All Blogs
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Amber Sinha dissects the Puttaswamy Judgment through an analysis of the sources, scope and structure of the right, and its possible limitations. [link]
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Through a visual guide to the fundamental right to privacy, Amber Sinha and Pooja Saxena trace how courts in India have viewed the right to privacy since Independence, explain how key legal questions were resolved in the Puttaswamy Judgement, and provide an account of the four dimensions of privacy — space, body, information and choice — recognized by the Supreme Court. [link]
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Based on publicly available submissions, press statements, and other media reports, Arindrajit Basu and Amber Sinha track the political evolution of the data protection ecosystem in India, on EPW Engage. They discuss how this has, and will continue to impact legislative and policy developments. [link]
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For the AI Policy Exchange, Arindrajit Basu and Siddharth Sonkar examine the Automated Facial Recognition Systems (AFRS), and define the key legal and policy questions related to privacy concerns around the adoption of AFRS by governments around the world. [link]
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Over the past decade, reproductive health programmes in India have been digitising extensive data about pregnant women. In partnership with Privacy International, we studied the Mother and Child Tracking system (MCTS), and Ambika Tandon presents the impact on the privacy of mothers and children in the country. [link]
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While the right to privacy can be used to protect oneself from state surveillance, Mira Swaminathan and Shubhika Saluja write about the equally crucial problem of lateral surveillance — surveillance that happens between individuals, and within neighbourhoods, and communities — with a focus on this issue during the COVID-19 crisis. [link]
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Finally, take a dive into the archives of the Centre for Internet and Society to read our work, which was cited in the Puttaswamy judgment — essays by Ashna Ashesh, Vidushi Marda and Bhairav Acharya that displaced the notion that privacy is inherently a Western concept, by attempting to locate the constructs of privacy in Classical Hindu [link], and Islamic Laws [link]; and Acharya’s article in the Economic and Political Weekly, which highlighted the need for privacy jurisprudence to reflect theoretical clarity, and be sensitive to unique Indian contexts [link].
Fundamental Right to Privacy — Three Years of the Puttaswamy Judgment
Today marks three years since the Supreme Court of India recognised the fundamental right to privacy, but the ideals laid down in the Puttaswamy Judgment are far from being completely realized. Through our research, we invite you to better understand the judgment and its implications, and take stock of recent issues pertaining to privacy.
Comments on NITI AAYOG Working Document: Towards Responsible #AIforAll
The NITI Aayog Working Document on Responsible AI for All released on 21st July 2020 serves as a significant statement of intent from NITI Aayog, acknowledging the need to ensure that any conception of “Responsible AI” must fulfill constitutional responsibilities, incorporated through workable principles. However, as it is a draft document for discussion, it is important to highlight next steps for research and policy levers to build upon this report.
Raina Roy and Abhiraj Bag - Kolkata’s trans community has been locked out of healthcare and livelihood
Over six months into the outbreak of Covid-19 in India, it has become clear that the pandemic does not affect everybody equally. It has amplified the sufferings of the already-marginalised trans community. Raina Roy spoke to 10 trans persons and trans rights activists in Kolkata over the course of the past few months to better understand the situation. The piece was transcribed by Abhiraj Bag and edited by Kaarika Das and Srravya C, researchers at the Centre for Internet and Society, India. This work is part of a project at CIS on gender, welfare and surveillance, supported by Privacy International, United Kingdom.
The 5G Factor:A Primer
Despite the seemingly unending challenges, the task of acting against Huawei and China presents even more complex problems, and it seems writing off Huawei from the future of 5G, may be a premature call.
The State of Secure Messaging
A look at the protections provided by and threats posed to secure communication online.
Engaging with the Covid-19 Crisis
In the last six months, COVID-19 has had a far-reaching impact on the world, including on the digital sphere, how people interact with it, and its mediation of social and economic exchanges. Researchers and practitioners at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) have responded to this dynamic landscape from different lenses.
A Survey of Covid 19 Apps Launched by State Governments in India
Over the last three months there has been a considerable amount of focus on Aarogya Setu, the Indian Government’s Covid-19 contact tracing app. This app uses location data and Bluetooth technology to try to determine if the user has been in close proximity with a COVID-19 infected person. The efficacy, usage, mandate, and privacy policies of this app have been discussed at length. The app has received much criticism for not possessing adequate safeguards to protect the privacy of the users, and for failing to meet the necessity and proportionality principle. Further, there is no underlying legislation which forms the basis of the app. The app is currently voluntary, however, there has been a strong push by the Government to make the use of the app mandatory to access essential services. For example, as per the standard operating procedure published by the Airport Authority of India, it is mandatory for passengers above the age of 14 to register on the app prior to boarding any domestic flight. In addition to Aarogya Setu, several state governments have also launched mobile apps to monitor Covid 19 cases in their respective states. Given the focus on Arogya Setu, these apps have largely escaped attention and public scrutiny. The objective of these apps vary, from monitoring the movement of quarantine patients (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand) to providing information and updates about the number of patients in the state. Some of these apps have now also introduced contact tracing, and identification of hotspots (Punjab, Haryana and Odisha). These state government apps have already been downloaded by lakhs of citizens in different states. COVA Punjab app, for instance, has been downloaded by over ten lakh citizens in the state.
It is concerning that some of these apps either do not even have a privacy policy (Corona Mukt Himachal Pradesh, Covid-19 West Bengal). In some instances, where a dedicated privacy policy for the app is missing, the citizen is directed to the general privacy policy of the developer (Test Yourself Goa, Test Yourself Puducherry) or to the state government’s website (Odisha, Maharashtra). Even in cases where a specific privacy policy has been published, the policies are often vague, and fail to specify important details such as the time period for which the data shall be retained and specific use cases for the data. Lack of clarity, transparency, and privacy on numerous levels across the COVID-19 apps launched by state governments indicates that the practices governing the apps in response to COVID-19 in Indian are far from ideal and require significant improvement.
Our survey presents structured observations of the prevalent issues in these apps, providing findings that can be utilised to make comprehensive improvements to technology and app-based responses to COVID-19. Read the full survey and a report on the findings here.
Use of mobile phones by vulnerable communities: A survey of sex workers and gay men in Karnataka
This report has been authored by Megha Malnad, Parimala, Nagina, and Tasneem Mewa, and edited by Ambika Tandon, Gurshabad Grover and Rajesh Srinivas.
Social Entitlements for the Transgender Community
This report has been authored by Deepa Krishnappa and Tasneem Mewa, and edited by Ambika Tandon, Gurshabad Grover and Rajesh Srinivas.
Event Report: How Safe is Your Harbour? Discussions on Intermediary Liability and User Rights
This report provides an overview of the proceedings and outcomes of the panel discussions on intermediary liability, organised at The Energy Research Institute’s (TERI) in Bangalore, on 20 January 2020.
Investigating TLS blocking in India
A study into Transport Layer Security (TLS)-based blocking by three popular Indian ISPs: ACT Fibernet, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio.
Towards Algorithmic Transparency
This policy brief examines the issue of transparency as a key ethical component in the development, deployment, and use of Artificial Intelligence.
Response to the ‘Call for Comments’ on The Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability
The Santa Clara Principles on Transparency and Accountability, proposed in 2018, provided a robust framework of transparency reporting for online companies dealing with user-generated content. In 2020, the framework underwent a period of consultation "to determine whether the Santa Clara Principles should be updated for the ever-changing content moderation landscape." In lieu of this, we presented our responses, which are in-line with our previous research and findings on transparency reporting of online companies, especially in context of the Indian digital space.
Brindaalakshmi.K - Gendering of Development Data in India: Beyond the Binary
This report by Brindaalakshmi.K seeks to understand the gendering of development data in India: collection of data and issuance of government (foundational and functional) identity documents to persons identifying outside the cis/binary genders of female and male, and the data misrepresentations, barriers to accessing public and private services, and informational exclusions that still remain. Sumandro Chattapadhyay edited the report and Puthiya Purayil Sneha offered additional editorial support. This work was undertaken as part of the Big Data for Development network supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
Remove misinformation, but be transparent please!
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen an extensive proliferation of misinformation and misleading information on the internet - which in turn has highlighted a heightened need for online intermediaries to promptly and effectively deploy its content removal mechanisms. This blogpost examines how this necessity may affect the best practices of transparency reporting and obligations of accountability that these online intermediaries owe to their users, and formulates recommendations to allow preservation of information regarding Covid-19 related content removal, for future research.
Donald Trump is attacking the social media giants; here’s what India should do differently
For a robust and rights-respecting public sphere, India needs to ensure that large social media platforms receive adequate protections, and are made more responsible to its users.
'I feel the pain of having nowhere to go': A Manipuri Trans Woman Recounts Her Ongoing Lockdown Ordeal
"My life and work in Bengaluru came to an abrupt halt with the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown this March. We no longer had jobs and were forced to plan our departure from the city." -- As told to Santa Khurai, Manipur-based queer and Nupi Manbi activist, artist and writer. Compiled by Aayush Rathi, a cisgender, heterosexual man, and researcher with Centre for Internet and Society, India. This account is part of an ongoing CIS research project on gender, welfare and surveillance in India, and is supported by Privacy International, UK.
Cryptocurrencies in India get a second wind
An analysis of the Supreme Court judgment cryptocurrency judgment.
Guest Report: Bridging the Concerns with Recommending Aarogya Setu
Keywords: Aarogya Setu, Constitutionality, Digital Contact Tracing, Location Data, Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, Exemptions, Personal Data, Sensitive Personal Data, Mosaic Theory, Surveillance, Privacy, Governing Law, Necessity, Intensity of Review, disparate Impact, Proportionality
DWRU, BBGS & MKU - The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Invisible Workers of the Household Economy
Domestic Workers Rights Union (DWRU), Bruhat Bangalore Gruhakarmika Sangha (BBGS), and Manegelasa Kaarmikara Union (MKU) have prepared a report on the invisibilisation of domestic workers under the Covid-19 pandemic and a set of demands directed at the government and resident welfare associations (RWAs) for better, dignified and just treatment of domestic workers in Karnataka. We at CIS are proud to contribute to and publish this work as part of the ongoing 'Feminist Internet Research Network' project supported by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC).
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