Author Archives: wp-admin

Why India’s Proposal at the ITU is Troubling for Internet Freedom (Part 1) – CIS India

At the 2014 Plenipotentiary Conference (‘PP-14’ or ‘Plenipot’) of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), India has tabled a draft proposal on “ITU’s Role in Realising Secure Information Society”. The Draft Resolution identifies 3 security concerns with exchange of information and resource allocation on the Internet: First, it is troubling for India that present network architecture has “security weaknesses”…

‘Vague cyber law a threat to free society values’

All hell broke loose for Chaganti Rahul Reddy of Arundalpet in Andhra Pradesh after he casually posted a message on Facebook allegedly praising Cyclone Hudhud for devastating Visakhapatnam. The police turned up at his place on Friday and arrested him for the ‘offensive’ post. Reddy had unwittingly become a victim of the notoriously vague and…

Facebook sets up ‘dark web’ link to access network via Tor

Facebook has created the ability for users to connect directly to the social network via anonymising “dark web” service Tor. While it was already possible to access Facebook via Tor, the new set-up means all data is encrypted and Tor users are not mistaken for hacked accounts. Users could access the site “without losing the…

Woman’s Whatsapp photo circulated with ‘conwoman’ tag

The cyber crime cell of Thane police is looking for a person or persons unknown who circulated a woman’s profile picture on WhatsApp with a caption falsely calling her a conwoman. The defamatory message has spread to Hyderabad, Nagpur and other cities through WhatsApp and Facebook. The incident has caused infamy, trauma, and sleepless nights…

Google, Facebook look beyond urban, English users to increase reach

Call it an attempt to bridge the digital divide with a Digital India flavour or a race to engage as many eyeballs as possible in a bid to sell more online advertising space on the web and to millions of those Indians with mobiles. Regardless of how you perceive it, the world’s largest social networking…

SC to examine misuse of criminal defamation to muzzle free speech

The Supreme Court on Thursday decided to examine the constitutional validity of Indian Penal Code provisions on criminal defamation, which the media and public spirited persons have for long alleged to have been misused by powerful political leaders to muzzle critical voices. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit stayed five pending…

Snowden’s New Anti-Surveillance Software ‘Much Needed’ – Internet Security Specialist

The new anti-surveillance technologies recently called for by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden is much needed to ensure individuals’ privacy and protection from government, Yan Zhu, a San-Francisco based staff technologist at Electronic Frontier Foundation, told RIA-Novosti Tuesday. “This is good and much needed right now. This is extremely important. In an age…

Right to be forgotten: Google gets 12,000 requests on first day

Google received 12,000 requests from people seeking to be “forgotten” by the world’s leading search engine on the first day it offered the service, a company spokesman in Germany said Saturday. The requests, submitted on Friday, came after Google set up an online form to allow Europeans to request the removal of results about them…

Egypt to impose surveillance on social networking sites

The Egyptian Ministry of Interior has announced that it’s looking for an offer from international companies to carry out surveillance on social networking websites. The decision has raised the alarm for many Egyptians who find the Internet a safe place to express political and social views on sites. Activists have criticized the law that would…

A great suite of tools to ensure online privacy

June 5 was Reset the Net day, when nearly 60 organizations came together to on the one-year anniversary of Edward Snowden’s infamous National Security Agency leaks to make a stand against government surveillance of the Internet. Reset the Net was more than just an online demonstration, though — it’s a project with specific and achievable goals designed to enhance…