Author
Sunil Abraham
93 items.
16 Mar 2016
Blog post
List of Recommendations on the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 - Letter Submitted to the Members of ParliamentOn Friday, March 11, the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. The Bill was introduced as a money bill and there was no public consultation to evaluate the …
15 Feb 2016
Blog post
Internet FreedomThe modern medium of the web is an open-sourced, democratic world in which equality is an ideal, which is why what is most important is Internet freedom.
11 Feb 2016
Blog post
Facebook's Fall from Grace: Arab Spring to Indian WinterFacebook’s Free Basics has been permanently banned in India! The Indian telecom regulator, TRAI has issued the world’s most stringent net neutrality regulation! To be more accurate, there is more to come from TRAI in terms of net neutrality …
3 Jan 2016
Blog post
Free Basics: Negating net parityResearchers funded by Facebook were apparently told by 92 per cent of Indians they surveyed from large cities, with Internet connection and college degree, that the Internet “is a human right and that Free Basics can help bring Internet to …
25 Dec 2015
Blog post
The Free Basics debate: Trai has a point in imposing temporary ban on net neutralityThe argument against net neutrality in India is simple. Regulation cannot be based on dogma – evidence of harm must be provided before you can advocate for rules for ISPs and telecom operators.
25 Dec 2015
Blog post
Facebook Shares 10 Key Facts about Free Basics. Here's What's Wrong with All 10 of Them.Shweta Sengar of Catch News spoke to Sunil Abraham about the recent advertisement by Facebook titled "What Net Neutrality Activists won't Tell You or, the Top 10 Facts about Free Basics". Sunil argued against the validity of all the 'top 10 …
4 Dec 2015
Blog post
CIS's Position on Net NeutralityAs researchers committed to the principle of pluralism we rarely produce institutional positions. This is also because we tend to update our positions based on research outputs. But the lack of clarity around our position on network …
28 Oct 2015
Blog post
Connected TroubleThe internet of things phenomenon is based on a paradigm shift from thinking of the internet merely as a means to connect individuals, corporations and other institutions to an internet where all devices in (insulin pumps and pacemakers), …
26 Sep 2015
Blog post
Hits and Misses With the Draft Encryption PolicyMost encryption standards are open standards. They are developed by open participation in a publicly scrutable process by industry, academia and governments in standard setting organisations (SSOs) using the principles of “rough consensus” …
19 Aug 2015
Blog post
Security: Privacy, Transparency and TechnologyThe Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) has been involved in privacy and data protection research for the last five years. It has participated as a member of the Justice A.P. Shah Committee, which has influenced the draft Privacy Bill …
1 Aug 2015
News
Why the DNA Bill is open to misuse: Sunil AbrahamThe Human DNA Profiling Bill, the law that regulates the collection, storage and use of the human genetic code, has attracted some strong criticism from civil liberties groups including the Bengaluru-based Centre for Internet and Society …
24 Jul 2015
News
The scariest bill in Parliament is getting no attention – here’s what you need to know about itA bill proposes creation of a national DNA data bank, without requisite safeguards for privacy, and opens the information to everything from civic disputes to compilation of statistics.
8 Jul 2015
Blog post
India’s digital checkAll nine pillars of Digital India directly correlate with policy research conducted at the Centre for Internet and Society, where I have worked for the last seven years. This allows our research outputs to speak directly to the priorities …
22 Jun 2015
Blog post
The generation of e-EmergencyThe next generation of censorship technology is expected to be ‘real-time content manipulation’ through ISPs and Internet companies.
16 Apr 2015
Blog post
Multiple Aspects Need to be Addressed as the Clamour Grows for Network NeutralityIn the global debate there are four violations of Network Neutrality that are considered particularly egregious.
11 Apr 2015
Blog post
Shreya Singhal and 66AMost software code has dependencies. Simple and reproducible methods exist for mapping and understanding the impact of these dependencies. Legal code also has dependencies --across court orders and within a single court order. And since …
29 Mar 2015
Blog post
Big win for freedom of speech. Really?The 66A ruling was historic, but what about the provisions regulating speech online and offline that still exist within the ITA, the IPC and other laws.
26 Mar 2015
Blog post
Internet censorship will continue in opaque fashionA division bench of the Supreme Court has ruled on three sections of the Information Technology Act 2000 - Section 66A, Section 79 and Section 69A. The draconian Section 66A was originally meant to tackle spam and cyber-stalking but was …
26 Mar 2015
Blog post
Fear, Uncertainty and DoubtMuch confusion has resulted from the Section 66A verdict. Some people are convinced that online speech is now without any reasonable restrictions under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution. This is completely false.
9 Dec 2014
Blog post
Availability and Accessibility of Government Information in Public DomainThe information provided on most Government websites such as Acts, notifications, rules, orders, minutes of meetings and consultations, etc. is usually in the form of electronic documents. However, these lack authenticity and accessibility …
14 Nov 2014
Blog post
Privacy vs. Transparency: An Attempt at Resolving the DichotomyThe right to privacy has been articulated in international law and in some national laws. In a few countries where the constitution does not explicitly guarantee such a right, courts have read the right to privacy into other rights (e.g., …
10 May 2014
Blog post
Net Freedom Campaign Loses its WayA recent global meet was a victory for governments and the private sector over civil society interests.
14 Apr 2014
Blog post
Very Big BrotherThe Centre for Internet and Society, the organization I work for, currently serves on a committee established by the Government of India's Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology in January 2013. The committee has …
4 Apr 2014
Blog post
Who Governs the Internet? Implications for Freedom and National SecurityThe second half of last year has been quite momentous for Internet governance thanks to Edward Snowden. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff became aware that they were targets of US surveillance for …
20 Mar 2014
Blog post
Privacy worries cloud Facebook's WhatsApp DealPrivacy activists in the United States have asked the competition regulator or the Federal Trade Commission to put on hold Facebook's acquisition of WhatsApp. Why have they done this when Facebook has promised to leave WhatsApp untouched as …
25 Oct 2013
Blog post
The Fight for Digital SovereigntyIt is time to incorporate free software principles to address the issue of privacy. Thanks to the revelations of Edward Snowden, a former contractor to the United States (US) National Security Agency (NSA) who leaked secrets about the …
9 Sep 2013
Blog post
Privacy Law Must Fit the BillThe process of updating Indian privacy policy has gained momentum ever since the launch of the UID project and also the leak of the Radia tapes. The Department of Personnel and Training has lead the drafting of privacy bill for the last …
21 Aug 2013
Blog post
Freedom from Monitoring: India Inc Should Push For Privacy LawsMore surveillance than absolutely necessary actually undermines the security objective.
28 Feb 2013
Blog post
Don’t SLAPP free speechIIPM is proving adept at the tactical use of lawsuits to stifle criticism, despite safeguards. THE DEPARTMENT of Telecommunications, on 14 February, issued orders to block certain web pages critical of the Indian Institute of Planning and …
28 Jan 2013
Blog post
Pervasive Technologies: Access to Knowledge in the Market Place — A Presentation by Sunil AbrahamThe 2012 Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest was organized in Rio de Janeiro from December 15 to 17, 2012. The Centre for Internet & Society partnered FGV, Washington College of Law, the American Embassy, …