One year of #ProjectPanoptic

As we celebrate the one year anniversary of our Project Panoptic, we take a look back at everything we have been able to achieve through the project and what we aim to do moving forward.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 has adopted its final report. What now? #SaveOurPrivacy

The JPC on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 has adopted the final version of its report and is expected to table it in Parliament during the upcoming Winter Session. Here, we look at the possible ways forward for the PDPB and highlight some...

#PrivacyofThePeople: Society and community management apps

What are the privacy implications of society and community management apps that resident associations are increasingly adopting in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities across India? IFF analyses user rights from harm and consent-based frameworks, and how the...

Whither net neutrality? On the urgent need to implement the TRAI’s recommendations on net neutrality

We wrote to the Minister for Telecommunications, Ashwini Vaishnaw to highlight the lack of implementation of TRAI’s recommendations regarding the enforcement of net neutrality principles by ISPs, which included establishing an independent Multi...

IFF releases Legislative Brief on Digital Rights for Winter Session 2021

Before the commencement of the Winter Session of the Parliament, we have prepared our second Legislative Brief on Digital Rights. In our brief, we highlight some of the focus areas within the larger issue of digital rights that call for the...

“The use of FRT does not require any anchoring legislation” - The Meghalaya Government

Mr. Lyngdoh, a law student, sent a legal notice to the Meghalaya Govt. seeking reconsideration of use of FRT for pensioners in view of the possible privacy concerns. The Meghalaya Govt. in its response has explained its position which we have...

[Revealed] Jaipur Internet Shutdown Orders: Cut, Copy, Paste!

We filed RTI applications to determine the extent of the Rajasthan government’s compliance with directions in Anuradha Bhasin. We have received a response from the Jaipur DC, who issued 30 Internet shutdown orders, which follow an identical copy,...

Social Science researchers move Delhi High Court to protect LibGen & SciHub

A group of social science researchers have filed an intervention application, with legal support from IFF, highlighting the adverse impact any decision to block LibGen and SciHub will have on them. A Joint Registrar of the Delhi High Court has...

IFF files a Writ Petition against MHA’s refusal to provide information on electronic surveillance orders issued under the IT Act

We filed 6 RTI applications in Dec 2018 seeking information about Electronic Surveillance orders passed under Section 69 of the IT Act. Three years have passed since, and we apprehend that the information sought is being continuously destroyed...

Digital Transparency: A Right to Information Report for October 2021

Since our last report for the month of September, IFF has filed 49 RTI requests. Here is an overview of the requests filed and an analysis of the responses we have received from the different public authorities.

IFF questions the legality of Tripura Police’s direction to block accounts on Twitter

West Agartala Police issued a notice under Section 91 of CrPC directing Twitter Inc. to block 68 Twitter pages/accounts. We wrote to the police highlighting the legal infirmities in the notice.

Digital lending and small borrowers! #PrivacyOfThePeople

In the latest post in our #PrivacyOfThePeople series, we look at the impact of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 on digital lending application users. We examine both illegal and ‘legal’ lending apps and look at how the data protection bill...

Introducing IFF’s Connectivity Tracker #MapTheDigitalDivide

IFF is introducing its Connectivity Tracker, compiling available data related to connectivity each quarter, like: telecom subscriptions, internet connections, penetration rates, average data usage per user, and more. This edition contains data...

[Revealed] Udaipur Internet Shutdown Orders: Cut, Copy, Paste!

We filed Right to Information applications to determine the extent of compliance with directions in Anuradha Bhasin. We found that the office of the Udaipur Divisional Commissioner has issued 26 internet shutdown orders, most of which are similar!

118 days: No justice for those targeted by the “Sulli Deals” incident.

We wrote to the Delhi Police asking them to expeditiously investigate the 'Sulli Deals' incident to provide closure and support to those targeted.

IFF assisted in sending a legal notice to the Hyderabad Police Commissioner regarding search of mobile phones for keywords such as ‘ganja’

We assisted in drafting a legal notice to the Hyderabad Police, when we learned that it is stopping random passers-by on the roads, and going through their phones. News videos clearly showed police personnel asking people to unlock their phones...

#6 Cybersec Charcha: What comes after Breach Pe Breach?

Data breaches are now becoming increasingly common. In a scenario like this, it becomes really important to learn not only how you can protect yourself, but also the measures you can take if your data is leaked in a data breach.

Explained: RBI's Account Aggregator Framework

The RBI’s Account Aggregator framework went live on 2nd September this year. The government has claimed that the framework will have a transformative impact on the financial ecosystem. In this explainer, we take a look at what this framework...

Supreme Court of India says: Investigate Pegasus!

Supreme Court has appointed a committee of technical experts overseen by Justice R. V. Raveendran, to examine the use of Pegasus Spyware on Indian Citizens.

Your mom was right: Facebook is bad for you!

In light of the recent whistleblower revelations against Facebook, which allege that Facebook is well aware of the harms it causes but chooses to prioritise profit, we wrote to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT asking them to initiate an...