Press articles

Date Title Publication Categories Abstract
2023-06-16 Data matters: once more, unto the breach Hindustan Times Privacy, Security The CoWIN data leak was not a freak, one-time breach. At the very least, we need to have the option to opt out of large databases that have collected our data.
2021-07-21 Pegasus is India’s Watergate moment The Hindu Privacy, Security, Surveillance Intelligence gathering needs to be professionalised, parliamentary oversight introduced, and liberties and law protected
2021-03-06 Patching the gaps in India’s cybersecurity The Hindu Security Doctrinal clarity and institutional coherence are essential for a robust cybersecurity posture
2021-02-20 Two experts decode new mapping policy guidelines, explain why this is a giant leap forward for India News18 Open data The new guidelines are in stark contrast to the draconian Draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016, which effectively banned the acquisition of geospatial data without a government licence.
2019-11-08 Should online political advertising be regulated? The Hindu Freedom of expression Micro-targeting could have potentially damaging results in the context of political advertising
2019-01-03 Privacy laws cannot make Facebeook and Google accountable Hindustan Times Open standards, Privacy To safeguard users’ privacy, we need to be able to move away from platforms like Facebook without losing access to their networks.
2018-12-09 How to make EVMs hack-proof, and elections more trustworthy Times of India Security Free and fair elections are the expression of democratic emancipation. India’s electronic voting machines (EVMs) are well-suited to Indian electoral conditions, and are better in terms of security than paper ballots. However, we still need to improve on two front: physical security of the EVMs, as well as mandatory risk limiting audits of the paper trail.
2018-10-16 Why data localisation might lead to unchecked surveillance The Quint Security, Privacy Technically, surveillance in India is not a challenge for the NSA.
2018-09-26 Aadhaar verdict: many challenges still remain Mint Privacy, Identity The majority opinion makes it clear that Aadhaar may only be used by the government, and not by private parties
2018-05-28 Don’t forward ‘as received’ Times of India Freedom of expression Viral messages on messaging services can cause real harm, and has even resulted in dozens of lynchings in India. But the way to address such harms isn’t by penalizing the service provider or removing encryption, but through education, improved moderation design, and police interactions with communities.
2018-03-02 Is AI a danger to humanity? The Hindu AI We need to debate what AI ethics and regulation should look like
2018-01-05 Aadhaar hasn’t fixed identity fraud, it’s made it worse The Quint Identity, Privacy, Security UIDAI has been providing access to people’s identity information without their knowledge or authorisation.
2018-01-04 Aadhaar hasn’t fixed identity fraud, but made it worse BloombergQuint Identity, Privacy, Security UIDAI has been providing access to people’s identity information, without their knowledge or authorisation.
2017-09-11 Reckless journalism created a Blue Whale panic when we should be talking about mental illness BuzzFeed Media, Freedom of expression Media hype has gotten parents, teachers and even the government more interested in a fake epidemic than a real one.
2017-08-24 Right to privacy not just for privileged few, it’s a part of what makes us human Hindustan Times Privacy The assurance to dignity of the individual enshrined in the Constitution has finally found its de jure place through this judgement as the core of personal liberty and the right to privacy.
2017-04-01 Aadhaar marks a fundamental shift in citizen-state relations: from “We the people” to “We the government” Hindustan Times Identity, Privacy, Security Your fingerprints, iris scans, details of where you shop. Compulsory Aadhaar means all this data is out there. And it’s still not clear who can view or use it
2016-12-05 The hack that never happened The Ken Security, Privacy The NaMo app left 7 million people’s personal information at risk, despite having been told about the flaw more than a year ago.
2016-09-12 Internet rights and wrongs India Today Freedom of expression, Internet governance With a rise in PILs for unwarranted censorship, do we need to step back and inspect if it’s about time unreasonable trends are checked?
2016-07-13 No, India did not oppose the United Nations move to “make Internet access a human right” FactorDaily Internet governance This article seeks to clear up the misreporting around India’s stand on United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) resolution titled “The promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet.”
2016-07-11 Jurisdiction: the taboo topic at ICANN openDemocracy Internet governance The issue of jurisdiction seems to be dead-on-arrival, having been killed by the US government. Meet the new boss: same as the old boss.
2016-04-28 WhatsApp in Kashmir: When Big Brother wants to go beyond watching you Scroll.in Freedom of expression Instead of enforcing punitive measures for spreading violence through rumours, the administration sought to prevent private group conversations.
2016-03-12 Privacy concerns overshadow monetary benefits of Aadhaar scheme Hindustan Times Identity, Privacy Since its inception in 2009, the Aadhaar system has been shrouded in controversy over issues of privacy, security and viability. It has been implemented without a legislative mandate and has resulted in a PIL in the Supreme Court, which referred it to a Constitution bench. On Friday, it kicked up more dust when the Lok Sabha passed a Bill to give statutory backing to the unique identity number scheme.
2016-03-07 Aadhaar: still too many problems Mint Identity, Privacy, Security While one wishes to welcome govt’s attempt to bring Aadhaar within a legislative framework, the fact is there are too many problems that still remain unaddressed for one to be optimistic
2016-02-11 TRAI order: A sledgehammer, not a scalpel Indian Express Net neutrality, Internet governance TRAI has fixed the problem but over-regulated in the process
2015-09-27 Sunday Interview: “By weakening our security, govt is putting us at risk of espionage” Deccan Chronicle Security, Privacy The government intended to gain greater access to everyday transactions
2015-07-25 Will Indians have to pay for WhatsApp? BBC Net neutrality, Internet governance A report by India’s telecom department raises hackles over fears that services like WhatsApp will no longer be free.
2015-07-21 DoT panel report on net neutrality and the misconceptions around it PolicyWonks.in Net neutrality, Internet governance The popular misconception around the report – that it is anti-net neutrality – follows the lack of nuance in Net Neutrality discourse.
2015-03-29 Three reasons why 66A verdict is momentous Times of India Freedom of expression, Intermediary liability Sunday Times News: Earlier this week, the fundamental right to freedom of expression posted a momentous victory.
2014-12-10 Why it is almost impossible to ban Uber and Ola in India Quartz India Freedom of expression, Internet governance Preventing bookings through mobile apps is difficult.
2014-11-18 The Socratic debate: Whose internet is it anyway? Economic Times Net neutrality, Internet governance  
2013-08-01 Copyrights and copywrongs Yojana Access to Knowledge, IPR, Open access The traditional justifications for copyright no longer hold good in the digital era, and what we’re seeing now is copyright maximalism, which is harming access to knowledge and freedom of expression. The Indian government should, at the very least, relinquish government copyright and place all government works in the public domain.
2013-07-11 Can India trust its government on privacy? New York Times - India Ink Privacy, Security The limited efforts to make India’s intelligence agencies more accountable have gone nowhere.
2013-07-10 How surveillance works in India New York Times - India Ink Privacy, Security There is a strange mix of great amounts of transparency and very little accountability when it comes to surveillance and intelligence agencies.
2012-12-10 The worldwide web of concerns Asian Age Telecom, Freedom of expression, Net neutrality The International Telecommunication Union’s World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) is currently under way in Dubai, after a gap of 25 years. At this conference, the International Telecommunication Regulations — a binding treaty containing high-level principles — are to be revised.
2012-11-28 Fixing India’s anarchic IT Act Mint Internet governance It is time to adopt a democratic, transparent and multi-stakeholder approach to Internet regulation in India.
2012-11-28 The ‘unconstitutional’ section 66A Outlook India Freedom of expression With yet another arrest in Palghar today, the focus seems fixed on the grossly misused provision of the IT Act. Exploring why this section is unconstitutional, how it came to be, the state of the law elsewhere, and how we can move forward.
2012-11-26 Breaking down section 66A of the IT Act MediaNama Freedom of expression, Internet governance Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, which prescribes ‘punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc.’ is widely held by lawyers and legal academics to be unconstitutional. In this post Pranesh Prakash explores why that section is unconstitutional, how it came to be, the state of the law elsewhere, and how we can move forward.
2012-11-24 Draft nonsense Times of India Freedom of expression Seriously flawed and dodgily drafted provisions in the IT Act provide the state a stick to beat its citizens with.
2012-11-19 Adding insult to injury Outlook India Freedom of expression Not only were two girls arrested for comments one of them made, and the other “liked”, on Facebook about Bal Thackeray, the police did not even take any action against the mob that vandalised the clinic of the uncle of one of the girls.
2012-11-19 Social media regulation vs. Suppression of freedom of speech Kafila Freedom of expression On the arrest of two girls in Mumbai for their comments on Facebook.
2012-08-23 Analysing latest list of blocked sites (communalism & rioting edition) NewsClick Freedom of expression Pranesh Prakash does preliminary analysis on a leaked list of the websites blocked from August 18, 2012 till August 21, 2012 by the Indian government.   Note: This post will be updated as more analysis is done. Last update: 23:59 on August 22, 2012. This is being shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial licence
2012-08-23 What the government wants blocked Outlook India Freedom of expression, Internet governance While we come to grips with the
2012-06-02 The web of our strife Times of India Internet governance  
2012-04-26 Practise what you preach Indian Express Internet governance, Freedom of expression The only way to fix India’s IT laws is to change the way they are made
2012-02-04 World narrow web Indian Express Freedom of expression, Internet governance Censorship and how govt reacts to it may push us to country-specific networks
2012-01-27 E-books are easier to ban than books Outlook India Freedom of expression, Intermediary liability Indian law promotes arbitrary removal and blocking of websites, website content, and online services — making it much easier than getting offline printed speech removed
2011-12-08 Speak up for freedom Indian Express Freedom of expression, Intermediary liability Kapil Sibal’s attempts to curb online speech reveal ignorance about how the Web works
2011-05-09 Free as in free speech The Indian Express Freedom of expression The Information Act amendments were supposed to bring clarity,but they place harsh burdens on online platforms,cybercafes and users.
2010-02-19 A patent conundrum Indian Express A2K, IPR Who does publicly funded scientific innovation belong to?
2009-11-15 Control shift? Down to Earth Internet governance USA might have ceded the control of the Internet, but only partially.
2009-11-04 IPv6 in India : the promises and challenges DNA Open standards, Internet governance Newspapers have been reporting that IPv4 addresses will get over soon, and that we will have to shift to IPv6. In this short piece, Pranesh Prakash gives a layperson’s introduction to the IPv6 Internet we will be entering into soon, and what that means for you.
2009-04-24 Does India need its own Bayh-Dole? Indian Express IPR, A2K  
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