The Centre for Internet and Society
http://editors.cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 5191 to 5205.
Battle for the Internet
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/battle-internet
<b>In this article written by Latha Jishnu and published by Down to Earth, Issue: March 15 2011, the author reports about the events in the United States in the post WikiLeaks scenario.</b>
<p>As the Internet becomes the public square and the marketplace of our world, it is increasingly becoming a contested terrain. Its potential for diffusing knowledge and subverting the traditional channels of information is tremendous. So it is not surprising that governments, corporations and even seemingly innocuous social networking sites all want to control and influence the way the Internet operates. It’s easy to see why. Close to a third of humanity is linked to this system—and the dramatic growth in Internet usage over the past decade is set to explode in coming years. So is its commercial promise. Latha Jishnu looks at events in the US following the WikiLeaks exposé of its diplomatic cables, and in the hot spots of political turmoil across the world to understand the significance of the Internet in today’s interconnected world and the threats it faces. Arnab Pratim Dutta explains the technology used to block access to the Net.</p>
<table style="text-align: center;" class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/D2E1.jpg/image_preview" style="float: none;" title="D2E1" class="image-inline image-inline" alt="D2E1" /></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">
<p> An opposition supporter holds up a laptop showing images of celebrations in Cairo's Tahrir Square, after Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak resigned (Photo: Reuters)</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Ideas and ideologies, images and reports of events, both minor and cataclysmic, fly on the Internet, swirling through cyberspace, gathering resonance, metamorphosing and touching millions of lives in different ways. Many of the ideas—and visuals—could be banal (as they very often are), some dangerous, others bringing promise of change. Some have the power to subvert, helping to stir and stoke the smouldering embers of political and social unrest as recent uprisings in north Africa, West Asia and Asia have shown. To many, the Internet is the rebel hero of our times, subverting conventional media and leaking news and information that governments would like to censor. Even a village in the remote reaches of Odisha’s Malkangiri district which may have no electricity is in some way linked to cyberspace through smart cell phones because mobile operators are increasingly turning Internet service providers (ISPs) and bringing the worldwide web to the conflict-ridden forests of central India.</p>
<p>It is about the power and reach of connection, unprecedented since people first began communicating with each other. The Internet, therefore, is turning into a conflict zone with everyone seeking control of it: governments, corporations and social networking sites, all of whom have different agendas. Social networks may seem innocuous but they are as much a hazard as the others to Internet freedom. Surveillance of “netizens” is becoming commonplace, whether in democracies or in totalitarian regimes, through a host of new laws and regulations ostensibly aimed at strengthening national security, cyber security or protecting business interests. <br /> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/D2E2.jpg/image_preview" alt="Down to Earth 2" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Down to Earth 2" /></td>
<td>
<p>While most governments are seeking to filter and block specific content, in extreme cases, as in Egypt, the Net has been blacked out using what some experts say is the “kill switch” (see ‘The Egypt shutdown’). This could emerge as the biggest threat to the Internet since other regimes could be tempted to go the Egyptian way. Most governments, however, prefer not to use it, not even the censorship-obsessed Chinese and Saudi regimes because the Internet is also about business—commerce of increasing significance is being routed through its sinews. Take one small example: In January alone, Britons spent a whopping £5.1 billion online, recording a 21 per cent jump in e-commerce revenues over January 2010, according to the latest edition of the IMRG/CapGemini e-Retail Sales Index. It is the kind of figure that stops authorities from reaching for the kill switch. </p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
</div>
<p style="text-align: left;">In the case of China, e-commerce transactions hit 4.5 trillion yuan (US $682.16 billion) in 2010, up 22 per cent year-on-year, according to China e- Business Research Center and CNZZ Data Center. Of this, online B2B or business-to-business deals accounted for the bulk: 3.8 trillion yuan (US </p>
<div style="text-align: left;" class="pullquote">Popular whistleblower website wikileaks.org was unavailable for some time in December 2010 </div>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<p>$576.05 billion). And retail sales are expected to zoom, too, pretty soon with e-commerce websites selling directly to customers growing to more than 18,600 last year. Thanks to a dramatic spike in the rate of Net penetration and impressive growth of online business. </p>
<p>But the world has a long way to go before the Internet becomes ubiquitous or an all-encompassing global commons. Currently, just two billion people are linked to the system (see above: ‘Big picture’), which is less than a third of the world’s population. And the reach, as the chart shows, is rather patchy. India may be in the top five Internet user nations with a total of 81 million users but penetration is an abysmal 6.9 per cent, the worst in the list. Blame that on our pathetic education levels and poverty. China, however, is the undisputed leviathan with 420 million users in 2010—some estimates put the figure closer to 500 million now—who account for more than a fifth of the world’s Internet users. No other country’s growth in this sector matches China’s either in speed or drama. </p>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/D3E3.jpg/image_preview" alt="Down to Earth 3" class="image-inline" title="Down to Earth 3" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">This is one reason Washington frequently raises the issue of China’s policing of the Internet in different fora. The most recent was on February 15 when secretary of state Hillary Clinton made the second of her rousing speeches on safeguarding the Internet from all kinds of government interference. Speaking at George Washington University in Washington DC, Clinton pointed out that the attempts to control the Internet were rife across the world but singled China for repeated attacks.</span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">“In China, the government censors content and redirects search requests to error pages. In Burma, independent news sites have been taken down with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. In Cuba, the government is trying to create a national intranet, while not allowing their citizens to access the global internet. In Vietnam, bloggers who criticize the government are arrested and abused. In Iran, the authorities block opposition and media websites, target social media, and steal identifying information about their own people in order to hunt them down. These actions reflect a landscape that is complex and combustible, and sure to become more so in the coming years as billions of more people connect to the Internet.” </span></p>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span">
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/D4E4.jpg/image_preview" alt="Down to Earth 4" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Down to Earth 4" /></td>
<td>
<p>That seemed a fair assessment of the trends but the irony is that even as the secretary of state was speaking, the Department of Justice was seeking to enforce a court order to direct Twitter Inc, to provide the US government records of three individuals, including Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland's Parliament who had been in touch with others about WikiLeaks and its founder Juan Assange last year when WikiLeaks released its huge cache of US diplomatic cables.</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br /></span></div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">A commentary in China Daily noted with asperity: “The Assange case reveals such rhetoric is just so much hypocrisy. It is apparent that when Internet freedom conflicts with self-declared US national interests, or when Internet freedom exposes lies by the self-proclaimed open and transparent government, it immediately becomes a crime.” </span></p>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">
</span></p>
<p>The Assange case more than anything else has exposed how vulnerable the Net is to political meddling and control. In December last year, Amazon said it stopped hosting the WikiLeaks website because it “violated its terms of service” and not because the office of the Senate Homeland Security Committee chaired by Joe Lieberman had questioned Amazon about its relationship with WikiLeaks. </p>
<p>WikiLeaks had turned to Amazon to keep its site available after hackers tried to flood it and prevent users accessing the classified information. Few people were willing to credit Amazon’s feeble explanation for cutting off WikiLeaks and the general surmise was that Lieberman had put some kind of pressure on the webhosting platform. According to one analyst, the simple reason is that the US government is one of the company’s biggest clients. According to a press note issued by the company: “Government adoption of AWS (Amazon Web Services) grew significantly in 2010. Today we have nearly 20 government agencies leveraging AWS, and the US federal government continues to be one of our fastest growing customer segments.” </p>
<p>As Amazon abandoned WikiLeaks, Paypal, Visa and MasterCard had also dumped WikiLeaks. This set off a fullscale cyber war in which a fourth party made its presence felt: Hackers/ ‘hacktivists’ who unleashed operation payback for what they deemed unfair targeting of WikiLeaks and Assange. This involved a series of (DDOS) attacks on Paypal, MasterCard, Swiss Bank PostFinance and Lieberman’s website. </p>
<p>So while governments in many parts of the world block sites, jail or kill dissidents for expressing their views on the Net, threats to the freedom of the Internet come primarily from the paranoia that governments suffer and from badly crafted policies they implement to protect business and other interests. </p>
<div class="pullquote">US enforcement agencies shut down 84,000 sites, falsely accusing them of child pornography</div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The US, the ultimate symbol of liberal democracy, is no less uneasy about the power of the Internet. A slew of laws are making their way through the Senate, laws that will give the administration sweeping powers to seize domain names and shut down websites, even those outside its territory, and laws that strengthen the powers of the president in the time of a cyber emergency, including the use of a kill switch. In September, the US Senate introduced the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, which would allow the government to create a blacklist of websites that are suspected to be infringing IP rights and to pressure or require all ISPs to block access to those sites. In these cases, no due process of law protects people before they are disconnected or their sites are blocked. </p>
<p>In India, in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, Parliament hastily passed amendments to the Information Technology Act, 2000, without any discussion in either House. The December 2008 amendments have some good points but they also allow increased online surveillance. Section 69A permits the Centre to “issue directions for blocking of public access to any information through any computer resource”, which means that the government can block any website. </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">
</span></p>
<p>Pranesh Prakash of the Bengalurubased Centre for Internet and Society notes that while necessity or expediency in terms of certain restricted interests is specified, no guidelines have been specified. “It has to be ensured that they are prescribed first, before any powers of censorship are granted to anybody,” said Prakash in an analysis of the amendments. “In India, it is clear that any law that gives unguided discretion to an administrative authority to exercise censorship is unreasonable.” </p>
<p> </p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<p>Civil rights activists say the section has broadened the scope of surveillance and that there are no legal or procedural safeguards to prevent violation of civil liberties. </p>
<p>As the battle for keeping the Internet is joined by netizens who are aware of the power of connection, governments, too, are ramping up command and control measures. Among the risks to an open, democratic Internet are the following:</p>
<h3>Threat to universality </h3>
<p>The basic design principle underlying the World Wide Web is universality, and, according to its founder Tim Berners-Lee, several threats are emerging. Among these are: cable companies that sell Internet connectivity wanting to limit their Net users to downloading only the company’s mix of entertainment and social networking sites (see ‘<a class="external-link" href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/hidden-dangers-facebook">Hidden dangers of Facebook</a>’). </p>
<p>Another is by pricing Net connectivity out of the reach of the poor and allowing differential pricing. Berners- Lee, warned at a recent London conference: “There are a lot of companies who would love to be able to limit what web pages you can see...the moment you let Net neutrality go, you lose the web as it is...You lose something essential—the fact that any innovator can dream up an idea and set up a website at some random place and let it just take off from word of mouth...” </p>
<h3>Actions against piracy </h3>
<p>The nub of such operations lies in the US Department of Homeland Security, whose Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) have been seizing domains because they are suspected of hawking pirated goods. The first seizure was in November last year when 82 websites selling counterfeit goods ranging from handbags to golf clubs were taken out. </p>
<p>Last month, there was another raid on the Internet. According to TorrentFreak and other Internet monitoring sites, the two agencies wrongly shut down 84,000 websites that had not broken the law, falsely accusing them of child pornography crimes. After the mistake was identified, it took about three days for some of the websites to go live again. The domain provider, FreeDNS, was taken aback. “Freedns.afraid.org has never allowed this type of abuse of its DNS service. We are working to get the issue sorted as quickly as possible,” it said. </p>
<p>Earlier, DoJ and ICE had seized the domain of the popular sports streaming and P2P download site Rojadirecta. What is shocking is that the site is based in Spain and is perfectly legal. Two courts in Spain have ruled that the site operates legally, and other than the .org domain the site has no links to the US. </p>
<p>Internet freedom could easily become the biggest casualty in the illconceived and poorly designed procedures adopted by developed countries— France, the UK, South Korea, Taiwan and New Zealand have similar laws—to protect intellectual property from counterfeiters and pirates, primarily at the behest of the film and music recording industries. </p>
<p>There are indications India may be planning to follow suit (see ‘<a class="external-link" href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/indias-three-strikes-policy">India’s three-strikes policy</a>’), although civil rights groups say it could amount to a form of deprivation of liberty. </p>
<h3>Surveillance technology </h3>
<p>The problem with the use of technology in keeping the Internet safe cuts both ways. With increasing number of cyber attacks on both official and public websites from an array of hackers and malware, governments are reaching for ever more sophisticated high-tech surveillance systems. For instance, computer systems of the US Congress and the executive branches are under attack an average of 1.8 billion times per month, according to a recent Senate report. The result: more spyware. One such is deep packet inspection technology. It is a tool that protects customers from rampant spam and virus traffic. Experts say the Internet could not survive without this technology and yet, it helps authorities to keep a close watch on what people are doing on the Net. In the US, ISPs are required to have this technology. </p>
<p>So what can be done? Keep close tabs on government involvement in the Internet and ensure that its intrusion in both the content and the engines of this system is kept to the minimum.</p>
<p><em>Read the original article written by Latha Jishnu in Down to Earth</em> <a class="external-link" href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/battle-internet">here</a><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/battle-internet'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/battle-internet</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-01T15:28:19ZNews ItemLives suspended in the Web
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/suspended-in-web
<b>When 14-year-old Manish sits behind his laptop, punching away at keys, his facial expressions reflecting his various online interactions, his parents stand in the doorway, watching curiously. Their son is physically at home, but to all purposes, lost in the limbo of the Internet. By all standards, Manish is a good, responsible young adult but his parents worry because they don’t seem to have any control over Manish’s online life. They find it difficult to understand the digital realms that he seamlessly integrates into his life.</b>
<p>As young people across the country are creating these new hybrid physical-digital spaces of work, leisure and lifestyle, the “analogue generations” remain outside, concerned about how they can ensure that their children are safe online, and not abusing the power of this largely unregulated space. </p>
<p>Their paranoia is amplified by the stories of uncontrolled access to pornography, of children falling prey to sexual predators, fears of intellectual property theft, and subversive and violent mobilisations that the young orchestrate through these online networks. The need to regulate, control and design this digital environment that so many of these young people inhabit is countered by their own ignorance and lack of control over these spaces. Technological solutions, like cyber-nannies and filtering software that prevent access to websites that can have questionable content, have eventually proven to be futile preventatives. </p>
<p>Attempts at technology-based censorship are useless because these young people, digital natives, find ways to circumvent the attempts at controlling their access. It is clear that the solutions are outside of technology, and not very different from ways in which parents have always dealt with these questions. </p>
<p>Here are the top five ways to do so, which do not require a parent to become a netizen overnight, but can get them involved and make sure young users of technology remain responsible, safe and canny in their interactions online. </p>
<p>Monitored access: Instead of figuring out censorship software, parents need to learn that as with the TV, monitored access for younger users of the Internet is completely valid. Web 2.0 rhetoric promotes a strong sense of individualism and privacy and parents often feel like they are intruding on a child’s “private” time online. However, it is completely valid for parents to be in the same room and keeping an eye on what their child is up to while surfing. </p>
<p>Limited time: Instead of trying to control the content, try and help the young person to efficiently manage time and digital resources. We live in a world where the impulse to stay constantly connected is very strong. However, there is no reason why the young user has to be online in all their free time. If they are given a specified number of hours a week to spend online, they learn to use their time more efficiently. Password-protect the computers, take limited expenditure accounts for their mobile phones and have strict rules (which everybody in the family has to follow) about interface access during family time. </p>
<p>Shared computers: As computing becomes more personal, young users access the Internet from many computing devices like cellphones, personal laptops, etc. Studies have shown that young users who use shared machines kept in common areas of the house are less prone to accessing undesirable material online. Do not keep the computing devices in bedrooms. Use shared studies or quiet corners of the living room. </p>
<p>Get digital and involved: One of the reasons why young people often do not communicate with parents about their technological forays is because the older generation professes a digital disconnect. Take this opportunity to initiate a two-way learning. Get your children to teach you on how to use certain platforms and websites, and in conversations, you might be able to educate them about responsible behaviour online. This peer-to-peer connection helps establish trust and a safe space to discuss problematic areas. Parents of teenagers who join social networks like Facebook and Tumblr, and get to be a part of the child’s life, often find new channels of communication opening up for them. </p>
<p>Storytelling: Digital storytelling has huge potential for voicing concerns and problems. For these young people, the spaces provided online are safe spaces. They write freely, tell stories, create digital content, providing a gateway into what is happening in their lives. Recognise the creative potential of young users, appreciate their ability to tell these stories — through blogs, micro-blogs, audio and video podcasts, commentary on other content, etc. Getting them to tell stories and sharing your own with them makes for greater insight. Many cross-generational storytelling projects, where younger children tell the stories of the older people in the house, or write a combined blog have proven to be quite successful online. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, it is good to remember that the problems that new technologies throw up are not necessarily new. The solutions need to be found in our everyday interactions and practices, and dependence on technological application is often counter-productive. Technology can only be a way by which solutions are implemented. </p>
<p><em>The article by Nishant Shah was published in the Indian Express on March 11, 2011. The original can be read </em><a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/lives-suspended-in-the-web/760976/1">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/suspended-in-web'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/suspended-in-web</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaDigital Natives2011-04-01T15:45:39ZNews ItemCatch-all approach to Net freedom draws activist ire
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/catch-all
<b>The Internet has revolutionized the way we socialise, date and even protest. Online activism is a faster, more effective way to get more people to react to a cause. But at the same time it is this speed that makes Internet-generated protests a far graver danger than offline protests. Egypt faced an Internet shutdown when the protest started gaining steam and China has been throttled with heavy cyber censorship for years. Unfortunately, silencing the voices of dissent online is as easy as raising them. This article by Annie Johnny appeared in the Sunday Guardian, New Delhi on 13 March 2011. </b>
<p>A workshop recently conducted at the Constitution Club in New Delhi brought together human rights activists, bloggers and techies and explored the challenges faced by online activists.</p>
<blockquote>“When the Internet was in its nascent stage, there was the Utopian belief that the government would not have the same role to play as it does offline. However, the Internet is being increasingly regulated by the government,” says Dr. Anja Kovacs, fellow, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore.</blockquote>
<p>The Binayak Sen and Pink Chaddi campaigns provide a picture of how fast and efficient online activism is. “Initially, the campaign was restricted to a centralised network of people and was a way for me and my friends to vent out our thoughts. But it grew beyond our expectations. Between March 2008 and May 2009, we had about 1.5 million visitors. Our experience with the Internet as an effective tool in mobilising people has been very positive,” says Satya Sivaraman, one of the initiators of the Free Binayak Sen Campaign website. </p>
<p>Blocking websites that promote child pornography and hate speech is acceptable. Activists, however, are concerned about the mysterious disappearances of blogs and the vague explanations given to justify them.</p>
<blockquote>“There is a provision for spam in the IT Act. While the rule is meant for only for spam, it is extended over a much wider area. According to it, anything that is deemed objectionable can be blocked. Instead of targeting offensive material, the act should target harmful content. Child pornography and hate speeches cause harm, whereas what is ‘offensive’ is subjective,” says Pranesh Prakash, programme manager, Centre for Internet and Society. </blockquote>
<p>Bloggers in countries like Thailand and Singapore face serious consequences for posting anti-state views online. However, very few people all over the world are standing up against the curtailing of the right to freedom of expression online.</p>
<blockquote>“There are ways to access blocked sites but most people do not bother to do that. If a site is blocked, they will simply accept it. The government in India is becoming increasingly restrictive. While their reason for concern is valid as the restrictions are in place to protect national security, the way they are dealing with this is inappropriate. Drafting vague rules related to objectionable content’ without specifying whom the content is objectionable to, is not going to help. There needs to be clearly defined categories for banning sites,” says Kovacs.</blockquote>
<p>Rising against the growing restrictions and the wide gaps in Internet accessibility, The Internet Rights and Principles coalition, which works on Internet rights, is coming up with a Charter for Human Rights and Principles for the Internet. </p>
<p>The charter, which is still being drafted and has been put online for suggestions, emphasises that human rights apply the same way online as they do offline, and lays down rules and Internet policies necessary to protect human rights.</p>
<p>Another interesting observation is that most online protests don’t always spark parallel offline protests. The Meter Jam protest against the high auto fares in Mumbai is one such example.</p>
<blockquote>“While it helped the middle class vent their frustration, on the day of the actual offline protest, hardly anyone boycotted autos. Business went on as usual,” says Kovacs.</blockquote>
<ul><li>See the article on the Sunday Guardian <a class="external-link" href="http://www.sunday-guardian.com/technologic/catch-all-approach-to-net-freedom-draws-activist-ire">website</a></li><li>Download the original pdf <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/advocacy/catch-net-freedom" class="internal-link" title="Catch file">here</a></li></ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/catch-all'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/catch-all</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-01T15:43:55ZNews ItemCause and effect Facebook-style
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cause-and-effect
<b>While the world is crediting Facebook for triggering the Arab revolution, do Facebook groups in India say anything about top of mind causes for young Indians? Crime touches a chord - the pages that have sprung up for Radhika Tanwar and Aarushi Talwar illustrate this - but it's the ideological issues that have made it to our top five list. Anja Kovas, a fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society, a Bengaluru-based research organisation, analyses the success of these causes. </b>
<ol start="1"><li>Save the Tiger: The biggest Indian group on Facebook 'Save the Tiger' has a following of over 8,43,663 people. <br /><br />Content talk: The site tracks news items about the tiger and features comments and quotes about the animal. The group's motto 'Read between the stripes' encourages members to 'like' conservation. <br /><br />Pages: As the most popular cause, this also links to over 30 pages such as the 'Save the Leopard', Save the Tiger Fund' and 'Only 1411 left in India' <br /><br /><strong>Anja-speak</strong>: This campaign was successful because several celebrities were a part of the cause. TV campaigns and celebs always ensure a larger audience. Also world over, environmental issues triggers stronger reactions. </li><li>Terrorism: It's a subject that affects every single Indian, and 'Stop Terrorism in India' has already clocked 1, 39, 436 members. <br /><br />Content talk: "If you want to sleep peacefully then wake up now…" It's comments like these that would best explain what the group is all about. Members of this group share videos of 26/11, violence in Kashmir, Salman Khan, anti-hunger campaign and other subjects like peace, liberty and justice. <br /><br />Pages: Other related pages are 'Stop terror in India and specially Mumbai'. 'Stop Terror in India, Pakistan' <br /><br /><strong>Anja-speak</strong>: The Mumbai attacks shook the nation and touched a chord with everyone across age groups, classes and beliefs.</li><li>Kashmir: Over four lakh Kashmiris have been displaced from their state since 1989-90. It's not surprising then that Kashmir comes third in our list of causes. 'Frontline Kashmir' supports the 'freedom movement' and has about 24,000 members. <br /><br />Content talk: Peppered with calls for freedom, the comments on the walls also speak out against separatists. Pages: For various viewpoints on Kashmir, also check out Amnesty International, Revolt, I Cry, We Love Syed Ali Shah Geelani. <br /><br /><strong>Anja-speak</strong>:Facebook played an important role in letting young Kashmiris voice their opinions online. It's obviously a platform for young Kashmiris who want to air grievances. </li><li>Corruption: Despite the fact that corruption is one of the foremost issues in India today, the largest group against corruption 'India Against Corruption' has only 16,499 members. <br /><br />Content talk: From information on marches to news articles, this page deals with anything related to corruption in India. A much talked about issue on this page is the CWG and the 2G scam. Pages: Do check out the 'Commonwealth Jhel' page as well and the 'I Paid A Bribe' and 'Choosna Bandh Campaign'!<br /><br /><strong>Anja-speak</strong>: It's a topic that unites people across classes in India. With big scams unfolding every other day, people are definitely interested in such a group.</li><li>Free Binayak Sen: With 8,479 'likes', the Facebook page 'Release Dr Binayak Sen: Protest against mockery of justice against him', a cause by the same name that is supported by 7,745 people, stands as the most popular group. <br /><br />Content talk: The campaign on Facebook is an offshoot of a section of society that believes Dr Sen has been denied justice by the state and speaks of all related matters including the sedition law. Pages: There are 15 groups and 22 pages related to Dr Binayak Sen, including 'Free Binayak Sen! Repeal Section 124A IPC' and 'Free Binayak Sen - Global Campaign'. <br /><br /><strong>Anja-speak</strong>: This campaign owes its success, in terms of its outreach, to years of determination and relentless action by those that support Dr Sen.</li></ol>
<span class="Apple-style-span">
<div><span class="Apple-style-span">This article by Malvika Nanda was published in the Hindustan Times on March 13, 2011. Read the original <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cause-and-effect-Facebook-style/Article1-672785.aspx">here</a></span></div>
</span>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cause-and-effect'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/cause-and-effect</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-01T15:44:47ZNews ItemGovt proposal to muzzle bloggers sparks outcry
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/govt-proposal
<b>A government proposal seeking to police blogs has come in for severe criticism from legal experts and outraged the online community. The draft rules, drawn up by the government under the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008, deal with due diligence to be observed by an intermediary. This article was published in the Times of India on March 10, 2011.</b>
<p>Under the Act, an 'intermediary' is defined as any entity which on behalf of another receives, stores or transmits any electronic record. Hence, telecom networks, web-hosting and internet service providers, search engines, online payment and auction sites as well as cyber cafes are identified as intermediaries. The draft has strangely included bloggers in the category of intermediaries, setting off the online outcry.</p>
<p>Blogs are clubbed with network service providers as most of them facilitate comment and online discussion and preserve the traffic as an electronic record, but equating them with other intermediaries is like comparing apples with oranges, says Pavan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court and an eminent cyber law expert.</p>
<p>'This will curtail the freedom of expression of individual bloggers because as an intermediary they will become responsible for the readers' comments. It technically means that any comment or a reader-posted link on a blog which according to the government is threatening, abusive, objectionable, defamatory, vulgar, racial, among other omnibus categories, will now be considered as the legal responsibility of the blogger," he explains.</p>
<p>Even Google, the host of Blogger, among India's most popular blogging sites, expressed displeasure at the proposal. "Blogs are platforms that empower people to communicate with one another, and we don't believe that an internet middlemen should be held unreasonably liable for content posted by users," a spokesperson told TOI.</p>
<p>Blogs, which are typically maintained and updated by individuals, have showcased their political importance in recent times and the internet community views these rules as a lopsided attempt to curtail an individual's right to expression.</p>
<p>"If individual blogs are an intermediary, then why can't Facebook and Twitter also be classified as such, as they too receive, store and transmit electronic records and facilitate online discussions," retorts the spokesperson of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based organization, which works on digital pluralism. "These rules will not only bring bloggers and the ISP provider on the same platform, but the due diligence clause will also result in higher power of censorship to the larger player. Imagine your ISP provider blocking your blog because it finds that certain user-comments fit these omnibus terms," the CIS spokesperson added.</p>
<p>Most experts, including Duggal, see these rules as the outcome of the government's one-size-fits-all approach — at least in regulating online activities — and ask for an amendment to the IT Act.</p>
<p>Read the original article in the Times of India <a class="external-link" href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Plan-to-muzzle-bloggers-sparks-outcry/articleshow/7668026.cms">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/govt-proposal'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/govt-proposal</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-01T15:46:23ZNews ItemWatson knows the Question
http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/watson-knows
<b>Now that an algorithm has given humans a run for their money on a quiz show, it’s time to rethink the idea of a machine. A fortnightly column on ‘Digital Natives’ authored by Nishant Shah is featured in the Sunday Eye, the national edition of Indian Express, Delhi, from 19 September 2010 onwards. This article was published on March 6, 2011.</b>
<p>Quantum theory suggests that multiple universes exist where every possible alternative can come true. If this were the case, somewhere there must be a world filled with machines that are looking at human evolution and figuring out new and advanced human machine relationships. Or for those who are not very quantum minded, imagine a world where machines are the evolved species and they depend upon human technology — emotional connections, semantic learning, etc. — for their daily transactions and survival. I am not suggesting a futuristic dystopia, like the kind that science fiction specialises in. However, it would be interesting to imagine a world where technology is not only at the periphery of human civilisation but at the centre of it.</p>
<p>I am proposing this world view to revisit the idea of a digital native. We have, so far, in scholarship and practice, education and policy, only looked at digital natives as young human beings who interact in new and innovative ways with evolving technologies, to form human-machine networks and assemblages. However, as Artificial Intelligence and Intelligence Augmentation develop to produce thinking technologies, it is time to start looking at being sapient as not necessarily a human condition.</p>
<p>Early last month, an artificially created super computing system called Watson (elementary, surely?) took the world by a storm as it competed against two human contestants on a popular American quiz show called Jeopardy! The trivia-based show provides answers clustered around a particular theme, and contestants have to ask the correct question to the answer, to win prize money. It is not a straightforward question-answer show because it relies on more than human memory and recollection. It gives cryptic clues (like the ones we are used to in a crossword), offers semantic relationships which need more than just a database memory, and relies on the contestants’ abilities to make creative connections between the clues in order to guess the right questions.</p>
<p>Watson, a product of seven years of research by IBM Research, works on an algorithm which simulates human language and cognitive patterns to make intelligent connections and deductions to understand the context of the clues and then provide answers. Powered by 2,800 super powered computers on a high-speed network, Watson competed against Jeopardy!’s biggest champions and made history as it showed extraordinary human learning and predictive powers. It has been one of the biggest achievements in advanced computing to develop an algorithm that mimics human learning and has changed the way in which we look at the human-machine relationship.</p>
<p>While much commentary on Watson revolves around what it means to be human, and subsequently, what it is to be a digital native, I have a different proposition to make. Perhaps, Watson’s debut on American television is not only about thinking what is human, but also about what it means to be a machine.</p>
<p>First, the Watson that appeared on TV was a sleek display screen that stood behind a lectern in the studio along with the human contestants. The original Watson was next door, being cooled by refrigeration units, but it appeared to the human audience (in and outside the studio) in its avatar. This was a radically new idea because we have always thought of the avatar as a technology based representation of human users. We find avatars on Facebook and in online role-playing games. To think of a machine appearing in a human form was radically new.</p>
<p>Second, Watson was not able to just make predictions by mining information. It was also able to display levels of confidence. If Watson was not confident about an answer, it did not push the buzzer to answer. In fact, once the information was harvested, it displayed its top three guesses to show that, like human contestants, it calculated risks of wrong answers.</p>
<p>Third, Watson was able to display or at least simulate human emotions. It took guesses even when in doubt. It showed a spirit of adventure and played big. It was disappointed when it lost or was happy when it got the answers. It was able to display its “emotions” through various displays in its form and could get the audience’s attention, applause and support.</p>
<p>What this experiment suggests to me is that Watson is perhaps a digital native. All our concentration has always been on human subjects, but synthetic life forms and technology-based intelligence, are blurring this distinction between humans and technologies. We should start thinking of a digital native as neither machine nor human being, but a combination of the two, residing simultaneously in both the realms of the physical and the digital. Watson is perhaps a new digital native, a technology that is growing and slowly learning from its interactions with the human world around it. One of these days, we might be living in the midst of computational devices, which, when we are flummoxed, might turn to us and say, “Elementary, my dear Sherlock!”</p>
<p>Contact: digitalnative@expressindia.com</p>
<p>Read the original in the Indian Express <a class="external-link" href="http://www.indianexpress.com/news/watson-knows-the-question/757315/1">here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/watson-knows'>http://editors.cis-india.org/digital-natives/blog/watson-knows</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaCyberculturesResearchers at Work2015-05-14T12:24:38ZBlog EntryThe Centre for Internet and Society - Bulletin - January 2011
http://editors.cis-india.org/publications-automated/news-bulletin-january
<b>pdf </b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/publications-automated/news-bulletin-january'>http://editors.cis-india.org/publications-automated/news-bulletin-january</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishna2011-03-11T07:30:57ZFileAnti-Social Network
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/anti-social-network
<b>Social media is driving teens to a reality they can't handle. This article by Max Martin was published in Mail Today on February 27, 2011. </b>
<p>THIS is the generation of instant messaging and two-minute noodles. Impatient teenagers are always plugged in to their computers and cell phones. Their reality is virtual and most of their friends can be found online. "It's the coolest way to keep in touch," says Charlotte William, a college student in Bangalore whose Facebook was got flooded with birthday greetings on Saturday. Her FB page is an almost-instantly updated open book of her life. </p>
<p>Such minute-by-minute minute updates are an integral part of any teenager's life but the older generation is cautious. Not just old-fashioned people but even the tech-savvy are raising several issues with this uncontrolled explosion of social networking. India is the seventh largest social networking market in the world, with millions of users and many issues like privacy, etiquette, commercial, and political interests. Even though people have control over the information they post online, unauthorised access -- usage and republication -- is a major cause of concern, says Nikhil Pahwa, who publishes MediaNama, a mobile business news site based in Delhi. "You put up information about friends and family without realising the enormous consequences of it being in the public domain," says Pahwa.</p>
<p>"I see a lot of people exchanging personal messages and phone numbers on their walls. A lot of people are rather nonchalant about it," says Christian Wolff, a German development researcher, living in Hyderabad, who finds it amazing how Indians are not as concerned about their privacy as they should be. Bangalore-based lawyer Sarim Naved says the internet gives people a misplaced sense of anonymity, which makes them shed their inhibitions -- and etiquette. Should you allow a friend to post pictures of you from that crazy party last night? What if a family member sees them? We still live by traditional values and customs and footloose pictures may not be appreciated. </p>
<p>And while you may think that your privacy settings are in place to never allow such an unfortunate incident take place, privacy settings give a false sense of security. "Many people cannot figure out how to put filters on," says Yamini Atmavilas, a teacher of gender studies in Hyderabad. She also says that social networking is a mixed bag: "Studies show that women use social networks differently from men. They have helped build women's social capital, providing an outlet for connection and expression." </p>
<p>AARTI Mundkur, who was involved in the national 'Pink Chaddi' campaign against the pub-attacking Sri Ram Sene, agrees. "Social networks capture only the imagination of the upper middle class -- and fail to evoke any other kind of response," says this activist lawyer. While the social media is powerful -- and can be used for many purposes -- it is limited in scope. </p>
<p>Also, these sites are turning into what Wolff calls 'all-devouring marketing machines'. Facebook, for instance, is always in the midst of some controversy over its automatic personalisation or using technology to accommodate differences between individuals, so that disbursing personalised advertisements gets easier. Most of us do not realise that every little bit of information we post online is under the scrutiny of corporate entities that analyse and track browsing, spending, networking, and even music preferences. </p>
<p>"They make money with the data you post online for free," says Anivar Aravind, an IT consultant and commentator who started the online campaign for justice for Binayak Sen. "Even worse is when these service providers pass on this personal information to the government as Yahoo did in China leading to the imprisonment of a journalist," says Aravind. </p>
<p>Also getting increasingly active in the online circuit are crooks, says Shantanu Ghosh, who handles the India product operations of Symantec, a leading network and computer security firm. These crooks, he says, launch virus attacks, put up false events to attract people, and spoof networking sites to extract personal data. </p>
<p>"This attack was observed before the Cricket World Cup 2011. Attackers had created a page offering ticket deals for the World Cup final in Mumbai, requiring users to log into their social networking accounts. Those who fell for this trick would have ended up revealing their confidential login information to these attackers." Ghosh advises: "You should treat anything you see online with skepticism -- especially if it involves clicking a link or installing an application." Also make sure you check and understand privacy policies and settings.</p>
<p>This is even more important because existing laws on cyber crime are not strong enough. Also, the question whether new laws will be effective remains. </p>
<blockquote class="webkit-indent-blockquote">
<p>"It really depends on the law. If it goes into too much detail then it will be rendered irrelevant because of advancements in technology," says Sunil Abraham, who heads Centre for Internet and Society, a Bangalore-based research group. "A good law usually focuses on principles. What we need in India is a privacy regulator that can dynamically interpret the principles in law to quickly react to developments on the internet." </p>
</blockquote>
<ul><li>Read the article in Mail Today <a class="external-link" href="http://epaper.mailtoday.in/epaperhome.aspx?issue=2722011">here</a></li><li>Also see the article in the Free Library <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ANTI-+SOCIAL+NETWORK+(+Social+media+is+driving+teens+to+a+reality...-a0250124694">here</a></li><li>Download the news from Mail Today <a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/advocacy/anti-social-network.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Anti-Social Network (PDF)">here</a> (pdf, 2.92 MB)</li></ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/anti-social-network'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/anti-social-network</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-01T15:59:51ZNews ItemNote on the Authorities under the Working Draft of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2011 (9th February 2011)
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities
<b>The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) released a revised draft of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act which is up for comments on the MSJE website. The Centre for Law and Policy Research, Inclusive Planet and the Centre for Internet and Society jointly submitted a note on the section on statutory authorities.
</b>
<p>This Note is on the Working Draft of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2011 (Hereinafter "The PWD Act, 2011") which was released on 9th February, 2011[<a href="#1">1</a>] to specifically review the authorities established under the PWD Act, 2011, the powers and functions assigned to the authorities and the effect of the establishment of these authorities. </p>
<ol><li><strong>The Disability Rights Authority </strong><br /><em>Vague provisions</em><br /><span class="Apple-style-span">
<p> The main functions of the DRA are to formulate rules, regulations, guidelines, schemes and other activities. Under section 29 (I), the DRA also has the power to monitor enforcment of the Act and to protect the rights of persons with disabilities and to suo moto address violations of rights of perosns with disabilities. In this regard, the provisions of the Act are vague. There are no provisions to indicate what penalties the DRA may impose in the event of any violation of the provisions of the PWD Act 2011. Wide powers are given to the DRA with regard to promotion, protection, monitoring and even enforcement of rights under the Act. However it is not clear as to how exactly these functions, especially the monitoring and enforcement of rights should be performed. </p>
<p><em>Powers of review and advice</em></p>
<p>Under Section 29J, the DRA has the power to review and advise the government to take measures with regard to laws that discriminate against persons with disability. This power will affect the functioning of the authorities under the other disability legislations such as the Mental Health Act,1987 and the National Trusts Act, 1999 as these legislations will be considered to be discriminatory on the issue of legal capacity. Therefore these other disability legislations need to be amended before the DRA can act on its review and advice powers. </p>
<p>Further, in many of the provisions of the Act, there is a mention of a 'designated authority' to perform certain functions without specifying what the designated authority is or who designates the authority. It is unclear as to whether the 'designated authority' refers to a new authority to be established under the Act or it refers to the DRA.</p>
</span></li><li><strong>The Disability Courts</strong><br /><span class="Apple-style-span">
<p><em>Multiplicity of Fora for grievance redressal</em></p>
<p>There is no clarity on the intended structure of the courts at different levels. The word “Court” is not defined anywhere under the Act, which is a great lacuna. There are several different for a provided for grievance redressal under the Act – the DRA, the Court of the National Disability Commissioner, the State Disability Courts and the Grievance Redressal Officer in each establishment. It is not clear as to whether these authorities under the Act have concurrent power or whether a person has to approach one authority and seek remedy before going to another. Over and above these courts and fora, the regular civil courts, family courts, High Courts would also have jurisdiction. It is not clear as to whether the jurisdiction of all other courts is ousted by the Act in setting up the special State Disability Courts and the Court of the National Disability Commissioner.</p>
<p>Section 6(7) and (8) empower “a court or the disability court” to make suitable orders on finding the occurrence of discrimination. These Sections merely mention a ‘court’ without specifying which court is referred to as there is no definition of ‘court’ under the Act. There is also no provision under the Act which allows a person to approach any other ordinary court for reliefs under the Act. Therefore it is not clear as to what this Section refers to when it uses the word ‘court’.</p>
</span></li><li><strong>The Court of the National Disability Commissioner</strong><br /><span class="Apple-style-span">
<p>Under Section 29S (2), the Act allows a person to directly approach the National Disability Commissioner only if the person is aggrieved of “discrimination” under the Act and not for other cases of violation. On the other hand, under section 29S (1) (c ) the Court of the National Disability Commissioner has the power to suo moto address all infringment of rights. There is a great contradiction therefore in the jurisdiction of the Court of the National Disability Commissioner. </p>
<p>Further, although there is an entire part of the Act which is dedicated to the imposition of penalties and sanctions, there are no provisions for the National Disability Commissioner to impose any penalties and sanctions. </p>
<p>The National Disability Commissioner acts as the appellate authority on the orders of the DRA. But there is no provision to appeal from the orders of the State Disability Court. </p>
</span></li><li><strong>The State Disability Courts</strong></li></ol>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">
</span></p>
<ul><li>The State Disability Courts have a wider jurisdiction that the National Disability Commissioner in that a person can approach the State Disability Courts complaining of violation of any rights under the Act. </li><li>Even in case of the State Disability Court there is no specific provision that allows the court to impose penalties and sanctions detailed under the Act. </li></ul>
<p><strong>Conclusion</strong></p>
<p>The PWD Act, 2011 has made some changes from its earlier draft in December 2010. With regard to the authorities established under the Act, there are many inconsistencies which need to be resolved before the Act can come into force. The powers and the functions of all the authorities need to be clearly demarcated. Further, the empowering provisions should be linked to the provisions which prescribe the procedure through which the powers can be exercised. Provisions imposing penalties and sanctions should be linked to the authorities which have the power to impose the same. There are several authorities which all have power to look into violations of the Act, which can confuse a person seeking remedies under the Act. Unless these issues are addressed, the PWD, Act 2011 would cause major practical problems at the stage of implementing the rights recognised under the Act.</p>
<p class="discreet"><a name="1">[1]See Working Draft of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2011, available at http://socialjustice.nic.in/pdf/workdraftdd.pdf (Last visited on 21-02-2011)</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/rights-of-persons-with-disabilities</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaSubmissionsAccessibility2011-08-24T05:42:13ZBlog EntryAccessible Mobile Handsets in India: An Overview
http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/accessible-mobile-handsets
<b>Over a thousand mobile handsets are sold in India today and new models are launched almost every few weeks. However, the number of accessible handsets continues to be disproportionately low. The Centre for Internet and Society conducted a research on the mobile market to gauge how many handsets in India are accessible for persons with disabilities. Handsets were judged on the basis of a few common accessibility features and pricing. </b>
<p>The findings reveal that 108 handset models came with screen readers and 100 were magnifier compatible. Thirty one of them were touch phones and only 15 models had QWERTY keypads.</p>
<p>The study found that the price of 60 of the available options was either high or very high (Rs. 10,000 and above) and only 48 handsets are available at a reasonable or low price.</p>
<p>For available handset options for persons with disabilities, click below:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessible-mobile-handsets.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Accessible Mobile Handsets Table">PDF</a> [612 kb]</li>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessible-handsets.odt" class="internal-link" title="Accessible Handsets">Open Office</a> [24 kb]</li>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessible-handsets.docx" class="internal-link" title="Accessible Handsets Phones">Word </a> [42kb]</li>
</ul>
<p>Some of the major cross platform and proprietary mobile operating systems were also examined for their accessibility features. These included Windows Mobile, iPhone for Apple, Blackberry, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7. All the operating systems offer features such as font customization, menu style, menu icons and voice recognition. However, only two offer built-in screen readers and only one OS offers a built in screen magnifier. Three operating systems support third party screen readers and two also support third party screen magnifiers.</p>
<p>The table [click on the links below] (also compiled by Mukesh Sharma) provides more details on the features offered by various operating systems:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessible-handsets-table.docx" class="internal-link" title="Accessible Handsets Table">Word</a> [14 kb]</li>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessible-handsets-table.pdf" class="internal-link" title="Accessible Mobiles Table PDF">PDF</a> [16 kb]</li>
<li><a href="http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/accessible-hand-sets-table.odt" class="internal-link" title="Accessible Handsets Mobile">Open Office</a> [15 kb]</li>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/accessible-mobile-handsets'>http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/accessible-mobile-handsets</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaAccessibility2012-12-14T10:29:30ZBlog EntryFacebook Resistance Workshop at CIS, Bangalore
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/facebook-resistance
<b>Facebook designing your online identity is like designing your rooms with furniture from the bazaar. The only individuality lies in your family pictures standing on the shelves. On Saturday, April 2, 2011, CIS is organising a workshop for people to learn on how to think beyond the rules and limitations of Facebook, to tweak and play around the features and design to generate useful, creative, and funny concepts and explore how this creative intervention can be turned into a real software developed by the Facebook Resistance.</b>
<div style="text-align: left;"><img src="http://editors.cis-india.org/home-images/Facebookresistance.jpg/image_preview" alt="Facebookresistance" class="image-inline image-inline" title="Facebookresistance" /></div>
<div>
<p><span class="Apple-style-span">In the Web 2.0 world, most users of technology are reduced to being mere ‘users’. We are offered almost an endless number of choices but do not have the freedom to go against the ‘laws’ and ‘rules’ of the system we operate in. Take Facebook for example. Have you ever wondered if you can change the way Facebook works? Sure, we can start campaigns and mobilize people to impact some of the policies but we never think about the very design of Facebook and the laws that govern it.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span">What if you could change Facebook’s laws? In this workshop we begin modifying Facebook.com for ourselves, using the unique concept of “browser-hacks”. The aim is to think beyond the rules and limitations of Facebook’s software to generate useful, creative, and funny concepts. We further want to explore, how this creative intervention can also be turned into a real software developed by the Facebook Resistance.</span></p>
<p>Facebook Resistance is a research initiative accepting the status quo of Facebook being the dominant social identity management system, researching on the ways to change its rules and functionality from inside the system. Facebook sets the rules of how-to behave, so we’re asking: Are we happy with their interface, features and rules or do we want to change them? A change can be as trivial as adding a background-image. As initiator Tobias Leingruber (<a class="external-link" href="http://twitter.com/tbx">@tbx</a>), puts it: “Facebook designing your online identity is like IKEA designing your apartment. The only individuality lies in the family pictures standing in your BILLY shelves.” </p>
<p>While early online networks like Geocities.com encouraged its users to entirely modify their online presence, Myspace.com and Web 2.0 have steered this “User Generated Content” into a commercially valuable structure. Facebook has finalized this “evolution” by disabling the user to do anything but feeding the system that gives Facebook it’s estimated value of 50 Billion US$. Facebook is taking over the social web, and its design follows Mark Zuckerberg’s ideals. To quote Lawrence Lessig: “The code is law. The architectures of cyberspace are as important as the law in defining and defeating the liberties of the Net.” </p>
<h3>Trainer</h3>
<p>Marc Stumpel (<a class="external-link" href="http://twitter.com/zuurstof">@Zuurstof</a>) is a privacy/user-control advocate, holding a MA degree in New Media and Digital culture. He has recently discussed browser hacks in his thesis: </p>
<p>‘<a class="external-link" href="http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/2010/09/04/the-politics-of-social-media-facebook-control-and-resistance/">The Politics of Social Media. Facebook: Control and Resistance</a>’, and continues to elaborate on this type of resistance while travelling in India. <a class="external-link" href="http://artzilla.org/">Several Facebook Resistance workshops</a> already took place in Europe, organized by initiator <a class="external-link" href="http://www.mediamatic.net/person/182073/en">Tobias Leingruber</a> (@tbx) a famous artist and free communication designer working in viral media, popular culture, amateur aesthetics and browser apps. </p>
<h3>Example Ideas</h3>
<ul><li>Dislike Button</li><li>Graffiti Wall (based on GML/webmarker.me)</li><li>Auto-comment generator (e.g. LOL or Kanye West speak)</li><li>Custom background images and visual css styling for your visitors</li><li>Themes, e.g. change your Facebook’s colour: pink, yellow…</li></ul>
<h3>Skill-set participants</h3>
<p>It would be great to have a few people with some web development experience (html/css/javascript), or Photoshop skills, but also people who can write good (philosophical) texts are very welcome. In the end everyone who really uses web 2.0 will fit in, so just come and join us!</p>
<h3>Information and registration</h3>
<p>We have place for 20 people. You can register by sending an email to digitalnatives [at] cis-india.org. The workshop takes place at the the Centre for Internet and Society on Saturday, April 2nd from 11.00 to 17.00 hr. There is no charge for taking part in the workshop, but make sure to bring your laptop or mobile computing devices with you. <br /><br />If you have questions please contact Marc Stumpel: m.stumpel[at]gmail.com.</p>
<p><strong>VIDEO</strong></p>
</div>
<iframe src="http://blip.tv/play/AYLWxQ4A.html" frameborder="0" height="250" width="250"></iframe><embed style="display:none" src="http://a.blip.tv/api.swf#AYLWxQ4A" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/facebook-resistance'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/facebook-resistance</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaResearch2011-10-21T08:24:19ZEventExhaustion PDF
http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/publications/exhaustion.pdf
<b>file</b>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/publications/exhaustion.pdf'>http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/publications/exhaustion.pdf</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaIntellectual Property RightsAccess to Knowledge2011-10-03T05:16:58ZFileTactical Tech's ONO Party!
http://editors.cis-india.org/events/CIS-tacticaltechONO
<b>Tactical Tech has made friends with ONO Robot , a friendly Robot Guide and the star of four animated shorts of a series called Survival in the Digital Age, and we'd like to invite you to watch the series with us at our ONO Party. </b>
<p> Activists and independent journalists don't often realise that the
information and communications technologies they use can compromise
their security and have implications for privacy, freedom of
expression and access to information. As an organisation working at
the meeting point of advocacy and technology, Tactical Tech finds
these issues essential to anyone using technologies to facilitate
and strengthen their advocacy work. To raise awareness about the
digital traces we leave behind <em>Survival in the Digital Age</em>
aims to engage activists to better understand the information and
communications technologies they use, so that they can make more
informed decisions about the risks they may face.<em> </em></p>
<p>We're going to be showing the four shorts over party games, snacks
and drinks at our ONO Party so do join us on Thursday, March 3rd</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/events/CIS-tacticaltechONO'>http://editors.cis-india.org/events/CIS-tacticaltechONO</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-04T07:19:47ZEventGrowing cyberspace controls, Internet filtering
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/growing-cyberspace-controls
<b>OpenNet Initiative investigates, analyses filtering and surveillance practices, writes T Ramachandran in this article published in the Hindu on Sunday, February 20, 2011.</b>
<p>Governments in many parts of the world have been aggressively adopting a new generation of controls aimed at filtering and controlling information flow on the Internet, citing concerns such as cyber security, crime and terrorism, according to the OpenNet Initiative.</p>
<p>The OpenNet Initiative, which says it “investigates and analyses Internet filtering and surveillance practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion,” in its updated study released last year titled, “Access Controlled: The Shaping of Power, Rights, and Rule in Cyberspace,” said that it was fast becoming the global norm to control information flow on the Internet.</p>
<p>The OpenNet is a collaborative partnership between the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, the Berkman Centre for Internet and Society at Harvard University, and the Ottawa-based SecDev Group.</p>
<p>Asked whether the trend was likely to become more pronounced, given the recent developments in the Middle East, one of the contributors to the study, Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at the Berkman Centre, said, “In general, we see governments becoming more aggressive and more overt about their Internet filtering.”</p>
<p>The OpenNet has described the recent Internet blackout in Egypt as ‘just-in-time-blocking' - when information flow is brought to a halt during critical times such as political crises, elections, or social unrest. Discussions have resurfaced about the deployment of 'Internet kill switches,' a way in which nations could snuff out the Internet when such a crisis occurs.</p>
<p>“For all the talk of Internet kill switches, turning off the Internet is a relatively easy and unsophisticated thing to do. What is hardest to do is filtering on finer, more granular levels,” Mr. Zuckerman told The Hindu.</p>
<p>The first-generation controls were deployed primarily at Internet “choke points,” places in the network where Internet addresses that had been blacklisted by the authorities could be filtered and blocked. These were mainly the gateways run by the Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The number-based IP addresses connected to particular websites or domain names could be used for the blocking. Keywords could also be used in weeding out proscribed sites or pages.</p>
<p>Reports of watchdogs such as the OpenNet and Freedom House indicate that though not pronounced, selective filtering has been a part of the Indian Internet scene. Google's Transparency Report for the first half of 2010 also shows that India is among the nations from where a number of government inquiries for information about users and requests to remove or censor content emanate.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“As far as censorship of Internet goes in India it is still first generation in terms of blocking and filtering at the Internet choke points. However, the Indian government has made and is making several moves that continue to undermine privacy and anonymity on the Internet. This has a chilling effect on freedom of expression and information accessing behaviour on the Internet,” says Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Second and third generation techniques of Internet filtering, as described in Access Controlled, are “more subtle, flexible, and even offensive in character,” often using legal regulations to supplement or legitimise technical filtering measures, extralegal or covert practices. These include the use of viruses to infiltrate computer systems, the launching of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and surveillance at strategic points in the Internet and telecommunications infrastructure. The DDoS attacks involve directing traffic of such large volume at targeted sites during a particular period, in order to crash them, or keep them largely inaccessible. Counter-information campaigns could also be mounted, supplemented by policy measures and other strategies, including legal ones.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Governments have also been assiduously building up capabilities for monitoring and intercepting the large volume of information that flows on the Internet, including email, which mostly flows through the infrastructure of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Internet exchange points. In the Indian context, the I.T. Act “along with the ISP licences allows for blanket surveillance and also data retention,” says Mr. Abraham.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It is difficult to say if this sort of monitoring and interception is really effective in countering terrorism and other national security threats, says Mr. Zuckerman. “I don't believe trading privacy for security is a fair trade.”</p>
<p>Read the original news in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hindu.com/2011/02/20/stories/2011022053711000.htm">Hindu</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/growing-cyberspace-controls'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/growing-cyberspace-controls</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishna2011-08-20T14:36:26ZNews ItemSocial Network Suicide
http://editors.cis-india.org/news/social-network-suicide
<b>Those disillusioned with their virtual friends circle are saying goodbye through web applications that wipe out your net identity. What’s more, you can even have your own memorial page, says Sahana Charan in this article published in the Bangalore Mirror on Sunday, February 6, 2011.</b>
<p>It is funny that even though some young people claim to have a thousand friends on social networking sites, they may actually never socialise with any of their virtual buddies. So when the “net” benefits don’t translate to reality, there is disillusionment. And then they may stop being active on networking sites. That’s the beauty and tragedy of virtual friendships.</p>
<p>And this is just one of the many reasons why your friend — who was otherwise tweeting her every mundane activity or would update her status message on Facebook every nano-second — might have suddenly become incommunicado. </p>
<p>As pressures to keep up virtual appearances become taxing and unpleasant experiences make social networking sites “not-so-safe” to share intimate details, many young people are opting out of these networks, deactivating their accounts and taking web sanyaas.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore says that in India this is a relatively new phenomenon and only a small group of people have actually committed web suicide using applications that wipe out your virtual identity. But a bigger number of netizens may be killing their networking accounts, because of a variety of resons — ranging from internet stalking to “no guaranteed benefits.”</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p>“Many people may get onto a social networking site to use it for meeting rituals, to look for partners and to get information on jobs. When these are fulfilled they may decide to move out. Some people realise that a lot of their time and energy goes into updating accounts on Facebook, Twitter or Myspace, but it has not helped them get ‘real world’ benefits, so they just stop being active,” says Abraham.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Virtual disappearance</h3>
<p>With the deactivation came some applications which help you go peacefully into a social network death — Web 2.0 Suicide Machine and Sepukkoo.com promise to remove your virtual identity completely so that you can make real friends. While Suicide Machine irreversibly removes all your friends, groups, photos and vidoes one by one and joins you to its “Social Network Suiciders,” Sepukkoo goes one step ahead and creates a memorial page for you. </p>
<p>What’s ironical is that you are actually going to another network and this one’s called ‘suicide networking’, where you encourage friends to leave their social circles. Both applications have been banned by Facebook but work on other sites.</p>
<p>So why would a popular guy deactivate his account ? Joe V J, a 28-year-old IT professional, who was regularly uploading pictures of his new bike or parties with friends on Facebook, took himself off the site recently. He realised that people who were not meant to see his profile and candid shots, had access and were posting comments.</p>
<p> “I got into the site because it was a great place to bond with friends. But then I realised that relatives and acquaintances who I had no clue about, were on the social network, had started pinging. They would look at pictures and express shock and then tell other people. It became a little too much, so I just decided to click the deactivate option,” he says.</p>
<h3>Privacy concerns</h3>
<p>It can get really ugly and those being harassed online may just disappear to save their privacy. Tinu Cherian, a techie and Wikipedia administrator speaks of an incident where another administrator was harassed by a cyber troll because he had blocked this guy from making wrong updates on Wiki’s pages.</p>
<p>“He had no option but to wipe out his Twitter account, which was hacked into and damning information was uploaded.”</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Privacy concerns rise as Facebook decides to share account information with marketeers. “When Facebook first started, only 10 per cent of your information on the site could be seen by an outsider, but in 2011, 90 per cent of your information can be accessed by people other than your friends,” says Abraham.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is another reason why people go off online networks. “When it first came, Facebook was considered the Ivy league and everyone wanted to be there. Youngsters suddenly thought Orkut was infradig and ceased to be on that site. So sometimes, people may just move out because they want to be somewhere else.” And that’s why the networking tamasha continues.</p>
<p>Read the article in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.bangaloremirror.com/index.aspx?page=article&sectid=81&contentid=201102062011020607474371421797a6c">Bangalore Mirror</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='http://editors.cis-india.org/news/social-network-suicide'>http://editors.cis-india.org/news/social-network-suicide</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet Governance2011-04-01T15:54:43ZNews Item