News and media coverage
2,600 items.
9 Aug 2011
News
Tired of tele-marketing calls? Act on privacy right: ExpertsAnnoyed with unsolicited calls from insurance and banking companies? Under the proposed Right to Privacy Act, such calls would be considered a violation and the company responsible penalised up to Rs 5 lakh. The draft Right to Privacy Bill …
9 Aug 2011
News
Nothing unique about this identityRelying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking peeping tom to install your window blinds, opined, not long ago, the American poet and novelist John Perry Barlow once. The statement attains significance in the context of …
9 Aug 2011
News
Indian super-cops now patrol the www highwayThere's discontent brewing in the Indian cyberspace. And it has to do with the government blocking content that it deems "objectionable". What has raised hackles of Internet freedom activists is a new set of rules that allow Internet …
9 Aug 2011
News
Govt wants to monitor Facebook, TwitterThe Union home ministry has written to the department of telecom asking it to "ensure effective monitoring of Twitter and Facebook".
7 Aug 2011
News
Better Understanding of the Idea of Privacy SoughtUnderstanding the ways in which an individual's privacy is violated will help provide a better definition of privacy in India. At a public conference called ‘Privacy Matters' held at the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) here …
4 Aug 2011
News
Converting Indian Slacktivists Takes (Offline) TimeNo matter how much attention an online protest campaign might appear to be getting in terms of likes, fans or retweets, it’s rarely likely to be able to draw even a fraction of its Internet supporters to a street protest. That’s as true in …
25 Jul 2011
News
Portal augurs well for transparencyData.gov.in will have meta-data, which will facilitate discovery of data and access from portals of ministries, says T Ramachandra. The article was published in the Hindu on 25 July 2011.
24 Jul 2011
News
Facebook, my boyfriend is lousyWhile a sizeable chunk of users do not mind living their life in public, oversharing can have nasty repercussions in real life. This article by Sahana Saran was published in the Bangalore Mirror on 24 July 2011.
23 Jul 2011
News
UID: The World’s Largest Biometric DatabaseAt the start of his presentation, Sunil Abraham pointed to two aerial drawings of cybercafes: one where each computer was part of a private booth, and one where the computers were in the open so the screens would be visible to any one. …
20 Jul 2011
News
Webcam Anti-Corruption in India (NY Times)In India, Oomen Chandy (67), governor of the state of Kerala, who wants to fight against corruption, has installed a webcam filming his office 24 hours on 24 and another who is filming one of his assistants, reports The New York Times. This …
20 Jul 2011
News
Transparent Government, via Webcams in IndiaTHIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India — Little Brother is watching you. That is the premise for the webcam that a top government official here has installed in his office, as an anticorruption experiment. Goings-on in his chamber are viewable to the …
20 Jul 2011
News
NYT lauds Oommen Chandy’s 24/7 office webcastThe Kerala chief minister Mr Oommen Chandy’s much hyped 24/7 webcast of his office has received global attention with the New York Times coming out with an article on the initiative.
6 Jul 2011
News
The Walls Have EarsThe proposed Privacy Bill seems skewed towards the state rather than the citizen, writes Saikat Datta. This news was published in the Outlook magazine, issue, July 11, 2011.
5 Jul 2011
News
Aadhaar’s moment of truthIt’s time for the unique identity project to answer tough questions it has dodged so far, writes MA Arun in the Deccan Herald.
3 Jul 2011
News
Sorry Wrong NumberThe government’s ambitious project to give a unique identification number to every Indian citizen is running woefully behind schedule. T.V. Jayan investigates the problems that beset the project. The news was published in the Telegraph on 3 …
21 Jun 2011
News
Communication Policy Advocacy, Technology, and Online Freedom of Expression: A Toolkit for Media DevelopmentOrganized by the Center for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) at the Central European University (CEU), and Internews Network, and the Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) at the Annenberg School for Communication at the …
20 Jun 2011
News
Centaur website reveals guests' personal infoThe Centaur Hotels' website, centaurhotels.com, appears to have compromised personal information of its hotel guests, in what seems to be a case of poor internet security protocols implemented by the site. This allowed website visitors on …
19 Jun 2011
News
Mumbai Takes Note of Sexting, the Seamier Side of TextingWhen Chitra started getting SMSs and emails laced with sexual innuendoes from an unknown individual, she didn't tell her mother or rush to the police. The 21-year-old grew so despondent that she dialed a psychologist for help. This article …
19 Jun 2011
News
Indian SMEs still fail to harness the power of NetIn India, only about 81 million people have access to the net, as it needs a level of education and IT skills to operate a computer. This article by Satarupa Paul was published in the Sunday Guardian on 19 June 2011.
15 Jun 2011
News
Standing Committee on Copyrights and Related Rights — 22nd SessionWorld Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is holding its 22nd Session from June 15, 2011 to June 24, 2011 at Geneva, Switzerland. Nirmita Narasimhan and Pranesh Prakash are attending this conference.
12 Jun 2011
News
Tough neighbourhood tests India's e-toleranceThe combination of having restrictive neighbours as well as security threats could make freedom on the web in India a casualty, writes Anahita Mukherji in this article published by the Times of India on June 12, 2011.
12 Jun 2011
News
Look what the state just did to youThe government's recent introduction of new rules in the IT Act allows 'offensive' material on any website to be removed within 36 hours. Did the state just arm everyone to shoot the messenger, online?Th
6 Jun 2011
News
Your cyber space is a hackers paradiseIt Looks like hackers are having a ball targeting all kinds of websites — gaming, news, government, personal email and even those run by terror networks, writes Shayan Ghosh. The article was published in Mail Today on June 6, 2011.
6 Jun 2011
News
Technology, Transparency and Accountability: A Bar-Camp in DelhiAccountability Initiative (AI) held a bar-camp on “Technology, Transparency and Accountability” on 5th June at Google office in Gurgaon. Pranesh Prakash participated in this bar-camp.
30 May 2011
News
India Weighing Looser Web RulesIndian authorities are considering revisions to new Internet regulations after criticism from free-speech advocates and companies like Google Inc. that fear they could be exposed to liability under the regime. This article by Amol Sharma …
28 May 2011
News
What documents will you need, to get UID?UID or Aadhaar will roll out in Bengaluru in June. Here are the various documents one can use to make the enrolment easier. This news was published in CitizenMatters.in on May 28, 2011.
28 May 2011
News
Public data on the Web leaves much to be desiredMaking government data accessible to all is a vital challenge, says Deepa Kurup in her article published in the Hindu on May 28, 2011.
27 May 2011
News
Women in love with FacebookThere’s one thing these days that determines the passion of the modern Indian woman: their ever-growing love affair with the internet. The article by L Subramani was published in the Deccan Herald on May 27, 2011.
27 May 2011
News
Mobile education comes to villagesPEOPLE living in remote villages, trekking many miles to schools and colleges before dropping out, can now look forward to a tech option — mobile education. Education over mobile phones is vital in India, where the literacy rate according …
27 May 2011
News
Google Unveils Controversial Street View Mapping in B’loreMapping service, under criticism in Europe because of security reasons, allows users to view pedestrian-level photos of streets, houses. This news was published in the Economic Times, Mumbai on May 27, 2011.