India has seen numerous Internet shutdowns for various reasons in this year, all under the same provision of law – Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). This section resides as the sole occupant under the chapter of ‘temporary measures to maintain public tranquility’ and gives State Governments the power to issue…
Over two-thirds of Indian Americans and half of Asian Americans are foreign-born, and we rely on a diverse and open Internet to stay in touch with our friends and families back home. For example, we asked our Desi friends, and they keep in touch with friends and family overseas using a wide variety of apps…
In a decision that could have momentous implications for the private sector’s role in expanding Internet access in the developing world, India’s telecoms regulator is expected to rule this week on whether to cut off Facebook’s Free Basics — a package of free online services, including Facebook, that the social media company wants to offer India’s…
“The backdoor entry of telecom sector into the content space should not be allowed”- Star India “If I as a Telecom want to offer my content for free, I should be able to do so.” – Tata Communications “Price differentiation happens in the airline industry also and the industry has expanded because of it.”- Telenor…
Internet rights groups have accused Facebook of making “unfounded and divisive attacks” on critics of its program to bring low-end Web service to India’s rural poor. Since Indian regulators in late December requested that Facebook halt Free Basics until it turned over more information about the terms of the program, the social media giant has…
Kanakasabapathy Pandyan remembers the parties. Quite vividly. Long evenings, endless chatter and glass-in-hand (always) parties. Held at Vijay Mukhi’s sprawling apartment on Nepean Sea Road, south Bombay. Mukhi was a technology evangelist back then, a man who loved his computer more than anything else in the world. So it was only natural that he had…
The Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world. It originally appears each week on Global Voices Advocacy. Ellery Roberts Biddle, Lisa Ferguson, Sam Kellogg, Hae-in Lim, and Sarah Myers West contributed to this report. When technology companies leave their code open and visible to…
Net Neutrality has become a hot topic in India, following a brief but high-profile national debate instigated by a consultation paper from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that solicited views on what net neutrality is, and whether regulations protecting it are needed in India. The paper also hinted at possible regulation of all…
A US-based Sikh rights group has filed a lawsuit against Facebook for blocking its page in India allegedly at the behest of the Indian government. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) filed the lawsuit in the US District Court in California and is asking that Facebook should cease and desist from blocking access to SFJ’s Facebook page…
FADI Chehade, CEO of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), sees India playing a critical role in shaping the future of the Internet; it is already among the fastest growing Internet economies. Backing India as one of the global contenders for Internet regulation rights, he believes that it is time for the country…