Centre for Internet and Society

Arrested for tweeting: Legitimate or Curbing Free Speech?

praskrishna — 2012-11-02T06:09:57Z

As a man in Puducherry is arrested for allegedly posting on Twitter that MR Chidambaram's son had amassed wealth more than that of Robert Vadra, we discuss whether freedom of speech is absolute.

Sunil Abraham along with Shivam Vij, Journalist and Blogger, SB Mishra, Additional DCP, Census Wing, Economic Offence Wing, Delhi Police, and Sanjay Pinto, Advocate, Madras High Court participated in this discussion aired in NDTV on October 31, 2012.

Watch the full video on NDTV

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/ndtv-news-oct-31-2012-arrested-for-tweeting-legitimate-or-curbing-free-speech

October 2012 Bulletin

praskrishna — 2012-11-08T11:42:01Z

Welcome to the newsletter of October 2012 from the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS). The present issue features an analysis by Ujwala Uppaluri of the Delhi High Court’s judgment in Super Cassettes v. MySpace, announcement of public call for comments for reports on “Banking and Accessibility in India” and “Making TV Accessible in India”, and updates on Indic languages.

Jobs
CIS is seeking applications the posts of Research Manager and Programme Officer – Internet Governance. To apply send your resume to sunil@cis-india.org.

HasGeek HasGeek creates discussion spaces for geeks and has organised conferences like the Fifth Elephant, Droidcon India 2011, Android Camp, etc. HasGeek is supported by CIS and works out from CIS office in Bengaluru. The following event was organised by HasGeek in the month of October: Droidcon 2012 (CIS, Bangalore, October 27 – 28, 2012).
Accessibility India has an estimated 70 million disabled persons who are unable to read printed materials due to some form of physical, sensory, cognitive or other disability. The disabled need accessible content, devices and interfaces facilitated via copyright law and electronic accessibility policies: Public Call for Comments Banking and Accessibility in India: A Study on Banking Accessibility in India (by Vrinda Maheshwari, October 30, 2012). Making TV Accessible in India (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, October 8, 2012). Blog Entries The HathiTrust Judgment and its impact on TVI negotiations at WIPO (by Rahul Cherian, October 30, 2012). WIPO General Assemblies Approve Road Map on Treaty for the Visually Impaired (by Rahul Cherian, October 11, 2012).
Access to Knowledge The Access to Knowledge programme addresses the harms caused to consumers, developing countries, human rights, and creativity/innovation from excessive regimes of copyright, patents, and other such monopolistic rights over knowledge: Analysis Super Cassettes v. MySpace (by Ujwala Uppaluri, October 31, 2012). Blog Entry ICOMM2012: International Communications and Electronics Fair (by Jadine Lannon, October 31, 2012). Event Organised A Workshop on "Exploring the Internals of Mobile Technologies" (TERI Southern Regional Centre 4th Main, Domlur II Stage Bangalore, October 27, 2012).
Openness The 'Openness' programme critically examines alternatives to existing regimes of intellectual property rights, and transparency and accountability. Under this programme, we study Open Government Data, Open Access to Scholarly Literature, Open Access to Law, Open Content, Open Standards, and Free/Libre/Open Source Software: Wikipedia Education Programs Launch of Assamese Wikipedia Education Program at Guwahati University (by Nitika Tandon, October 22, 2012). Malayalam Wikipedia Education Program: August to October Updates (by Shiju Alex, October 29, 2012). Gujarat Wikipedia Education Program: Rajkot (by Noopur Raval, October 31, 2012). Gujarati Wikipedia Article Competition – 10 schools, 200 students, 20 articles on Gujarati Wikipedia (by Noopur Raval, October 31, 2012). Wikipedia Workshops Bengaluru: A Hub for Kannada and Sanskrit Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects! (by Subhashish Panigrahi, October 16, 2012). Wikipedia workshop @ Inmantec College, Ghaziabad (by Nitika Tandon, October 19, 2012). Bridging Gender Gap in Pune: WikiWomenDay 2012 Celebrated with Success! (by Subhashish Panigrahi, PAI International Learning Solutions, Azam Campus, Pune, October 28, 2012). First Pune Odia Wikipedia Organized! (by Subhashish Panigrahi, October 31, 2012). Wikipedia Event Wikipedia Hackathon at BITS Hyderabad (organized by CIS - A2K team and BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad, October 26 – 27, 2012). Wikipedia Press Coverage Odisha: Odia Wikipedia workshop organized in Pune to promote Odia language (OdishaDiary.com, October 31, 2012). Wikipedia Team Updates The A2K team consists of three members based in Delhi: Nitika Tandon, Subhashish Panigrahi and Noopur Raval. We are seeking applications for the post of Programme Director (Access to Knowledge) for the New Delhi office. Shiju Alex, Program Manager, Access to Knowledge is leaving the organisation. November 16, 2012 will be his last working day. We wish him success in all his future endeavours.
Internet Governance The Internet Governance programme conducts research around the various social, technical, and political underpinnings of global and national Internet governance, and includes online privacy, freedom of speech, and Internet governance mechanisms and processes: Column Rethinking DNA Profiling in India (by Elonnai Hickok, Economic & Political Weekly, Vol - XLVII No. 43, October 27, 2012). Analysis Privacy Perspectives on the 2012 -2013 Goa Beach Shack Policy (by Elonnai Hickok, October 25, 2012). Upcoming IGF Events At the seventh annual IGF meeting to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan in November 2012, CIS is organising one workshop: National IG Mechanisms – Looking at Some Key Design Issues (co-organising with Brazilian Internet Steering Committee, Institute for System Analysis, Russian Academy of Sciences, et.al., November 8, 2012 from 2.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m). Pranesh Prakash is a panelist in the following workshop: New Trends in Industry Self-Governance (organised by Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK and Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ, University of Zurich, Switzerland and Nominet, UK, November 7, 2012 from 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m). CIS fellow Malavika Jayaram is a panelist for these workshops: Civil rights in the digital age, about the impact the Internet has on civil rights (organised by ECP on behalf of the IGF-NL, November 7, 2012, 4.30 p.m. to 6.00 p.m.). Governing Identity on the Internet (organised by Brenden Kuerbis, Citizen Lab and Christine Runnegar, Internet Society, November 8, 2012, 11.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.). Other Upcoming Event DML Conference 2013 (Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers - Chicago, Illinois, March 14 – 16, 2012): CIS and Digital Media & Learning Research Hub Central are jointly organizing the DML Conference 2013 in Chicago. Event organised The Public Voice: Privacy Rights are a Global Challenge (Punta del Este, Uruguay, October 21, 2012): Malavika Jayaram was a speaker at this event. Events Participated 3rd Worldwide Cybersecurity Summit (organised by EastWest Institute in partnership with NASSCOM and FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi, October 30-31, 2012): Sunil Abraham and Elonnai Hickok participated in this event. Fourth Annual Legal Services Conference in India (organised by US India Business Council, New Delhi, October 11, 2012): Pranesh Prakash was a panelist in the session on “Censorship and Content Restrictions: The Future of Internet Speech in India”. Meeting on Lawful Access by Law Enforcement (Brussels, October 3 – 5, 2012): Elonnai Hickok participated in the meeting. Video Arrested for tweeting: Legitimate or Curbing Free Speech? (NDTV, October 31, 2012): Sunil Abraham participated in this discussion aired on NDTV along with Shivam Vij, SB Mishra and Sanjay Pinto. Media Coverage On social media, Modi goes soft (by Zia Haq, Hindustan Times, October 26, 2012): Sunil Abraham is quoted. Bolstering right to remain private (by Apar Gupta, The Pioneer, October 29, 2012): Pranesh Prakash is quoted. CIS was part of the expert committee even though not explicitly mentioned in these: Panel suggests law to protect individual privacy (Newstrack India, October 18, 2012), Privacy law mooted to protect people against misuse of info (Business Standard, October 18, 2012), Experts' committee moots law to protect privacy (by Saikat Datta, Daily News & Analysis, October 19, 2012), Govt panel wants curbs on phone taps (The Times of India, October 19, 2012), Privacy Act should not circumscribe RTI: expert group (by Amitabh Sinha, Indian Express, October 19, 2012), Nine-point code set out to safeguard personal information (Hindu Business Line, October 18, 2012), Privacy law mooted to protect people against misuse of info (Zee News, October 18, 2012). Court’s approval needed to tap phones: Panel (by Surabhi Agarwal, LiveMint, October 18, 2012): Sunil Abraham is quoted. Could better DNA testing facilities in India have saved the Talwars? (by Pallavi Polanki, October 11, 2012): CIS press statement is mentioned.
Telecom While the potential for growth and returns exist for telecommunications in India, a range of issues need to be addressed. One aspect is more extensive rural coverage and the other is a countrywide access to broadband which is low. Both require effective and efficient use of networks and resources, including spectrum: Building Knowledge and Capacity around Telecommunication Policy in India CIS and Ford Foundation joined hands to build expertise in the area of telecommunications in India. Dr. Surendra Pal, Satya N Gupta, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Payal Malik, Dr. Rakesh Mehrotra and Dr. Nadeem Akhtar are the expert reviewers. The following are the new outputs: Spectrum Management (by Snehashish Ghosh, October 31, 2012). Cable Television (by Srividya Vaidyanathan, October 16, 2012). Column in Business Standard The Supreme Court Delivers (by Shyam Ponappa in Business Standard, October 4, 2012 and Organizing India Blogspot, October 11, 2012).
Digital Natives Digital Natives with a Cause? examines the changing landscape of social change and political participation in light of the role that young people play through digital and Internet technologies, in emerging information societies. Consolidating knowledge from Asia, Africa and Latin America, it builds a global network of knowledge partners who critically engage with discourse on youth, technology and social change, and look at alternative practices and ideas in the Global South: Newspaper Column The Rules of Engagement (by Nishant Shah, Indian Express, October 29, 2012).
Researchers at Work CIS organised the Habits of Living Workshop in Bangalore from September 26 to 29, 2012. Three columns by Nishant Shah arising from these workshops were published in the month of October: Habits of Living: Being Human in a Networked Society (DML, Central, October 22, 2012). Digital Habits: How and Why We Tweet, Share and Like (FirstPost, October 12, 2012). Who’s that Friend? (Indian Express, October 23, 2012).

About CIS

CIS was registered as a society in Bangalore in 2008. As an independent, non-profit research organisation, it runs different policy research programmes such as Accessibility, Access to Knowledge, Openness, Internet Governance, and Telecom. The policy research programmes have resulted in outputs such as the e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities with ITU and G3ict, and Digital Alternatives with a Cause?, Thinkathon Position Papers and the Digital Natives with a Cause? Report with Hivos, etc. We conducted policy research for the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, etc., on WIPO Treaties, Copyright Bill, NIA Bill, etc. CIS is accredited as an observer at WIPO, and has given policy briefs to delegations from various countries, our Programme Manager, Nirmita Narasimhan won the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from the Government of India and also received the NIVH Excellence Award.

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CIS is grateful to its donors, Wikimedia Foundation, Ford Foundation, Privacy International, UK, Hans Foundation and the Kusuma Trust which was founded by Anurag Dikshit and Soma Pujari, philanthropists of Indian origin, for its core funding and support for most of its projects.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/newsletters/october-2012-bulletin

Audit Report 2011-12

praskrishna — 2014-12-04T15:10:53Z

The CIS audit report for 2011-12.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/reports/audit-report-2011-12.pdf

Notes for Mobile Phone Spreadsheet

praskrishna — 2012-10-30T06:24:17Z

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/notes-for-mobile-phone-spreadsheet.pdf

Bolstering right to remain private

praskrishna — 2012-10-29T09:00:13Z

The Justice AP Shah panel has done to well to lay down an enforceable roadmap that can strengthen privacy laws in the country. It’s now for the legislature to take the issue to a logical conclusion.

Apar Gupta's column was published in the Pioneer on October 29, 2012.

A haveli courtyard is an apt metaphor for the complexity which is involved in drafting a law on privacy. Though the courtyard gives an appearance of openness, it is limited by the walls, doors and windows which surround it. The architecture represents a mediated understanding of the options which are available to the resident in sharing and limiting information to family and strangers. A somewhat similar project is in the works with the Union Government taking steps towards the enactment of a privacy law.

Privacy law as it is understood at present is usually limited to the odd writ petition filed against the Government by a private individual seeking enforcement of a fundamental right to privacy. Recently, such adjudication has been limited to high-profile individuals, and where there is wide voyeuristic interest. For instance, two recent petitioners include industrialist Ratan Tata and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh. Here, it is important to stress that with the state gathering more and more data about individuals through the Unique Identification Authority of India scheme, there is a need to democratise the right by making legal provisions for its enforcement. In making such provisions a balance has to be maintained, where information which serves public interest or gathered through informed consent is not encumbered in the name of protecting individual privacy.

To find this balance, the Government late last year tasked a Committee of Experts chaired by Justice AP Shah to prepare a report on the Privacy Bill. Readers would recall that Justice Shah had authored a judgement which read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, decriminalising homosexual activity. A closer reading of the judgement shows the reliance placed by the court on the privacy right and to reach its determination. With such credentials, the Justice Shah Committee has exceeded the high expectations placed on it, presenting a fair and balanced approach towards a privacy law in India.

At the very outset the report clearly marks its objectives, from which it then commences to study judicial precedent on privacy as well as the experience of foreign jurisdictions. On the basis of this study, it has evolved nine privacy principles which encompass within it distinct aspects of individual privacy. Such a nuanced approach to privacy is certainly welcome given that privacy as a right is often subjective, varying drastically in its appreciation as per civil society, private industry and even Government itself.

Beyond the specific aspects of the privacy right, the report extends the right both to Government as well as private industry. This is a sign of the times, best put by Pranesh Prakash, policy director, Centre for Internet and Society, when he says that citizens reveal more data about themselves to social networking websites than they would to the Government under torture!

Another significant aspect is the proposed co-regulatory regime which the report suggests. And, experience has taught us that a right without an effective remedy to enforce it counts for a little more than a black letter on paper. In this respect, the report proposes a sectoral regulator which has supervision over State level privacy commissioners. In addition to this, the report also proposes a system of self-regulation where industry-specific standards may be proposed and then sanctioned by the privacy commissioners. However, contrary to the present approach of tribunalisation, the report suggests that recourse to civil courts for aggrieved persons should always be kept open.

Though the origins of the privacy rights may be antiquated, widespread consensus suggests that the modern practice and substance of privacy law owes its beginning to an article published in the fourth volume of the Harvard Law Review. The article, authored by Louis Brandeis and Samuel Warren drawing a physical justification for what seemed like a novelty back then, stated that the law regarded a man’s house as his castle.

Sadly, the right has not seen a proper development in India, mainly due to the absence of an overarching legislation as well as a lack of understanding of its proper contours. At least in this respect, the report marks a significant development in the drafting of a comprehensive privacy legislation in India. A haveli, a house or a castle — the Justice Shah panel has provided a useful blueprint to the legislature to build an effective and balanced statute to safeguard individual privacy.

(The writer is a partner in a Delhi-based law firm and visiting faculty at the National Law University, Delhi)

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/daily-pioneer-columnists-oct-29-2012-apar-gupta-bolstering-right-to-remain-private

Wikipedia Hackathon at BITS Hyderabad

praskrishna — 2012-10-25T08:42:56Z

CIS - A2K team and BITS-Pilani, Hyderabad Campus are organizing a hackathon for their tech fest — ATMOS on October 26 - 27, 2012, from 6.00 p.m. on October 26 to 6.00 a.m. on October 27.

An all night hackathon to get started in contributing technically to the world’s largest source of free information – Wikipedia. The code that you write (and eventually deploy) will be viewed/used 7,938,026,125 times a month! Write user scripts that fix annoying little things with the way Wikipedia functions. Write bots to import (and accurately maintain) large amounts of information from various sources into Wikipedia. Write tools to make it easier to maintain Wikipedia’s standards and fight spam. Most of all join the awesome Open Source community and have fun!

Pre-requisites:

Preferable working knowledge of HTML/CSS/Javascript *or* python.

Laptops, which you will have to carry with you.

To register for the event, click here.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/events/wikipedia-hackathon-bits-hyderabad

Draft Annual Report (2010-11)

praskrishna — 2014-10-21T23:55:55Z

This is the draft of the 2010-11 Annual Report.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/reports/annual-report-2010-2011.pdf

Annual Report (2011-12)

praskrishna — 2014-10-22T00:15:01Z

Draft Annual Report of 2011-12 from the Centre for Internet and Society

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/about/reports/annual-report-2011-2012.pdf

Panel suggests law to protect individual privacy

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T14:37:28Z

A government-appointed expert panel Thursday called for a law to protect individual privacy against misuse of information collected by various agencies, public and private, and through various methods like telephone tapping.

Published in Newstrack India on October 18, 2012.

Concerns have been voiced by various quarters in the country on the possible invasion of citizen's privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution through national programmes like Unique Identification number, reproductive rights of women, DNA profiling and brain mapping which will be implemented through the information, communication and technology (ICT) platforms.

Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar last year had constituted the experts group to identify the privacy issues and prepare a report to facilitate authoring of the privacy bill.

The group, headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A.P. Shah, recommended setting up of a regulatory framework comprising Privacy Commissioners at the centre and regional levels to deal with privacy issues and mandatory destruction of telephone conversation after a specified period.

As regards the specific issue of phone tapping, it said "interception orders must be specific and all interceptions would only be in force for a period of 60 days and renewed for a period up to 180 days".

It suggested that the records of the conservation should be destroyed by security agencies and telephone service providers within stipulated time frame.

"Records of interception must be destroyed by security agencies after six months or nine months and service providers must destroy after two or six months," it said.

Acccording to an official release, the following are some of the major recommendations made in the panel's report:

The regulatory framework will consist of Privacy Commissioners at the Central and Regional levels.

A system of co-regulation that will give self-regulating organizations at industry level choice to develop privacy standards which should be approved by a Privacy Commissioner.

Individuals would be given the choice (opt-in/opt-out) with regard to providing their personal information and the data controller would take individual consent only after providing inputs of its information practices.

The data controller shall only collect personal information from data subjects as is necessary for the purposes identified for such collection as well as process the data relevant to the purpose for which they are collected.

The data collected would be put to use for the purpose for which it has been collected. Any change in the usage would be done with the consent of the person concerned.

Data collected and processed would be relevant for the purpose and no additional data elements would be collected from the individual.

Interception orders must be specific and all interceptions would only be in force for a period of 60 days and renewed for a period up to 180 days. Records of interception must be destroyed by security agencies after 6 months or 9 months and service providers must destroy after 2 months or 6 months.

Infringement of any provision under the Act would constitute an offence by which individuals may seek compensation for an organization/bodies held accountable to.

Note: CIS was part of the expert committee even though not explicitly mentioned.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/newstrackindia-october-18-2012-suggests-law-to-protect-individual-privacy

The Public Voice: Privacy Rights are a Global Challenge

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T14:28:09Z

October 21, 2012 is an important day for global civil society defending privacy and free speech. The Public Voice coalition will be hosting a global conference in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and you are invited to take part in the conversation and interact with the panelists. Malavika Jayaram is speaking at this event.

You can follow the live conversation here, and join the conversation by using #thepublicvoice hashtag, ask questions, participate in polls and interact with those covering the event in several languages. The conference aims to assess cultures and privacy perspectives from around the World, and members of civil society wil discuss the spread of Surveillance Technologies and its implications in societies, experts will explore Latin American policy, law, and technology perspectives on privacy governance and suggest to governments and private sector to safeguard citizens privacy.

You can read the program and follow the live Webcast in English and Spanish.

During the day the panelists will assess cultures and privacy perspectives from around the world. They will raise public awareness of surveillance technology and its consequences to consumers, for freedom of expression and human rights, and they will explore Latin American policy, law, and technology perspectives. It is the small window civil society has before the 34th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners comprising all the governmental agencies all over the World, webcast available here. It certainly can bring the relevant topics for citizens to the discussion table. I hope you join us.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/events/privacy-rights-are-a-global-challenge

Privacy law mooted to protect people against misuse of info

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T10:25:53Z

A government-appointed expert group today suggested enactment of a law to protect individuals against misuse of information collected through telephone tapping, videography or any other method.

Read the original published in the Business Standard on October 18, 2012.

The group headed by former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A P Shah recommended setting up of a regulatory framework comprising Privacy Commissioners at the Centre and regional levels to deal with privacy issues and mandatory destruction of telephone conversation after a specified period.

The group, set up by Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar in September 2011, suggested that the records of the conversation should be destroyed by security agencies and telephone service providers within stipulated time frame.

"Records of interception must be destroyed by security agencies after six months or nine months and service providers must destroy after two or six months," it said.

The proposed law seeks to protect individuals from misuse of data collected by agencies, whether in private or public sector. It said the data of individuals should be used only for the purpose for which it was collected.

The issues concerning privacy of individuals assume significance in view of the collection of data by multiple agencies, government as well as private, for different purposes. At present, data is being collected under programmes like Aadhar, Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, recordings of telephone conversation, DNA profiling, brain mapping, etc.

The group, Kumar said, "has evaluated what is happening in the other country and what is the constitutional position in India... How imperatives of national security and right to privacy of individual can be harmonised".

Note: The Centre for Internet & Society was part of the expert committee even though it is not explicitly mentioned.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/business-standard-october-18-2012-privacy-law-mooted-to-protect-people-against-misuse-of-info

Experts' committee moots law to protect privacy

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T10:18:34Z

In its report submitted to the Planning Commission on Thursday, the first ever experts’ group to identify the privacy issues and prepare a report to facilitate authoring of the privacy bill, has said that existing laws have created an ‘unclear regulatory regime’ which allows a state to be intrusive.

Saikat Datta's article was published in DNA on October 19, 2012

The report has been prepared by experts led by justice AP Shah, former chief justice of the Delhi high court.

In its exceptions to the proposed law on privacy, the experts’ group has recommended that national security, public order and disclosures made in ‘public interest’ will be exempted from the limitations of privacy. Several members of the group unsuccessfully argued to bring in the Intelligence agencies which are empowered to legally tap phones, intercept emails and conduct surveillance on citizens under the ambit of the Privacy Act.

The report, a copy of which is available with DNA, recognises that there are major differences in the existing laws that permit intrusive phone-tapping or surveillance of private citizens by the government.The group feels that “these differences have created an unclear regulatory regime that is inconsistent, non-transparent, and prone to misuse and does not provide remedy or compensation to aggrieved individuals.”

Therefore, the group has recommended that when the government conducts any intrusive surveillance like phone tapping, it must adhere to the principles of proportionality, legality and remain within the boundaries of a democratic state.

“The limitation (on tapping phones, etc) should be in proportion to the harm that has been caused or will be caused,” the report states.

Interestingly, the report also exempts the disclosure of personal or private information for journalistic or historical and scientific purposes from being curbed under the proposed Privacy Act. Interestingly, this will give journalists a legal cover from being hauled up under the proposed privacy laws when they file stories.

The government is keen to enact a privacy law quickly because of two major issues. The fallout of the leakage of the tapes of Niira Radia speaking to industry heads like Ratan Tata which led to a renewed clamour for a comprehensive Privacy Act. Ironically, anything related to phone-tapping has now been left out of the provisions of such an Act.

The other reason was the pressure from the industry that is keen to get business from abroad that deals with sensitive personal data. In the absence of any personal data protection laws, Indian companies were not getting any business from European or American firms. With this law, India can look forward to getting substantial business that involves personal data.

With this framework in mind the experts’ group has recommended that notice be given to any individual from whom personal information will be sought. With intrusive government projects like the UID or the NATGRID, the group was worried that this kind of massive data in the hands of the government could turn this into a police state.

It has also mandated that the choice and consent of the individual must be taken before collecting this information. Also, there has to be a limitation on collecting this information and anything that has been collected will use the data for only a limited purpose. A data controller should be appointed to collect, maintain and use the data under strict stipulations.

Therefore, the data controller will be made accountable for any lapse in handling or disclosure of the data. To ensure that this kind of control can be exercised, the group has suggested the appointment of privacy commissioners who will adjudicate on any matter of illegal disclosures and mete out server punishment.

Recommendations

National security, public order and disclosures made in ‘public interest’ will be exempted from the limitations of privacy
The limitation (on tapping phones, etc) should be in proportion to the harm caused or will be caused
Disclosure of personal or private information for journalistic or historical and scientific purposes should be exempted from being curbed under the proposed Act
Notice be given to individual from whom information has to be sought
A data controller should be appointed to collect, maintain and use the data
Privacy commissioners who will adjudicate on any matter of illegal disclosures be appointed

Note: The Centre for Internet & Society was part of the expert committee even though not explicitly mentioned.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/dna-india-october-19-2012-saikat-datta-experts-committee-moots-law-to-protect-privacy

Govt panel wants curbs on phone taps

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T09:57:05Z

A government-appointed panel on Thursday recommended several measures, including guidelines on interception of telephonic conversations, video and audio recordings, use and storage of data as well as setting up of dispute resolution entities at Centre and state-level to protect the privacy of individuals.

Read the original published in the Times of India on October 19, 2012.

The group led by former Delhi High Court chief justice A P Shah was set up by the Planning Commission to identify privacy issues and prepare a document to facilitate the proposed Privacy Act.

The group was set after concerns were raised about the impact on privacy of individuals with the emergence of several national programmes such as Unique Identification number, NATGRID, DNA profiling, Reproductive Rights of Women, privileged communications and brain mapping, most of which will be implemented through information and communication technology (ICT) platforms.

The panel recommended that reasons for interception must be specified and be recorded in writing and the provisions establish conditions for authorization by the competent authority. It said that all interceptions can be in force for 60 days and renewed for not more than 180 days. The panel said records of interception be destroyed by the security agencies after six months or nine months and service providers must destroy records after two months or six months. It also said that intermediaries must provide an internal check to ensure the security, confidentiality and privacy of intercepted material, and intermediaries would be held legally responsible for any unauthorized access or disclosure of intercepted materials.

The panel said the proposed Act should extend the right of privacy to individuals and bring under its regulation data controllers, which includes all corporates, public/ governmental bodies and organizations. Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar said, "The group has evaluated what is happening in the other country and what is the constitutional position in India... how imperatives of national security and right to privacy of individual can be harmonized."

It said the Act should clarify that publication of personal data for artistic and journalistic purposes in public interest, use of personal information for household purposes and disclosure of information as required by the RTI Act should not constitute an "infringement of privacy".

The proposed Privacy Act should also articulate national privacy principles. The principles will extend and be binding to all private/ public data controllers. It said the principles must establish safeguards and procedures over the collection, processing, storage, retention, access, disclosure, destruction of sensitive personal information, personal identifiable information and identifiable information.

The Act should establish the Central office of the privacy commissioner, regional level privacy commissioner, self regulating organizations at the industry level and data controllers and privacy officers if required at the organization level, the report recommended.

The panel also recommended that the infringement of any provision under the Act should constitute as an "offence" and individuals may seek "compensation" from organizations/ bodies held accountable.

The group agreed that any proposed framework for privacy legislation must be technologically neutral and interoperable with international standards. "Specifically, the Privacy Act should not make any reference to specific technologies and must be generic enough such that principle and enforcement mechanisms adaptable to changes in society, the market place, technology and government," the report said.

Note: The Centre for Internet & Society was part of the expert committee even though not explicitly mentioned.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/times-of-india-october-19-2012-govt-panel-wants-curbs-on-phone-taps

Privacy Act should not circumscribe RTI: expert group

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T09:36:49Z

An expert group to draw the framework of a law to protect privacy of individuals has suggested that issues of personal privacy must not be used to dilute the provisions of or block information under the Right to Information Act, and used a language that almost directly contradicts the sentiments expressed by the Prime Minister in this regard just a few days ago.

This article by Amitabh Sinha was published in the Indian Express on October 19, 2012.

The group headed by Justice (retd) A P Shah has argued that the RTI Act already has provisions that protect the privacy, and such types of information are exempt from public disclosure. “When applied, the (proposed) Privacy Act should not circumscribe the Right to Information Act,” the report of the expert group, which was made public on Thursday, said.

“Section 8 of the (RTI) Act lists specific types of information that are exempted from public disclosure in order to protect privacy. In this way, privacy is the narrow exception to the Right to Information,” the report said.

Interestingly, just earlier this week, while inaugurating an annual convention of information commissioners, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had made the opposite argument. “There is a fine balance required to be maintained between the Right to Information and the right to privacy, which stems out of the Fundamental Right to Life and Liberty,” he had said.

“The citizens’ right to know should definitely be circumscribed if disclosure of information encroaches upon someone’s personal privacy. But where to draw the line is a complicated question,” he had said.

Sibngh’s remarks had come at a time when questions were being asked about whether government money had been spent on foreign trips and medical treatment of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The government had clarified that no public money had been spent on either of the two.

The expert group under Justice Shah was constituted at the initiative of Minister of State for Planning Ashwani Kumar after an attempt by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) last year to draft a privacy bill ended in a disaster. The expert group was only asked to draw up the broad contours of what a privacy law must comprise of. It has drawn from international experiences and presented nine ‘principles’ that must be accommodated in any future privacy law.

The group also recognises that the constitutional basis of privacy as “a fundamental right deriving from Article 21 of the Constitution of India”.

The report deals mainly with how the extensive collection of personal data — through government institutions like Census, NATGRID, UID, or through private agencies like banks, credit card companies or phone operators — must be stored, managed and eventually destroyed, if possible, without infringing on the privacy rights of an individual.

The report would now be referred to the DoPT which will then begin further consultation processes to make a fresh start at drafting a privacy law.

Suggestions on Tapping

The expert group has said that the system of telephone and other communication interception for security reasons has an “unclear regulatory regime that is inconsistent, non-transparent, prone to misuse, and that does not provide remedy or compensation to aggrieved individuals”. It has suggested the following:

All orders of interceptions must be reported to a court within 15 days, disclosing the reason for interception.
All interceptions must only be in force for 60 days, renewable up to a period of 180 days.
Reasons for interception order must be specified and recorded in writing by competent authority.
Records of interception must be destroyed by security agencies after six months, or nine months, and service providers must destroy records after two months, or six months.
All interception orders must be sent for review by a designated committee.
Officers to whom information relating to interception can be disclosed must be specified.
Intermediaries (like telephone operators) must ensure security, confidentiality and privacy of intercepted material, and must be held legally responsible for any unauthorized access or disclosure of intercepted material.

Note: The Centre for Internet & Society was part of the expert committee even though it is not explicitly mentioned here.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/indianexpress-amitabh-sinha-october-19-2012-privacy-act-should-not-circumscribe-rti-expert-group

Bill to create bank for DNA profiling of accused coming

praskrishna — 2012-10-22T09:15:43Z

Access to data only for victim’s or suspect’s relatives.

This article by Aarthi Dhar was published in the Hindu on October 21, 2012.

A Bill to create a DNA data centre to profile people accused of serious crimes and unknown deceased is in the works. The proposal was originally mooted in 2007 but was dropped to factor in ethical, moral and legal issues on the sensitive matter.

Crafted by the Department of Biotechnology, it allows Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA) profiling for cases of culpable homicide, murder, death by negligence, miscarriage, dowry deaths, causing death of new born child, sexual assault, unnatural offences, outraging the modesty of a woman, co-habitation with a woman by deceit, adultery, enticing a married woman with criminal intent, among others.

Protecting privacy

Addressing issues related to protecting privacy of individuals, the draft Bill envisages that access to the information in the National DNA Data Bank will be restricted to those related to the victim or suspect; any individual undergoing a sentence of imprisonment or death sentence can apply to the court which convicted him, for an order of DNA testing of specific evidence under specific conditions.

The Human DNA Profiling Bill seeks to establish a DNA Profiling Board that will lay down the standards for laboratories, collection of human body substances and custody trail from collection to reporting. It also has a provision for setting up a National DNA Data Bank.

The DNA analysis of body substances that makes it possible to determine whether the source of origin of one body substance is identical to that of another, and to establish the biological relationship, if any, between two individuals.

The “forensic material” from which the DNA sample can be lifted is biological material from the body and represents intimate body samples. They include blood, semen, or any other tissue fluid.

DNA Profiling Board

As envisaged in the Bill, the DNA Profiling Board at the national level, with similar structures at the State level, will be headed by a renowned molecular biologist with the other members being from police, legal, biological and related fields.

It will deliberate and advise on all ethical and human rights issues emanating out of DNA profiling in consonance with the United Nations vis-à-vis the rights and privacy of citizens, civil liberties and issues having ethical and other social implications.

The Board will make recommendations on the use and dissemination of DNA information, ensure the accuracy, security and confidentiality of DNA and guidelines destruction of obsolete, expunged or inaccurate information.

Jail, fine for data misuse

It will also will lay down standards and procedures for establishment and functioning of DNA laboratories and Data Banks and prepare guidelines for storage of biological substances and their destruction. Any misuse of DNA data will attract imprisonment up to three years and monetary fine.

The working draft of the Bill has been sent to the Centre for Internet and Society for analysis and comments. The Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties has already opposed the proposed legislation and sought pre-emptive intervention to stop “dangerous” erosion of privacy by DNA profiling of citizens.

In a representation submitted to the National Human Rights Commission, the Forum has said DNA profiling is “undesirable, particularly as forensic DNA developments are intertwined with significant changes in legislation and contentious issues of privacy, civil liberty and social justice.”

The Forum has sought “immediate intervention to safeguard citizens’ privacy and their civil liberties, which face an unprecedented onslaught from the provisions of the DNA Profiling Bill and other related surveillance measures being bulldozed by unregulated and ungovernable technology.”

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/the-hindu-aarti-dhar-october-21-2012-bill-to-create-bank-for-dna-profiling-of-accused-coming

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