Topic
Freedom of Speech and Expression
416 items.
19 Dec 2011
News
Censorship — A Death Knell for Freedom of Expression OnlineOn December 8, 2011, NDTV aired an interesting discussion on internet censorship. Shashi Tharoor, Soli Sorabjee, Shekhar Kapoor, Ken Ghosh and Sunil Abraham participated in this discussion with NDTV's Sonia Singh.
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 …
12 Dec 2011
Blog post
That’s the unkindest cut, Mr SibalThere’s Kolaveri-di on the Internet over Kapil Sibal’s diktat to social media sites to prescreen users’ posts. That diktat goes far beyond the restrictions placed on our freedom of expression by the IT Act. But, says Sunil Abraham of the …
12 Dec 2011
News
Online gag:Existing rules give little freedomEven as the controversy over Kapil Sibal's attempt to get internet giants such as Google and Facebook to prescreen user-generated content to weed out 'offensive' material rages, a yet-to-be-published study by Bangalore-based Centre for …
12 Dec 2011
News
Internet, social media access should not be blocked: BanAmidst a raging controversy over the federal government’s proposal to monitor content in cyber space, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday said access to the Internet and various social media must not be blocked as a way to prevent …
10 Dec 2011
News
India entering the Minority Report age?Indian government efforts to block offensive material from the Internet have prompted a storm of online ridicule along with warnings of the risk to India's image as a bastion of free speech.
9 Dec 2011
News
Los internautas indios se oponen a la censura a través de la RedLa idea del Gobierno indio de censurar los contenidos de internet ha chocado con el rechazo de la empresas del sector y de los internautas, que están usando las redes sociales para ridiculizar al ministro
9 Dec 2011
News
India bid to censor Internet draws flakIndian government efforts to block offensive material from the Internet have prompted a storm of online ridicule along with warnings of the risk to India's image as a bastion of free speech.
9 Dec 2011
News
Google V/s Kapil SibalMr Kapil Sibal was quoted by the Hindu* today as saying that "he had been left with no choice" because the internet companies "refused to delete incendiary hate-speech."
8 Dec 2011
News
Social media sites refuse Indian censorship requestThe Indian government's proposal to crack down on offensive internet content has sparked anger among the population.
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.
8 Dec 2011
News
Is the govt bid to regulate content on the Internet a good thing?The recent move by Union Minister Kapil Sibal to engage leading Internet platform providers like Google, Facebook, etc in regulating content has seen netizens react in different manners. The question of freedom of expression vis-a-vis …
8 Dec 2011
News
‘Chilling’ Impact of India’s April Internet RulesKapil Sibal’s demand that Internet companies self-censor users’ content is just the latest move by the Indian government to restrict information on Facebook and other social media Web sites. This article by Heather Simmons was published in …
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 …
7 Dec 2011
News
Kapil Sibal to sterilise Net but undercover sting shows 6 of 7 websites already trigger-happy to censor under ‘chilling’ IT ActThe Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) has carried out an undercover investigation into the "chilling effects" of new information technology laws on freedom of expression online, with six out of seven major websites …
7 Dec 2011
News
Govt wants to scrub the Internet cleanWeb advocacy groups, experts say govt’s move to evolve content guidelines amounts to censorship. This article by Surabhi Agarwal & Leslie D’monte was published in Livemint on 7 December 2011. Sunil Abraham has been quoted in this article.
7 Dec 2011
News
FTN: Should social networking sites be censored?Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal met the representatives of Facebook, Google and others seeking to device a screening mechanism. Sunil Abraham was on CNN-IBN from 10.00 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. speaking about freedom of expression in India.
7 Dec 2011
News
Facebook, Google tell India they won’t screen for derogatory contentIn the world’s largest democracy, the government wants Internet sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Google to screen and remove offensive content about religious figures and political leaders as soon as they learn about it. But those …
7 Dec 2011
News
Debate: Online content row-1In a debate moderated by TIMES NOW's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, panelists Chandan Mitra, Editor-in-Chief, 'The Pioneer' & MP, BJP; Sabeer Bhatia, Co-founder, Hotmail; Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet and Society; …
6 Dec 2011
News
India’s dreams of web censorshipIf you are offended by this post, please contact Kapil Sibal, India’s telecoms and IT minister, and he will make sure it is promptly taken down.
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 …
31 May 2011
Blog post
The Present — and Future — Dangers of India's Draconian New Internet RegulationsThe uproar surrounding India's Internet Control Rules makes clear that in the Internet age, as before, the active chilling of freedom of expression by the state is unacceptable in a democracy. Yet if India's old censorship regimes are to be …
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 …
19 Apr 2011
Blog post
You Have the Right to Remain SilentIndia has a long history of censorship that it justifies in the name of national security. But new laws governing the Internet are unreasonable and — given the multitude of online voices — poorly thought out, argues Anja Kovacs in this …
9 Mar 2011
Blog post
RTI Applications on Blocking of WebsitesIn recent weeks, an increasing number of incidents have come to light on government-ordered blocking of websites. In one case involving Zone-H.org, it is clear who has ordered the block (a Delhi district court judge, as an interim order), …
25 Feb 2011
Blog post
CIS Para-wise Comments on Intermediary Due Diligence Rules, 2011On February 7th 2011, the Department of Information Technology, MCIT published draft rules on its website (The Information Technology (Due diligence observed by intermediaries guidelines) Rules, 2011) in exercise of the powers conferred by …