Centre for Internet and Society

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The Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) is an Indian non-profit, multidisciplinary research organisation based in Bengaluru. Founded in 2008, CIS works at the intersection of technology, law, and public policy, conducting research and contributing to national and global conversations on internet governance, digital rights, and the social dimensions of technology.

Its areas of focus include digital accessibility for persons with disabilities, access to knowledge, intellectual property rights, internet governance, telecommunication reform, digital privacy, and cyber-security. CIS has engaged with civil society, academic institutions, and policymakers to advance an open, rights-respecting internet in India and beyond.

Sunil Abraham co-founded CIS and served as its Executive Director from 2008 to mid-2019. On The Sunil Abraham Project (TSAP), we specially cover the history and work of CIS between 2008 and mid-2019, before Sunil stepped down as Executive Director.

According to a notice displayed as a banner on its official website, CIS stopped all its programmatic activities as of 1 May 2025, citing regulatory changes.

Founding and Registration

CIS was registered as a Society under the Karnataka Societies Registration Act, 1960 (K.S.R. Act 17 of 1960) on 4 July 2008, with Society Registration Number SOR/BLU/DR/57/2008-09, by the Office of the Registrar of Societies, Bangalore Urban District. The registration fee paid at the time was ₹1,000. The registered office at founding was No. 106, Vineyard Jasmine Apartments, Bank Avenue, 1st Main Road, Babusapalya, Banaswadi, Bangalore 560043, Karnataka.

The Memorandum of Association was signed by seven founding members—

Sunil Abraham (then aged 35, engineer) signed as President;
Achal Prabhala (35, researcher) as Vice-President;
Lawrence Liang (34, lawyer) as Secretary;
Nishant Shah (27, researcher) as Treasurer;
Atul Ramchandra (social worker, Bengaluru),
Subbiah Arunachalam (retired scientist, Chennai),
Vibodh Parthasarathi (New Delhi).

The MOA was amended at a Special General Body Meeting held on 30 June 2009 and approved by the Registrar of Societies under Ref. No. 109/2009-10 on 5 February 2010.

Objectives

The aims and objectives of CIS, as laid out in the Memorandum of Association, are:

To educate the general Indian public on developments in the field of internet and society, from a citizen and consumer perspective.
To raise awareness and build capacities of policymakers in the public, private, and voluntary sectors on policies and practices impacting public accountability.
To disseminate knowledge on internet and society by organising meetings, seminars, conferences, training programmes, and courses, in cooperation with schools, colleges, universities, and research organisations.
To conduct and commission high-quality research in areas including censorship, surveillance, free and open source software, open standards, open access, intellectual property rights, ICT for development, access and participation, multilingual content and software, and digital communities and movements.
To promote the advancement and usage of the internet among the general public, professionals, and society at large.
To do all other acts or things incidental or conducive to the attainment of the above objects.
To ensure that all objects remain consistent with the provisions applicable to public charitable institutions under the Income Tax Act, 1961, and that the society retains its character as a public charitable institution without profit motive.