Topic
Surveillance
51 items.
9 Aug 2022
Blog post
Surveillance Enabling Identity Systems in Africa: Tracing the Fingerprints of AadhaarBiometric identity systems are being introduced around the world with a focus on promoting human development and social and economic inclusion, rather than previous goals of security. As a result, these systems being encouraged in …
16 Apr 2022
Blog post
Rethinking Acquisition of Digital Devices by Law Enforcement AgenciesThis article has been selected as a part of The Right to Privacy and the Legality of Surveillance series organized in collaboration with the RGNUL Student Research Review (RSRR) Journal.
31 Dec 2020
Blog post
Response to the Pegasus Questionnaire issued by the SC Technical CommitteeOn March 25, 2022, the Supreme Court appointed Technical Committee constituted to examine the allegations of alleged unauthorised surveillance using the Pegasus software released a questionnaire seeking responses and comments from the …
23 Dec 2020
Blog post
Gender, Health, & Surveillance in India - A Panel DiscussionWomen and LGBTHIAQ-identifying persons face intensive and varied forms of surveillance as they access reproductive health systems. Increasingly, these systems are also undergoing rapid digitisation. The panel was set-up to discuss the …
20 Jun 2019
Blog post
Unpacking video-based surveillance in New DelhiAayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon presented at an international workshop on 'Urban Data, Inequality and Justice in the Global South', on 14 June 2019, at the University of Manchester. The agenda for the workshop and the slides from the …
14 Jun 2019
News
Workshop on 'Urban Data, Inequality and Justice in the Global South'Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon presented our research on video-based surveillance in New Delhi at a workshop on urban data, inequality, and justice in the global South at the University of Manchester on 14 June 2019.
20 Feb 2019
Blog post
CIS Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Speech and Expression: Surveillance Industry and Human RightsCIS responded to the call for submissions from the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Speech and Expression. The submission was on the Surveillance Industry and Human Rights.
14 Feb 2019
Blog post
Data Infrastructures and Inequities: Why Does Reproductive Health Surveillance in India Need Our Urgent Attention?In order to bring out certain conceptual and procedural problems with health monitoring in the Indian context, this article by Aayush Rathi and Ambika Tandon posits health monitoring as surveillance and not merely as a “data problem.” …
30 Nov 2018
Blog post
Regulating the Internet: The Government of India & Standards Development at the IETFThe institution of open standards has been described as a formidable regulatory regime governing the Internet. Given the regulatory and domestic policy implications that technical standards can have, there is a need for Indian governmental …
31 Oct 2018
News
Surveillance Stories: Optimizing rights and governanceSunil Abraham gave a talk at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore on October 16, 2018. Sunil used a series of stories to explain how surveillance works and fails in the context of …
16 Oct 2018
Blog post
Why Data Localisation Might Lead To Unchecked SurveillanceIn recent times, there has been a rash of policies and regulations that propose that the data that Indian entities handle be physically stored on servers in India, in some cases exclusively. In other cases, only a copy needs to be stored.
24 Feb 2018
News
Critics of India's ID card project say they have been harassed, put under surveillanceResearchers and journalists who have identified loopholes in India’s massive national identity card project have said they have been slapped with criminal cases or harassed by government agencies because of their work.
16 Dec 2017
News
Paranoid about state surveillance? Here’s the FD Guide to living in the age of snoopsThe US does it, so does China. Ever since Edward Snowden’s revelations back in 2013, which exposed the extent of the US’s global surveillance apparatus, the public has been fairly clued into the extent of mass surveillance.
31 Mar 2017
Blog post
How Aadhaar compromises privacy? And how to fix it?Aadhaar is mass surveillance technology. Unlike targeted surveillance which is a good thing, and essential for national security and public order – mass surveillance undermines security. And while biometrics is appropriate for targeted …
13 Feb 2017
News
Surveillance in India: Policy and PracticeThe National Institute of Public Finance and Policy organized a brainstorming session on net neutrality on February 8, 2017 and a public seminar on surveillance in India the following day on February 9, 2017 in New Delhi. Pranesh Prakash …
20 Jan 2017
Blog post
The Design & Technology behind India’s Surveillance ProgrammesThere has been an exponential growth in the pervasive presence of technology in the daily lives of an average Indian citizen over the past few years. While leading to manifold increase in convenience and connectivity, these technologies …
13 Jan 2017
Blog post
Social Media MonitoringWe see a trend of social media and communication monitoring and surveillance initiatives in India which have the potential to create a chilling effect on free speech online and raises question about the privacy of individuals. In this …
14 Dec 2016
Blog post
Workshop Report - UIDAI and Welfare Services: Exclusion and CountermeasuresThis report presents summarised notes from a workshop organised by the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) on Saturday, August 27, 2016, to discuss, raise awareness of, and devise countermeasures to exclusion due to implementation of …
17 Oct 2016
News
Govt to keep Aadhaar record for 7 years, activists worriedThe government will keep for seven years a record of all the services and benefits availed using the Aadhaar number, say new rules, prompting fears that the database could be used for surveillance.
26 Sep 2016
Blog post
Right to Food Campaign, Ranchi Convention, 2016The Right to Food Campaign held its 2016 Convention in Ranchi during September 23-25, 2016. While three years have elapsed since the passage of the National Food Security Act, despite improvements in the Public Distribution System (PDS), …
10 Mar 2016
Blog post
Are we Losing the Right to Privacy and Freedom of Speech on Indian Internet?The article was published in DNA on March 10, 2016.
23 Jan 2016
Blog post
Transparency in SurveillanceTransparency is an essential need for any democracy to function effectively. It may not be the only requirement for the effective functioning of a democracy, but it is one of the most important principles which need to be adhered to in a …
29 Sep 2015
News
Indian PM Narendra Modi’s digital dream gets bad receptionAs Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Silicon Valley’s most powerful chief executives this week how his government “attacked poverty by using the power of networks and mobile phones’’, the entire population of the state of Kashmir …
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” …
30 May 2015
Blog post
Mastering the Art of Keeping Indians Under SurveillanceIn its first year in office, the National Democratic Alliance government has been notably silent on the large-scale surveillance projects it has inherited. This ended last week amidst reports the government is hastening to complete the …
20 May 2015
Blog post
Paper-thin Safeguards and Mass Surveillance in IndiaThe Indian government's new mass surveillance systems present new threats to the right to privacy. Mass interception of communication, keyword searches and easy access to particular users' data suggest that state is moving towards …
30 Dec 2014
News
Targeting surveillanceIn the fall of 2005, Scotland Yard raided a flat in west London and arrested a suspected al-Qaeda militant known by a teasing Arabic nickname, Irhabi (“Terrorist”) 007.
7 Jul 2014
Blog post
Free Speech and SurveillanceGautam Bhatia examines the constitutionality of surveillance by the Indian state.
4 Jul 2014
Blog post
The Constitutionality of Indian Surveillance Law: Public Emergency as a Condition Precedent for Intercepting CommunicationsBedavyasa Mohanty analyses the nuances of interception of communications under the Indian Telegraph Act and the Indian Post Office Act. In this post he explores the historical bases of surveillance law in India and examines whether the …
2 Jul 2014
Blog post
Models for Surveillance and Interception of Communications WorldwideThis is an evaluation of laws and practices governing surveillance and interception of communications in 9 countries. The countries evaluated represent a diverse spectrum not only in terms of their global economic standing but also their …