Topic
Freedom of Speech and Expression
416 items.
4 Feb 2016
News
A Megacorp’s Basic InstinctBolstered by academia and civil society, TRAI stands its ground against FB’s Free Basics publicity blitz.
3 Feb 2016
News
India, Egypt say no thanks to free Internet from FacebookALWAR, India — Connecting people to the Internet is not easy in this impoverished farming district of wheat and millet fields, where working camels can be glimpsed along roads that curve through the low-slung Aravalli Hills.
31 Jan 2016
30 Jan 2016
Blog post
The Internet Has a New Standard for CensorshipThe introduction of the new 451 HTTP Error Status Code for blocked websites is a big step forward in cataloguing online censorship, especially in a country like India where access to information is routinely restricted.
30 Jan 2016
News
Facebook is no charity, and the ‘free’ in Free Basics comes at a priceWho could possibly be against free internet access? This is the question that Mark Zuckerberg asks in a piece for the Times of India in which he claims Facebook’s Free Basics service “protects net neutrality”.
17 Jan 2016
News
Why Indians are turning down Facebook's free internetImagine a billion of the world’s poorest gaining overnight access to health information, education, and professional help — for free. Add to this one rich man who wants to make that dream a reality.
12 Jan 2016
News
What are People's Rights in Digital WorldVanya Rakesh participated in this workshop organized by IT for Change on December 4, 2015 in Bangalore.
11 Jan 2016
News
Will India win net neutrality battle?There is more than what meets the eye in Facebook’s ‘noble mission’ of providing internet for all.
9 Jan 2016
Blog post
Facebook Free Basics: Gatekeeping Powers Extend to Manipulating Public Discourse15 million people have come online through Free Basics, Facebook's zero rated walled garden, in the past year. "If we accept that everyone deserves access to the internet, then we must surely support free basic internet services. Who could …
7 Jan 2016
News
Facebook Free Basics vs Net Neutrality: The top arguments in the debateOn Twitter, there's a whole conversation around Facebook Free Basics and whether zero-rating platforms should be allowed in India. Here's a look at the debate.
6 Jan 2016
News
Nasscom against differential pricing for data servicesThe National Association of Software and Services Companies says it should be the regulator that decides on such content, not firms.
12 Dec 2015
News
Consultation on "Understanding the Freedom of Expression Online and Offline"The event organized by Digital Empowerment Foundation and Association for Progressive Communications was held at YMCA, New Delhi on December 10, 2015. Jyoti Panday attended the event as a speaker. She covered imposition of legitimate …
29 Nov 2015
Blog post
The Humpty-Dumpty Censorship of Television in IndiaThe Modi government’s attack on Sathiyam TV is another manifestation of the Indian state’s paranoia of the medium of film and television, and consequently, the irrational controlling impulse of the law.
23 Nov 2015
Blog post
Summary Report Internet Governance Forum 2015Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), India participated in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) held at Poeta Ronaldo Cunha Lima Conference Center, Joao Pessoa in Brazil from 10 November 2015 to 13 November 2015. The theme of IGF 2015 was …
11 Oct 2015
News
Dadri reopens debate on online hate speechThe friction between free speech and hate speech has become newly intense because of social media. Twitter reflected the turmoil after the lynching of Mohammed Akhlaq in Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, when some tweets justified the murder as a …
8 Oct 2015
Blog post
The Legal Validity of Internet Bans: Part IIIn recent months, there has been a spree of bans on access to Internet services in Indian states, for different reasons. The State governments have relied on Section 144, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 to institute such bans. Despite a …
8 Oct 2015
Blog post
The Legal Validity of Internet Bans: Part IIn recent months, there has been a spree of bans on access to Internet services in Indian states, for different reasons. The State governments have relied on Section 144, Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 to institute such bans. Despite a …
28 Aug 2015
Blog post
Governing Speech on the Internet: From the Free Marketplace Policy to a Controlled 'Public Sphere'This post by Smarika Kumar is part of the 'Studying Internets in India' series. Smarika is a consultant with Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore. She is interested in issues concerning law and technology. In this essay, Smarika explores how …
7 Aug 2015
News
India partially lifts Porn Ban?India is said to have partially removed the porn ban. But many internet service providers have refused to restore access, due to a 'vague' government order.
5 Aug 2015
News
Porn block in India sparks outrageIndia’s government has triggered a storm of protest after blocking 857 alleged pornography websites, with privacy and internet freedom campaigners, as well as consumers, condemning the move as arbitrary and unlawful.
5 Aug 2015
5 Aug 2015
5 Aug 2015
News
Indian Porn Ban is Partially Lifted But Sites Remain BlockedThe Indian government made a quick about-face on its order to block hundreds of pornography websites on Tuesday, partially lifting the ban after political backlash against the moral policing.
5 Aug 2015
News
India launches crackdown on online pornIndia has launched a crackdown on internet pornography, banning access to more than 800 adult websites, including Playboy and Pornhub.
5 Aug 2015
News
India blocks access to 857 porn sitesIndia has blocked free access to 857 porn sites in what it says is a move to prevent children from accessing them.
3 Aug 2015
News
Proxies and VPNs: Why govt can't ban porn websites?The government's move to block more than 800 pornographic websites has led experts to question whether this latest attempt to police the internet is even feasible.
2 Aug 2015
News
Indian government orders ISPs to block 857 porn websitesThe Indian government has ordered a large number of porn websites to be blocked, creating an uproar among users and civil rights groups in the country.
16 Jul 2015
News
Criminal Defamation: The Urgent Cause That has United Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal and Subramanian SwamyThree years ago when the then Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy accused Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and his mother of misappropriation of funds while trying to revive the National Herald newspaper, the Nehru-Gandhi scion …
14 Jul 2015
Blog post
Freedom of Expression in a Digital AgeThe Centre for Internet & Society, the Observer Research Foundation, the Internet Policy Observatory, the Centre for Global Communication Studies and the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania organized this …
13 Jul 2015
Blog post
Free Speech Policy in India: Community, Custom, Censorship, and the Future of Internet RegulationThis note summarises my panel contribution to the conference on Freedom of Expression in a Digital Age at New Delhi on 21 April 2015, which was organised by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Centre for Internet and Society …