Centre for Internet and Society

RHoK Global June 2013

praskrishna — 2013-05-31T13:58:00Z

The Centre for Internet and Society is hosting the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) Global event at its office in Bangalore on June 1 and 2, from 8.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.

RHoK is a rapidly growing global initiative encompassing a community of over 5,500 innovators in over 30 countries striving to make the world a better place by developing practical, open source technology solutions to respond to some of the most complex challenges facing humanity. We do this by defining problems, organizing hackathons, and ensuring projects are effectively deployed.

Bangalore has been hosting RHoK hackathons since 2010. RHoK pre-hackathon reception will be hosted on May 31, 2013 at CIS. The tentative plan for tonight's reception can be found at https://www.smore.com/x3fm

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/events/rhok-bangalore-2013

RHoK banner

praskrishna — 2012-12-10T06:52:29Z

RHoK Banner

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RHoK

praskrishna — 2013-07-03T07:18:03Z

RHoK

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RHoK

praskrishna — 2013-07-03T07:09:40Z

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Revisiting Aadhaar: Law, Tech and Beyond

praskrishna — 2017-05-19T14:47:32Z

Udbhav Tiwari attended a panel on "Revisiting Aadhaar: Law, Tech and Beyond" held at the India International Centre Annexe on May 9, 2017 in New Delhi, organised by the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in) in collaboration with Digital Empowerment Foundation and IT for Change.

The panel consisted of:

Saikat Datta; Policy Director, Centre for Internet and Society (Moderator)
Anivar Aravind; Founder/Director at Indic Project
Anupam Saraph; Professor and Future Designer
Prasanna S; Advocate
Shyam Divan; Senior Advocate, Supreme Court
Srinivas Kodali; Co-founder at Open Stats
Osama Manzar; Founder and Director, Digital Empowerment Foundation
Usha Ramanathan; Legal Researcher

The panel was quite enlightening (and Saikat was a stellar moderator), with Mr. Divan's elucidation on the arguments made in the court for the Aadhaar case in particular being a great learning experience. Benjamin and Sheetal (both interns in the Delhi office) along with Sumandro also attended the event.

The other learning was that for people who have attended multiple such panels/seminars and meetings on Aadhaar, they can have a lot of repeated content. I passed on the feedback to SFLC about how they could possibly include a small 10 to 15 minute session in future such panels on developments since the previous such event on the Aadhaar and include practical aspects about what people can do about minimising the harms that we are all slowly being co opted into facing with the system.

More info about the event here.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/revisiting-aadhaar-law-tech-and-beyond

Review of Guidelines for Indian Government Websites-meeting notice

praskrishna — 2013-04-28T03:39:18Z

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension has called for a meeting for review of guidelines for Indian Government websites. The meeting will be held under the chairmanship of Shri Anoop Kumar Srivastava, Addl. Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

Click to download the notice.

The competent authority constituted a committee to review Guidelines for Indian Government Websites. Sunil Abraham is a committee member, and will participate in this meeting. The meeting will be held in the Committee Room, Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances, 5th Floor, Sardar Patel Bhawan, Parliament Street, New Delhi on April 5, 2013.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/ministry-of-personnel-public-grievances-and-pension-notice-review-of-guidelines-for-indian-government-websites

Review Meeting for the Pervasive Technologies Project

praskrishna — 2017-03-22T14:25:50Z

The Centre for Internet & Society in partnership with Beijing Normal University Institute for Internet Policy & Law organized a review meeting of the Pervasive Technologies project in Macau on February 20 - 21, 2017.

Sunil Abraham, Anubha Sinha, Rohini Lakshane and Vidushi Marda were speakers. Sunil introduced the participants to the Pervasive Technologies project. Anubha Sinha spoke on Intellectual Property in Mobile App Development in India. Vidushi Marda gave a talk on Competition Law and Standard Essential Patents. Rohini Lakshane gave a talk on Patent Landscaping in the Indian Mobile Device Marketplace. The agenda can be accessed here.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/news/review-meeting-for-the-pervasive-technologies-project

Review Meeting for PT Project

praskrishna — 2017-03-22T14:24:41Z

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/files/review-meeting-pt-project.pdf

Review Government Websites

praskrishna — 2013-04-28T03:26:20Z

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/review-govt-websites.pdf

Revenue

praskrishna — 2012-03-06T09:45:33Z

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Revealed: Bangalore’s Basic Instincts

praskrishna — 2012-01-10T06:50:25Z

This is a first – a sex survey that focusses only on Bangalore. Sure, we have sex surveys telling us what the country thinks. But we wanted to know what our city thinks about the three-letter word. The article was published in the Bangalore Mirror on 8 January 2012. Sunil Abraham is quoted right near the end on why Bangalore might not figure in Google Search rends' top 10 India locations for porn-related queries.

And it wasn’t just sex that we discussed. We also quizzed people on fidelity – emotional and physical – homosexuality and love. Predictably, Bangalore’s responses were far from predictable.

Instant attraction

Cynics may scoff at love at first sight, but youngsters are not yet cynical. And love seems to be catching people very young with kids as young as 13 claiming to be struck by Cupid, leaving even school principals shocked.

D Shashi Kumar, principal of Blossoms School, says, “Even kids from fourth to sixth standard claim to have fallen in love at first sight. I am flabbergasted and it’s difficult to deal with this though it is normal even in primary schools. Where is the innocence that one associates with childhood? They seem to be in a hurry to grow up.”

But, given Bangalore’s overwhelming response in favour of instant love, we found someone with a happy ending. Hear it from Narasimha Murthy: “We looked, we smiled and I was a goner. It’s been eight years since we got married and that love still continues to make my heart beat faster every time I see her."

True love waits?

The rip-roaring double standards for the goose and gander does not exist more strongly in any other case. Despite the emergence of the metrosexual male, men still want virgin brides.

As a result, women find it difficult to confess about their previous sexual partners. For instance, 28-year-old Menaka has been married for more than four years, but her guilty conscience hasn’t given up. “I had a boyfriend in college with whom I was intimate. When I got married, I decided to let my past be and start afresh. Everybody has a past, why rake it up and ruin your future? The more practical reason for me to have made that decision was because I knew it would ruin my married life. But then, my husband recently confessed about his affairs before we got married and now I am consumed with guilt. But what would have been even more ideal was for me to have waited till I got married,” she says.

Masti after marriage?

A city that so overwhelmingly believes in love seems to think nothing of infidelity. It’s all about the thrill.

Abhishek Rana, for instance, is a self-confessed stud since college. His list of girlfriends was like a telephone directory and he managed to date multiple girls simultaneously. Finally, he tied the knot with his childhood sweetheart (who knew about his escapades) a couple of years ago and is quite happy with his marriage. But that has not stopped the Casanova. “If anything, I am going out with more women now than I did before I was married.

Back then, it was the thrill of watching me succeed with the ladies where the others failed. Now, it is the thrill of making sure I don’t get caught by my wife. It is forbidden so it makes it more attractive. I have to come up with innovative reasons when I go home late. Once I told her I was helping my Man Friday’s daughter with homework in the office and she bought it! It’s not that I’m not happy with my wife. But, you need to keep the zing in life,” says this alumnus of a top B-school in India.

Unhappy about gays

It has been nine long years since Adithya Rao’s (name changed) father has spoken to him. “I was 24 when I told him I was gay and that was it. He slapped me and that was the last time he ever spoke to me,” says this designer who takes his boyfriends home to introduce them to his mother. “She is the one who keeps peace in the family,” says Adithya.

Forget the decriminalisation of Article 377. Homosexuality is still taboo in the city. Nithin Manayath, who is gay and a very vocal activist for the rights of homosexuals, says it is the shame around the idea of being homosexual that is the main problem. This 33-year-old English literature professor says, “My extended family knows that I am gay because I have even appeared on television. But I still have overzealous aunts and uncles who tell me about this ‘nice girl’ that I should meet. So depending on who it is, I politely tell them to introduce me to guys instead. I don’t think it is the idea of men sleeping with men that has them in knots. Their problem is talking about it in public. Even my parents don’t really talk about it. My mum is sometimes okay talking about it. But dad prefers to just never bring it up.”

Live-in is in

For ad woman Ashima, 28, and HR professional Jeremy, 31, (names changed), after five years of being in a relationship, the next logical step was to move in together. Although the decision didn’t come easy with parents opposing it, the couple went ahead and moved in together in January last year. Ashima says she always wanted to live together with her partner before taking the plunge.

“When you are dating someone, it’s different. You don’t get to spend that much time together. It is only when you are living with a person that you can understand how your partner lives, know his personal hygiene, his moods, his habits. I thought living-in would be a good way to test our compatibility before deciding to get married,” said Ashima.

Jeremy says moving in was also a matter of convenience. “It made sense economically as well for us to move in together. Both our parents don’t live in the city but when we told them about our decision, their primary concern was what people would say,” he said.

Dr Bhupendra Chaudhury, consultant psychiatrist, The Apollo Clinic, Koramangala, says that live-in relationships are never permanent. “Live-in relationships are always transient. The good thing about a live-in relationship is that both the people in the relationship are not sure about where the relationship will lead. With a change in the demographic trend where most people are living away from their families, a live-in relationship is natural. With such couples, there is no family pressure and with both partners working, they can afford their own expenses and in most cases parents don’t know about it. A live-in relationship can either end in separation or marriage but I have never come across any couple who has lived together for long. It is never permanent,” said Dr Bhupendra.

In the case of Ashima and Jeremy, they passed the compatibility test and after a year of living together, they are ready to say ‘I do’ this month.

Pure emotions

When Uma Rao found out that her husband of 30 years had cheated on her with a young girl, it hit her hard. “At first, I thought he was going through a mid-life crisis and was looking to spice up his life. I imagined it was just a fling. But, when he said that he was in love with her, I was shattered,” says Uma who divorced her husband last month.

But what if it was the other way round? Rajesh, Uma’s former husband, says: “If Uma had had the affair, I don’t think I would have been able forgive her. I think it is a man-woman thing,” says the father of a 20-something daughter. Incidentally, he’s considering marrying his girlfriend who is also in her 20s.

One wild night

“Why not,” asks Pavithra (name changed), a college student who has already had multiple partners. “I am single and I have the right to enjoy life,” says the nubile young thing who does not label it as sexual promiscuity, but experimentation. “I don’t come from my mother’s generation to subscribe to the idea that you have to sleep with only your husband. Sexual attraction has nothing to do with love or other mushy emotions,” she says.

But for 39-year-old Manjunath, a photographer who indulges in one-night stands, “one-night-stands or a sexual partner is a much better option than dating somebody after you get married. It is too much risk with too little benefit. Enjoy the experience and move on.”

The work-shift rift

Any sexologist tell you that the most number of cases with marital problems are between couples who work in highly stressful jobs. “Couples are now older as people are more concerned about their careers. They do not realise that people have to give time to a marriage. I once had a couple come in after just two weeks of their marriage. While the wife worked in an advertising firm, the husband worked in a call centre.

So they had no time for each other and they realised this within two weeks of marriage. Relationships need patience and perseverance more than anything else. Finally, it came as no surprise that they were divorced within a year,” says Mamtha Shetty, a psychiatrist in the city.

Social network gets a poke

“My husband works in Mumbai and I work in Bangalore. We meet once in a month and Facebook is the only way I keep in touch with him and know what is happening in his life minute by minute. Now, most people think that we can do this over the phone, but we are so tired at the end of the day, I don’t have the energy to have a long-drawn conversation,” says Shefali Gupta.

There are many such couples, you realise, if you listen to Suma Gowda, a private marriage counsellor. “I had a case where the couple were on the verge of getting a divorce, because the husband had complimented his ex-girl friend on Facebook. But what made it even more weird was that their entire fight was going on on Facebook. They refused to talk about it at home whenever they got together. You need to understand that talking is what keeps the marriage going,” she says.

“The days of marriage as an institution are all but over. Today people see it as a compartment and that is where the problem begins. You have to emotionally invest in relationships. Couples today treat it like they can lock it away as a small part of their lives instead of looking at it as an anchor. They don’t have the patience to make a relationship work and it is not just marriage that I am talking about. It is almost like couples have a separate person for every need of theirs,” says Sushil Unni, a certified life coach.

Porn supremacy

Vinutha Reddy never understood why her husband would lock himself in his study. “My husband was uninterested in me sexually. We had had sex once in the six months that we were married. When I finally summoned the courage and told him that we need to get some help, he refused. After a lot of pressure from the family, he agreed, and it was then that he opened up about his fetish for middle-aged women. He would surf the internet all night to find these websites. There was nothing I could do about it,” says the homemaker who is still in the marriage since the last five years because of family pressure.

But despite this, Bangalore does not figure in the top 10 of porn-surfing cities in India while Mangalore makes it. Sunil Abraham, executive director, Centre for Internet Society, explains the science of surfing. “If you look at the Google trend or any other website, Bangalore does not figure among the top 10 cities that surfs for porn. But that does not mean that Bangalore does not surf porn. It only means that we have a very sophisticated surfer with a very specific type. They don’t go through Google or other websites. They know how to go about it. But whether it affects their personal lives is lot more complicated,” he says.

After a lot of family pressure, he opened up about his fetish for middle-aged women.

Read the original in Bangalore Mirror

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/revealed-bangalore2019s-basic-instincts

Retro Relic

praskrishna — 2012-05-23T08:27:52Z

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Reto Wattach

praskrishna — 2012-01-16T05:15:08Z

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Rethinking the Internet: The Way Forward

praskrishna — 2013-03-13T04:53:21Z

Telecom Italia and Financial Times are organizing this event at Telecom Italia Future Centre in Italy on March 21 and 22, 2013. Pranesh Prakash is participating in this event.

Overview

The advent of smartphones and other mobile devices, and the resulting explosive growth in internet usage have transformed the way that societies communicate. The internet is a major driver for global economies as it continues to create new forms of interaction, and offers unprecedented business opportunities and profitable collaborations. The evolution of the internet is however also contributing to changing social perceptions of privacy and copyright, and concerns are developing about the security of countries and organisations, and the liabilities of internet intermediaries.

Another crucial issue is internet governance. Some doubts have been cast on the effectiveness of the present decision-making model in setting the basis for an investment-conducive and future-proof framework, and in balancing the interests of all the players involved in the market scenario.

Rethinking the Internet: The Way Forward, organised by the Financial Times and Telecom Italia, will contribute to this debate by featuring interactive CEO-level workshops that explore the impact of the internet on business models, the role of public and private collaborations in enabling innovation, the key policy, governance and security considerations that need to be addressed, and future implications of the internet evolution for all players in the global communications industry.

Agenda Day One: Thursday, March 22, 2013

10:30- 11:05	Registration and networking
11:05- 11:15	Chair's opening remarks
11:15- 11:30	Welcome address by Telecom Italia
11:30- 01:30	Introduction to Rethinking the Internet How will the internet continue to evolve and what implications does this have for future business models? Who will be the key industry players in the next 10 years and which collaborations, investments and infrastructure developments will yield sustainable growth? How sustainable is the internet as a business model? Will excessive policy-making and regulatory controls curb innovation? Where is the industry heading now?
01:30- 02:30	Lunch
02:30 - 04:30	A New Internet Governance What are the latest developments in internet governance policy-making? What changes can be expected in the near future? How can policy groups and organisations work together to create a balanced and fair internet governance model? What are the limitations of the current recommendations and what improvements need to be made? What are the implications for privacy, online anonymity and data protection?
04:30- 05:00	Refreshments
05:00 - 07:00	Internet Security What new threats and challenges are being created by the internet evolution and how are governments legislating for this? As cybersecurity continues to become a threat, can policies keep up with industry innovations and technological advances? How can a truly global internet be monitored and managed by international jurisdictions with different national priorities? What role do non-governmental entities have to play in policing the internet and making it more secure?
07:00 - 07:10	Chair's concluding remarks
07:10	Drinks reception, followed by Dinner

Agenda Day Two: Friday, March 23, 2013

08:30- 08:50	Arrival and networking
08:50- 09:00	Chair's opening remarks
09:00- 11:00	Internet Privacy and Copyrights Co-operation between policy-makers and industry players is critical in encouraging an open communications ecosystem. What pitfalls need to be avoided to ensure that all stakeholder interests are taken into account, including those of the customer? What safeguards need to be put into place to ensure that sensitive data is protected? How is copyright protected in the new digital age? Can the rights of content creators be protected whilst embracing an open internet? Does net neutrality necessarily equal internet freedom? And how is the right government intervention – internet freedom balance maintained?
11:00- 11:30	Refreshments
11:30- 01:30	Internet after OTT Why are commercial agreements among telco and other communication providers so critical to the provision of internet-enabled products and services? What collaborations are necessary to ensure that internet development and investment contribute to economic growth and market competition? And what role does policy have to play in supporting these commercial initiatives?
01:30- 02:30	Lunch
02:30- 04:00	Overview of Key Themes raised during the Two Day Meeting
04:00	Conclusion

Currently confirmed to participate now include:

Alessandro Acquisti, Associate Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Jan Philipp Albrecht MdEP / MEP, Member, European Parliament

Virgilio Augusto Fernandes Almeida, Secretary for Information Technology Policies, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI-SEPIN), Brazil

Suleyman Anil, Head, Cyber Defence Section, Emerging Security Challenges Division, NATO

Johannes M Bauer, Professor, Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media and Director of Special Programs, Quello Center for Telecommunication Management & Law, Michigan State University

Franco Bernabè, Chairman and CEO of Telecom Italia

Anne Bouverot, Director General & Member of the Board, GSMA

Peter Bradwell, Campaigner, Open Rights Group

Angelo Maria Cardani, Chairman, AGCOM

James W. Cicconi, Senior Executive Vice President-External and Legislative Affairs, AT&T Services, Inc

Giuseppe Corasaniti, General Prosecutor, Italian Supreme Court

Juan Carlos De Martin, Faculty co-director, nexa center for internet & society, Politecnico di Torino and Faculty Fellow, berkman center for internet & society, Harvard University

Adrian Farrel, Routing Area Director, IETF, Juniper Networks and Old Dog Consulting

William W Fisher, Wilmer Hale Professor of Intellectual Property Law and Faculty Director, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University

Luigi Gambardella, Chairman Executive Board, ETNO

Hartmut Richard Glaser, Executive Secretary/CGI.br, Brazilian Internet Steering Committee

David A. Gross, Former U.S. Coordinator for International Communications and Information Policy and Partner, Wiley Rein LLP

Ian Hargreaves, Professor of Digital Economy, Cardiff University

James Harkin, Author and Director, Flockwatching

Ahmad Abdulkarim Julfar, CEO, Etisalat Group

Dr Robert E Kahn, TCP/IP co-creator and Chairman, CEO and President, Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI)

Loz (Laurence) Kaye, Leader, Pirate Party UK

Thomas M. Lenard, President and Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute

Gerd Leonhard, Futurist, Author and CEO, The Futures Agency

Jonathan Liebenau, Reader in Technology Management, Department of Management, London School of Economics

Robert Levine, Journalist and Author of Free Ride

Patrice Lyons, Corporate Counsel, Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI)

Joe McNamee, Executive Director, European Digital Rights

Milton L Mueller, Professor, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University

Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, Professor of Finance and Economics and Garrett Professor of Public Policy and Business Responsibility, Columbia University Business School

Sam Paltridge, Directorate of Science Technology and Industry, OECD

Prof. Francesco Pizzetti, Chairman, Privacy Authority

Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director, Centre for Internet and Society

Philip R. Reitinger, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer, Sony Corporation

Dr Georg Serentschy, CEO Telecommunications, RTR-GmbH (Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications)

Michael Skapinker, Assistant Editor and Columnist, Financial Times

Christopher Soghoian, Principal Technologist and Senior Policy Analyst, American Civil Liberties Union

Dr. Hamadoun I. Touré, Secretary General, International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Nico van Eijk, Professor of Media and Telecommunications Law and Director of the Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam

Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent

Philip L. Verveer, Ambassador, U.S. Coordinator, International Communications and Information Policy, US Department of State

Richard Waters, West Coast Editor, Financial Times

Christopher S Yoo, John H. Chestnut Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer & Information Science, Founding Director, Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition, University of Pennsylvania Law School

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/rethinking-the-internet

Rethinking Privacy: The Link between Florida v. Jardines and the Surveillance of Nature Films

praskrishna — 2014-07-28T05:51:48Z

Bhairav Acharya gave a talk on "Rethinking Privacy" at an event organized by the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) on July 11, 2014.

In a 2010 article in Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, Brett Mills proposed that animals have a right to privacy and that wildlife documentaries, specifically BBC's Nature's Great Events (2009), invaded this right without an examination of animal conservation ethics. In the 2013 Florida v. Jardines decision, the Supreme Court of the United States re-examined the constitutional validity of 'dog sniff laws' that permitted police animals to enter the threshold of private property to conduct 'minimally invasive warant-less searches' and 'Terry stops'; this was the latest in a long line of Fourth Amendment cases that examine the ethics of conserving and protecting public order. I attempt to draw links between the two scenarios that highlight the dissonance between sociological and jurisprudential constructions of privacy.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/rethinking-privacy