Author
Pranesh Prakash
171 items.
4 Jun 2012
Blog post
The Web of Our StrifeAt the 66th session of the UN General Assembly, India proposed the formation of a Committee on Internet-Related Policies (CIRP) to address what it sees as a policy vacuum in internet governance.
23 May 2012
Blog post
Analysis of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012There are some welcome provisions in the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012, and some worrisome provisions. Pranesh Prakash examines five positive changes, four negative ones, and notes the several missed opportunities. The larger concern, …
26 Apr 2012
Blog post
India's Broken Internet Laws Need a Shot of Multi-stakeholderismCyber-laws in India are severely flawed, with neither lawyers nor technologists being able to understand them, and the Cyber-Law Group in DEIT being incapable of framing fair, just, and informed laws and policies. Pranesh Prakash suggests …
27 Mar 2012
Blog post
Statutory Motion Against Intermediary Guidelines RulesRajya Sabha MP, Shri P. Rajeev has moved a motion that the much-criticised Intermediary Guidelines Rules be annulled.
29 Feb 2012
Blog post
Comments on Technical Standards for Interoperability Framework for E-Governance in India (Phase II)The e-Governance Standards Division has called for public comments on the draft of the Technical Standards IFEG Phase II. We from the Centre for Internet and Society have given our comments.
13 Feb 2012
Blog post
World Narrow WebCensorship and how govt reacts to it may push us to country-specific networks, writes Pranesh Prakash in an article published in the Indian Express on 4 February 2012.
26 Jan 2012
25 Jan 2012
Blog post
How India Makes E-books Easier to Ban than Books (And How We Can Change That)Without getting into questions of what should and should not be unlawful speech, Pranesh Prakash chooses to take a look at how Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services, and how it …
15 Dec 2011
Blog post
Invisible Censorship: How the Government Censors Without Being SeenThe Indian government wants to censor the Internet without being seen to be censoring the Internet. This article by Pranesh Prakash shows how the government has been able to achieve this through the Information Technology Act and the …
8 Dec 2011
Blog post
Press Coverage of Online Censorship RowWe are maintaining a rolling blog with press references to the row created by the proposal by the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology to pre-screen user-generated Internet content.
7 Dec 2011
Blog post
Online Pre-Censorship is Harmful and ImpracticalThe Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr. Kapil Sibal wants Internet intermediaries to pre-censor content uploaded by their users. Pranesh Prakash takes issue with this and explains why this is a problem, even if …
1 Dec 2011
Blog post
Comment by CIS at ACE on Presentation on French Charter on the Fight against Cyber-CounterfeitingThe seventh session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Advisory Committee on Enforcement is being held in Geneva on November 30 and December 1, 2011. Pranesh Prakash responded to a presentation by Prof. Pierre Sirinelli of …
1 Dec 2011
Blog post
CIS Intervention on Future Work of the WIPO Advisory Committee on EnforcementThe seventh session of the World Intellectual Property Organization's Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) is being held in Geneva on November 30 and December 1, 2011. Pranesh Prakash intervened during the discussion of future work of …
29 Nov 2011
Blog post
Statement of CIS on the WIPO Broadcast Treaty at the 23rd SCCRThe twenty-third session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is being held in Geneva from November 22, 2011 to December 2, 2011. Pranesh Prakash delivered this statement on a new proposal made by South Africa and …
9 Nov 2011
Blog post
Sources of CIS FundingCIS's donors' names and the amount of the grants they've provided are being published in an effort to be absolutely transparent and to make it clear that our donors do not dictate the policy and research positions we espouse.
31 Oct 2011
Blog post
India's Statement Proposing UN Committee for Internet-Related PolicyThis is the statement made by India at the 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in which its proposal for the UN Committee for Internet-Related Policy was presented.
31 Oct 2011
Blog post
CIS Comments on the Draft National Policy on ElectronicsThese were the comments submitted by CIS to the request for comments put out by the Department of Information Technology on its draft 'National Policy on Electronics'.
28 Oct 2011
Blog post
Analysis of DIT's Response to Second RTI on Website BlockingIn this blog post, Pranesh Prakash briefly analyses the DIT's response to an RTI request on website blocking alongside the most recent edition of Google's Transparency Report, and what it tells us about the online censorship regime in …
27 Oct 2011
Blog post
Text of DIT's Response to Second RTI on Website BlockingCIS had filed a request under the Right to Information Act with the government, asking a number of questions relating to blocking of content under the IT Act. We have reproduced below the response we got from the government.
4 Oct 2011
Blog post
CIS-TWN Analysis of WIPO Treaty for the Print Disabled (SCCR/22/15)CIS and the Third World Network (TWN) conducted a quick analysis of the "Consensus document on an international instrument on limitations and exceptions for persons with print disabilities presented by Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, …
9 Sep 2011
Blog post
Calling Out the BSA on Its BSThe Business Software Alliance (BSA) is trying to pull wool over government officials' eyes by equating software piracy with tax losses. Pranesh Prakash points out how that argument lacks cogency, and that tax losses would be better averted …
19 Aug 2011
Blog post
Open Government Data in India (v2)The first draft of the second version of the Open Government Data Report is now online. Nisha Thompson worked on updating the first version of the report. This updated version of the report on open government data in India includes …
21 Jul 2011
Blog post
Opening Government: A Guide to Best Practice in Transparency, Accountability and Civic Engagement across the Public SectorThe Transparency & Accountability Initiative has published a book called “Opening Government: A Guide to Best Practice in Transparency, Accountability and Civic Engagement across the Public Sector”. We at the Centre for Internet & Society …
8 Jul 2011
Blog post
Don't Shoot the Messenger: Speech on Intermediary Liability at 22nd SCCR of WIPOThis is a speech made by Pranesh Prakash at an side-event co-organized by the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Internet Society on intermediary liability, to coincide with the release of Prof. Lillian Edwards's …
8 Jun 2011
Blog post
Comments on the draft National Data Sharing and Accessibility PolicyA draft of the 'National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy', which some hope will be the open data policy of India, was made available for public comments in early May. This is what the Centre for Internet and Society submitted.
25 May 2011
Blog post
Killing the Internet Softly with Its RulesWhile regulation of the Internet is a necessity, the Department of IT, through recent Rules under the IT Act, is guilty of over-regulation. This over-regulation is not only a bad idea, but is unconstitutional, and gravely endangers freedom …
20 May 2011
Blog post
Open Government Data StudyCIS produced a report on the state of open government data in India, looking at policy, infrastructure, and particular case studies, as well as emerging concerns, future strategies and recommendations. The report is authored by Glover …
17 May 2011
Blog post
Consumers International IP Watchlist 2011 — India ReportPranesh Prakash prepared the India Report for the Consumers International IP Watchlist 2011. The report was published on the A2K Network website.
13 May 2011
Blog post
Rebuttal of DIT's Misleading Statements on New Internet RulesThe press statement issued on May 11 by the Department of Information Technology (DIT) on the furore over the newly-issued rules on 'intermediary due diligence' is misleading and is, in places, plainly false. We are presenting a …
26 Apr 2011
Blog post
CDT Provides Answers to Questions on Internet NeutralityPranesh Prakash of CIS asked David Sohn of CDT a few pointed questions on the emerging hot topic of 'Internet neutrality', and received very useful responses. Those questions and Mr. Sohn's responses are documented in this blog post.