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Submission to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, on the Draft Non-Personal Data Governance Framework
On 12 July 2020, an expert Committee set up by the federal Indian Ministry of Electronics & IT (“MEITY”) in 2019 released its recommendations on regulating Non-Personal Data (NPD). The Report by the Committee of Experts on Non-Personal Data Governance Framework proposes the creation of a separate “new national law” to govern NPD as well as the creation of a Non-Personal Data Authority (“NPDA”) which would have both an “enabling and enforcing role”. This Submission is in response to the nine-member Committee’s (“Committee”) call for feedback through a public consultation. The Submission was
RightsCon Debrief: Privacy and Surveillance
This is the second of three articles drafted by the WIII Initiative’s summer researchers, reflecting on sessions they attended at this year’s virtual RightsCon. AccessNow held its annual conference on digital technologies and human rights from 27 – 31 July, 2020. The conference was conducted virtually with experts joining via video conferencing to discuss a range of issues, divided into ten tracks. I covered the Privacy and Surveillance track which included more than 30 sessions. Below I summarize the key themes emerging from these discussions: In an era of surveillance capitalism, the concept
How India’s Emerging Surveillance Regime Threatens the Right to Anonymity Online
While the concept of anonymity seems increasingly challenging in today’s digital age, it remains an essential tool to protect the identities of those who risk persecution or retaliation for speaking out. In present day India, this includes human rights activists, whistleblowers and marginalized groups who rely on social media to connect with others and shed light on atrocities perpetuated by powerful actors. Members of the LGBTQ community need online anonymity to find supportive spaces in a country which still practices massive social bias against them. Anonymity was a key factor in the rapid