribution system. Please add ‘… and empower the citizens to ensure accountability of the government.’</strong></p>
<p>9) We therefore agree to follow a set of principles that will be the foundation for access to, and the release and use of, open government data. These principles are:</p>
<ol><li>Open Data by Default;</li>
<li>Quality and Quantity;</li>
<li>Accessible and Useable by All;</li>
<li>Engagement and Empowerment of Citizens;</li>
<li>Collaboration for Development and Innovation</li></ol>
<p><strong>Does it makes sense to remove the ‘Quantity and Quality’ point and merging it with ‘Accessible and Usable by All’? Data quantity and quality issues, along with those related to publication of data, can all logically follow under the topic of data access and use. For example, highly aggregated data published once a year without documentation is not really usable data.</strong></p>
<p>10) We will develop an action plan in support of the implementation of the Charter and its Technical Annexes, and will update and renew the action plan at a minimum of every two years. We agree to commit the necessary resources to work within our political and legal frameworks to implement these principles in accordance with the technical best practices and timeframes set out in our action plan.</p>
<p><strong>We (at CIS) strongly feel that the Charter should also prescribe that along with the national Action Plan, Open Data Citizen’s Charters are created for various levels and verticals of the government. This will clarify data publication responsibilities and targets at ministerial and sub-national (including city) governmental levels, and will allow for much more effective monitoring (national and international) of the Action Plan implementation process.</strong></p>
<p><strong>‘[A]t a minimum of every two years’ reads a bit unclear. Does it mean that the Action Plan should be renewed only after two years and not before, or that the Action Plan should be renewed every two years or before that?</strong></p>
<p>11) We recognise that free access to, and the subsequent use of, government data are of significant value to society and the economy, and that government data should, therefore, be open by default.</p>
<p><strong>Along with clarifying the scope of ‘government data,’ the idea of ‘open’ in the context of data needs a clear definition as an independent point. The document is getting into ‘open by default’ without clarifying what is ‘open’, including both necessary and sufficient conditions.</strong></p>
<p>12) We acknowledge the need to promote the global development and adoption of tools and policies for the creation, use, and exchange of open data and information.</p>
<p><strong>I agree with Mike Linksvayer. This is a great opportunity for the Charter to connect the open data agenda with the wider open agendas, especially that of free and open source softwares. It is very important that this point promotes ‘global development of free and open source tools’.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Extending the comment by Jose Subero, along with ‘tools’ and ‘policies’, it will be great to have a mention of ‘standards’ here, which is critical for ensuring ‘interoperability’ and thus ‘harmonisation’.</strong></p>
<p>13) We recognise that the term ‘government data’ is meant in the widest sense possible. This could apply to data held by national, federal, and local governments, international government bodies, and other types of institutions in the wider public sector. This could also apply to data created for governments by external organisations, and data of significant benefit to the public which is held by external organisations and related to government programmes and services (e.g. data on extractives entities, data on transportation infrastructure, etc).</p>
<p><strong>It is wonderful that the point promotes a wide understanding of ‘government data’ but at the same time it should also define a necessary core understanding of data, just to ensure that governments do not interpret this point too narrowly.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Further, a focus only on data created by public agencies can perhaps be too narrow (for the necessary/core understanding of ‘government data’). With public services delivered increasingly by private agencies and public-private-partnerships, it is crucial that ‘government data’ should explicitly include any data coming out of a process funded by public money (the process may be carried out by a public agency or not). This is an extremely important point from a developing country perspective.</strong></p>
<p>14) We recognise that there is domestic and international legislation, in particular pertaining to security, privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property, and personally-identifiable and other sensitive information, which must be observed and/or updated where necessary.</p>
<p><strong>From a developing country perspective, it is very important that the Charter does not keep this critical point dependent on domestic and international legislations. International legislation may not be very developed for all of the mentioned topics, and many countries may not have existing domestic legislations on these topics either. The Charter should mention an internationally acceptable list of concerns / criteria for not opening up data. The list may include the topics mentioned here, like privacy and national security. This need not be a list of sufficient criteria, but of necessary ones.</strong></p>
<p>15) We will:</p>
<ul><li>develop and adopt policies and practices to ensure that all government data is made open by default, as outlined in this Charter, while recognising that there are legitimate reasons why some data cannot be released;</li></ul>
<p><strong>'Administrative reforms’ are most often crucial to make government data ‘open by default, and the same should be mentioned along with ‘policies’ and ‘practices’.</strong></p>
<ul><li>provide clear justifications as to why certain data cannot be released;</li></ul>
<p><strong>This is a great point. Perhaps it can be added that all government agencies should produce a list of all data assets maintained by them, point out the ones that cannot be made open, and provide clear justification as to why those cannot be released. This comment pre-empts 19.1. Perhaps this point about providing justification for not releasing data can be merged with 19.1.</strong></p>
<ul><li>develop the leadership, management, oversight, and internal communication policies necessary to enable this transition to a culture of openness.</li></ul>
<p><strong>Along with ‘leadership, management, oversight, and internal communication’, is it possible to add ‘incentives’? This is often overlooked in implementing open data policies.</strong></p>
<p>16) We recognise that governments and other public sector organisations hold vast amounts of information that may be of interest to citizens, and that it may take time to identify data for release or publication.</p>
<p>17) We also recognise the importance of consulting with citizens, other governments, non-governmental organisations, and other open data users, to identify which data to prioritise for release and/or improvement.</p>
<p>18) We agree, however, that governments’ primary responsibility should be to release data in a timely manner, without undue delay.</p>
<p><strong>Points 16-18 seem to suggest that the ‘quantity and quality’ issue is mostly one of prioritisation. This can be misleading. This is perhaps the ‘quantity’ issue, but not at all the ‘quality’ issue.</strong></p>
<p>19) We will:</p>
<ul><li>...</li>
<li>release high-quality open data that are timely, comprehensive, and accurate in accordance with prioritisation that is informed by public requests. To the extent possible, data will be released in their original, unmodified form and at the finest level of granularity available, and will also be linked to any visualisations or analyses created based on the data, as well as any relevant guidance or documentation;</li></ul>
<p><strong>Please add ‘human- and machine-readable’ along with ‘timely, comprehensive, and accurate’.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Put ‘, and’ between ‘, and accurate’ and ‘in accordance’.</strong></p>
<p><strong>‘Relevant guidance or documentation’ should be mentioned before, and not after, ‘visualisations or analyses’.</strong></p>
<ul><li>ensure that accompanying documentation is written in clear, plain language, so that it can be easily understood by all;</li></ul>
<p><strong>Add that the documentation should be ‘comprehensive’, along with being written in plain language.</strong></p>
<ul><li>make sure that data are fully described, and that data users have sufficient information to understand their source, strengths, weaknesses, and any analytical limitations;</li></ul>
<p><strong>Regarding ‘Full description of data’ — Aggregate data must be accompanied by low level raw data along with details of analytical methods used to arrive at figures. This allows for verification as well as alternate views and detection of statistical anomalies.</strong></p>
<ul><li>ensure that open datasets include consistent core metadata, and are made available in human- and machine-readable formats under an open and unrestrictive licence;</li></ul>
<p><strong>Is this the necessary definition of ‘open data’? If so, it should be much higher up.</strong></p>
<ul><li>allow users to provide feedback, and continue to make revisions to ensure the quality of the data is improved as needed; and</li></ul>
<p><strong>This point should clarify if it is talking about making revisions of the data itself (its content), or how it is being published (its form), or both?</strong></p>
<ul><li>apply consistent information lifecycle management practices, and ensure historical copies of datasets are preserved, archived, and kept accessible as long as they retain value.</li></ul>
<p><strong>The ‘as long as they retain value’ part seems vague. Who is going to take this decision about value? Is it possible to rephrase this as ‘as long as they are demanded by data users’?</strong></p>
<p>21) We recognise that open data should be made available free of charge in order to encourage their widest possible use.</p>
<p><strong>Maybe ‘government data’ and not ‘open data’ (open data already means it is available gratis). Also, along with ‘free of charge’ maybe add ‘under open license’, as that is a critical requirement for ‘widest possible use.’</strong></p>
<p>22) We recognise that when open data are released, they should be made available without bureaucratic or administrative barriers, such as mandatory user registration, which can deter people from accessing the data.</p>
<p><strong>I strongly believe that this point should be removed. Registration of the data user can also be very useful for the government agencies to track demand and actual usage of their datasets. Instead of the government agencies doing such kind of tracking as a background process, it is much better if the data usage monitoring of all users is done transparently. Along with perhaps a public dashboard of data usages of the users of an open data portal. As long as the registration barrier does not involve an approval process by the government agency, it can be allowed.</strong></p>
<p><strong>A more general point should be added as part of this principle, regarding no-discrimination (or approval process) among data users interested in accessing and using of open government data.</strong></p>
<p>23) We will:</p>
<ul><li>release data in open formats and free of charge to ensure that the data are available to the widest range of users to find, access, and use them. In many cases, this will include providing data in multiple formats, so that they can be processed by computers and used by people; and</li></ul>
<p><strong>Please add ‘open license’ along with ‘open formats’ and ‘free of charge’.</strong></p>
<p>24) We recognise that the release of open data strengthens our public and democratic institutions, encourages better development, implementation, and assessment of policies to meet the needs of our citizens, and enables more meaningful, better informed engagement between governments and citizens.</p>
<p><strong>Perhaps add ‘, and makes them transparent’ after ‘strengthens our public and democratic institutions’. Please also add ‘monitoring’ along with ‘development, implementation, and assessment’.</strong></p>
<p>25) We will:</p>
<ul><li>implement oversight and review processes to report regularly on the progress and impact of our open data initiatives;</li></ul>
<p><strong>The functioning of these ‘oversight and review processes’ must be open and transparent themselves. The reporting should be public.</strong></p>
<ul><li>engage with community and civil society representatives working in the domain of transparency and accountability to determine what data they need to effectively hold governments to account; encourage the use of open data to develop innovative, evidence-based policy solutions that benefit all members of society, as well as empower marginalised groups; and</li></ul>
<p><strong>This must also include a point regarding the government proactively seeking data demands from citizens, CSOs, academics, and the private sector.</strong></p>
<p><strong>‘as well as empower marginalised groups’ is too vague. Perhaps it can be made into a separate point, and qualified with what kinds of empowerment is needed – from demanding data, to accessing and using data, to be aware of the data collected from such groups by the government agencies.</strong></p>
<ul><li>be transparent about our own data collection, standards, and publishing processes, by documenting all of these related processes online.</li></ul>
<p><strong>This should be part of point 19.</strong></p>
<p>26) We recognise the importance of diversity in stimulating creativity and innovation. The more citizens, governments, civil society, and the private sector use open data, the greater the social and economic benefits that will be generated. This is true for government, commercial, and non-commercial uses.</p>
<p><strong>The diversity point is almost already made with points 20-21 – widest possible users lead to widest possible use.</strong></p>
<p>28) We will:</p>
<ul><li>...</li>
<li>engage with civil society, the private sector, and academic representatives to determine what data they need to generate social and economic value;</li></ul>
<p><strong>This is also covered under the Principle 3.</strong></p>
<ul><li>provide training programs, tools, and guidelines designed to ensure government employees are capable of using open data effectively in policy development processes;</li></ul>
<p><strong>This should be part of Principle 1.</strong></p>
<ul><li>encourage non-governmental organisations to open up data created and collected by them in order to move toward a richer open data ecosystem with multiple sources of open data;</li></ul>
<p><strong>I agree with ABS. Why not ‘non-governmental organisations and the private sector’?</strong></p>
<p><strong>Also the document shifts back and forth between ‘civil society organisations’ and ‘non-governmental organisations’. If both mean the same in this document, then it should use only one.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<h2>General Comments on the Charter</h2>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>1. Why not merge the Principle 4 and 5 so as to describe an overall situation of engagement and collaboration. The ends can be commercial acts or towards democratic practices, but the existing principles do not make much a difference between the two types of acts.</strong></p>
<p><strong>2. Further, can a new principle be added at the end that would address the implementation process of the Action Plan? Specifically, it should clarify how the implementation itself be an open process, with not only the Action Plan but annual reports regarding the status of implementation. This principle may connect to the work being done by the Implementation WG.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/international-open-data-charter-comments-by-cis'>http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/international-open-data-charter-comments-by-cis</a>
</p>
No publishersumandroOpen DataOpen Government DataFeaturedPoliciesOpennessInternational Open Data Charter2015-09-08T11:01:01ZBlog EntryIntermediary Liability in India: Chilling Effects on Free Expression on the Internet
http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/chilling-effects-on-free-expression-on-internet
<b>The Centre for Internet & Society in partnership with Google India conducted the Google Policy Fellowship 2011. This was offered for the first time in Asia Pacific as well as in India. Rishabh Dara was selected as a Fellow and researched upon issues relating to freedom of expression. The results of the paper demonstrate that the ‘Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011’ notified by the Government of India on April 11, 2011 have a chilling effect on free expression.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Intermediaries are widely recognised as essential cogs in the wheel of exercising the right to freedom of expression on the Internet. Most major jurisdictions around the world have introduced legislations for limiting intermediary liability in order to ensure that this wheel does not stop spinning. With the 2008 amendment of the Information Technology Act 2000, India joined the bandwagon and established a ‘notice and takedown’ regime for limiting intermediary liability.<br /><br />On the 11th of April 2011, the Government of India notified the ‘Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011’ that prescribe, amongst other things, guidelines for administration of takedowns by intermediaries. The Rules have been criticised extensively by both the national and the international media. The media has projected that the Rules, contrary to the objective of promoting free expression, seem to encourage privately administered injunctions to censor and chill free expression. On the other hand, the Government has responded through press releases and assured that the Rules in their current form do not violate the principle of freedom of expression or allow the government to regulate content.<br /><br />This study has been conducted with the objective of determining whether the criteria, procedure and safeguards for administration of the takedowns as prescribed by the Rules lead to a chilling effect on online free expression. In the course of the study, takedown notices were sent to a sample comprising of 7 prominent intermediaries and their response to the notices was documented. Different policy factors were permuted in the takedown notices in order to understand at what points in the process of takedown, free expression is being chilled.<br /><br />The results of the paper clearly demonstrate that the Rules indeed have a chilling effect on free expression. Specifically, the Rules create uncertainty in the criteria and procedure for administering the takedown thereby inducing the intermediaries to err on the side of caution and over-comply with takedown notices in order to limit their liability; and as a result suppress legitimate expressions. Additionally, the Rules do not establish sufficient safeguards to prevent misuse and abuse of the takedown process to suppress legitimate expressions.<br /><br />Of the 7 intermediaries to which takedown notices were sent, 6 intermediaries over-complied with the notices, despite the apparent flaws in them. From the responses to the takedown notices, it can be reasonably presumed that not all intermediaries have sufficient legal competence or resources to deliberate on the legality of an expression. Even if such intermediary has sufficient legal competence, it has a tendency to prioritize the allocation of its legal resources according to the commercial importance of impugned expressions. Further, if such subjective determination is required to be done in a limited timeframe and in the absence of adequate facts and circumstances, the intermediary mechanically (without application of mind or proper judgement) complies with the takedown notice.<br /><br />The results also demonstrate that the Rules are procedurally flawed as they ignore all elements of natural justice. The third party provider of information whose expression is censored is not informed about the takedown, let alone given an opportunity to be heard before or after the takedown. There is also no recourse to have the removed information put-back or restored. The intermediary is under no obligation to provide a reasoned decision for rejecting or accepting a takedown notice.</p>
<p>The Rules in their current form clearly tilt the takedown mechanism in favour of the complainant and adversely against the creator of expression.</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>The research highlights the need to:<br />
<ul>
<li> increase the safeguards against misuse of the privately administered takedown regime</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>reduce the uncertainty in the criteria for administering the takedown</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> reduce the uncertainty in the procedure for administering the takedown</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li> include various elements of natural justice in the procedure for administering the takedown</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>replace the requirement for subjective legal determination by intermediaries with an objective test</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/intermediary-liability-in-india.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Intermediary Liability in India">Click</a> to download the report [PDF, 406 Kb]</p>
<hr />
<h3>Appendix 2</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/intermediary-liability-and-foe-executive-summary.pdf" class="internal-link">Intermediary Liability and Freedom of Expression — Executive Summary</a> (PDF, 263 Kb)</li>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/counter-proposal-by-cis-draft-it-intermediary-due-diligence-and-information-removal-rules-2012.odt" class="internal-link">Counter-proposal by the Centre for Internet and Society: Draft Information Technology (Intermediary Due Diligence and Information Removal) Rules, 2012</a> (Open Office Document, 231 Kb)</li>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/counter-proposal-by-cis-draft-it-intermediary-due-diligence-and-information-removal-rules-2012.pdf" class="internal-link">Counter-proposal by the Centre for Internet and Society: Draft Information Technology (Intermediary Due Diligence and Information Removal) Rules, 2012</a> (PDF, 422 Kb)</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p>The above documents have been sent to:</p>
<ol>
<li>Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development and Minister of Communications and Information Technology</li>
<li>Shri Milind Murli Deora, Minister of State of Communications and Information Technology</li>
<li>Shri Sachin Pilot, Minister of State, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology</li>
<li>Dr. Anita Bhatnagar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology</li>
<li>Dr. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics & Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology</li>
<li>Dr. Gulshan Rai, Scientist G & Group Coordinator, Director General, ICERT, Controller Of Certifying, Authorities and Head of Division, Cyber Appellate Tribunal </li>
</ol>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/chilling-effects-on-free-expression-on-internet'>http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/chilling-effects-on-free-expression-on-internet</a>
</p>
No publisherRishabh DaraFreedom of Speech and ExpressionPublic AccountabilityInternet GovernanceResearchFeaturedIntermediary LiabilityCensorship2012-12-14T10:22:24ZBlog EntryIntellectual Property Rights — Open Access for Researchers
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/unesco-nehaa-chaudhari-march-19-2015-communication-and-information-resources-news-and-in-focus-articles-unesco-open-access-curriculum-is-now-online
<b>In the year 2013, Nehaa Chaudhari had worked on a module on Intellectual Property Rights for United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)'s Open Access Curriculum (Curriculum for Researchers) as part of a project for the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia. UNESCO published the module this year. Nehaa Chaudhari and Varun Baliga were among the Module preparation team. Nehaa Chaudhari was the writer for Units 1, 2 and 3: Understanding Intellectual Property Rights, Copyright and Alternative to a Strict Copyright Regime.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This publication is available in Open Access under the Attribution - ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0 IGO) license (<a class="external-link" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/">http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/igo/</a>). By using the content of this publication, the users accept to be bound by the terms of use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository (<a class="external-link" href="http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en">http://www.unesco.org/open-access/terms-use-ccbysa-en</a>).</p>
<hr />
<h2 style="text-align: justify; ">Module Introduction</h2>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) are set of rights associated with creations of the human mind. An output of the human mind may be attributed with intellectual property rights. These are like any other property, and the law allows the owner to use the same to economically profit from the intellectual work. Broadly IPR covers laws related to copyrights, patents and trademarks. While laws for these are different in different countries, they follow the international legal instruments. The establishment of the Wold Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has established the significance of IPR for the economic growth of nations in the knowledge economy.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This module has three units, and while the Unit 1 covers the basics of IPR, Unit 2 expands in detail the components of copyright and explains the origins and conventions associated with it. Unit 3 discusses the emergence of liberal licensing of copyrighted work to share human creation in the commons. In the last unit, we discuss the Creative Commons approach to licensing of creative works within the structures of the copyright regime that permits the authors to exercise their rights to share in the way they intend to. Creative Commons provides six different types of licenses, of which the Creative Commons Attribution license is the most widely used in research journals part of the Open Access framework.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the end of this module, you are expected to be able to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Understand intellectual property rights and related issues </li>
<li>Explain copyright, authors’ rights, licensing and retention of rights; and</li>
<li>Use the Creative Commons licensing system</li>
</ul>
<h3>Acknowledgements</h3>
<p>Nehaa would like to thank Varun Baliga and Anirudh Sridhar for their research and writing support in Unit 1, and Samantha Cassar for Unit 2.</p>
<ul>
</ul>
<hr />
<p><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/intellectual-property.pdf" class="internal-link">Click to download the PDF containing the Modules</a>. Also read <a class="external-link" href="http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/resources/news-and-in-focus-articles/all-news/news/unescos_open_access_oa_curriculum_is_now_online/#.VQo6Ho58h8e">UNESCO’s Open Access (OA) Curriculum is now online</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/unesco-nehaa-chaudhari-march-19-2015-communication-and-information-resources-news-and-in-focus-articles-unesco-open-access-curriculum-is-now-online'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/unesco-nehaa-chaudhari-march-19-2015-communication-and-information-resources-news-and-in-focus-articles-unesco-open-access-curriculum-is-now-online</a>
</p>
No publishernehaaFeaturedHomepagePublicationsAccess to Knowledge2015-03-24T01:22:20ZBlog Entry