Centre for Internet and Society: Annual Report 2008–09

The Annual Report 2008–09 of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) documents the organisation’s first phase of activity between 1 June 2008 and 31 March 2009. Registered as a society in August 2008, CIS emerged as a multidisciplinary institution bringing together researchers, technologists, lawyers, artists, and policy practitioners to examine the relationship between the internet and society in India and beyond.

The report reflects the formative stage of CIS’s institutional development. During this period, the organisation established its research fellowship programme, launched accessibility and open access advocacy initiatives, engaged with debates around internet governance and intellectual property, and organised workshops, lectures, conferences, and public events across India.

Contents

1. Highlights
2. Research Portfolio
3. Accessibility
4. Intellectual Property Rights
5. Open Access
6. Open Standards
7. Free and Open Source Software
8. Internet Governance
9. Miscellaneous Events
10. Organisation and Governance
11. Thanks and Acknowledgments
12. Request for Collaboration
13. Full Report

Highlights

The report identified several major developments during CIS’s first year of operations.

CIS worked with the National Informatics Centre (NIC) on a draft policy for web accessibility intended to improve the accessibility of government websites and electronic infrastructure in India. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology also requested CIS to conduct a comparative study of international accessibility policies relating to websites and ATMs.

The organisation additionally collaborated with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) on recommendations that contributed to the adoption of open access policies for publicly funded scientific research publications in India.

Research Portfolio

The research portfolio at CIS focused on developing histories and accounts of the internet in India through multidisciplinary inquiry. Under the CIS-RAW (Researchers at Work) programme, a number of research fellowships were awarded across fields including gender studies, archival studies, media studies, internet censorship, law, and governance.

Research Projects

Asha Achutan of the Centre for Contemporary Studies at the Indian Institute of Science worked on Rewiring Bodies, a project examining questions of digital technology, embodiment, and gender within the post-development paradigm in India. As part of the project, CIS hosted a public talk by Dr. Shefali Moitra on “Justice and Difference”.

Aparna Balachandran, Rochelle Pinto, and Abhijeet Dasgupta (Centre for the Study of Culture and Society, Bangalore, and Centre for Social Sciences, Kolkata) worked on Archive and Access, a project studying changing archival practices and the state’s role in digitisation and archiving in India in the context of emerging information technologies.

Shivam Vij of Tehelka, New Delhi, worked on Free Speech and the Internet, documenting critical moments of government intervention and censorship in India’s emerging information society.

Namita Malhotra of the Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore, worked on Pleasure and Pornography, a historical analysis of legislation and legal battles concerning pornography, obscenity, and the internet.

Zainab Bawa (Empowering India, Mumbai, and CSCS, Bangalore) worked on Transparency and Politics, analysing how ideas of transparency and governance were reshaping social and political structures in India.

Ashish Rajadhyaksha (CSCS, Bangalore) worked on Rethinking the Last Mile Problem, a project re-examining communication policy and the persistent failure of developmental communication systems in India.

The report noted that these projects were expected to result in monographs, journal papers, seminars, workshops, and teaching curricula.

External Research Collaborations

CIS also pursued externally funded projects connected to its broader institutional vision.

One major initiative was Digital Natives with a Cause, a scouting mission for the Dutch development organisation Hivos examining theories and practices surrounding digital natives and social transformation in emerging information societies.

Nishant Shah worked at Shanghai University on a project titled Techno-social Citizenship and Urban Restructuring in India and China, examining how urbanisation and technological change affected ideas of citizenship in both countries. The project was funded by the Asia Scholarship Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

CIS also collaborated with the Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS) on the Ford Foundation’s Pathways Project, which focused on communication and technology initiatives for marginalised students in higher education institutions.

The organisation additionally began work with cartoonist Anand Ramachandran on the CIS Comic Book Project, intended to communicate internet and society issues through illustrated formats. The first two comic books planned were to cover piracy and the notion of digital natives respectively.

Events Organised

CIS supported and organised several public events during the year, including Writing the Future at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (21 October 2008), where Nishant Shah presented a talk titled “Some Knowledge in Search of Authority: Cyberspace, Collaborations and Confusions”.

Events Attended

Researchers from CIS participated in events including:

• The Future of Celluloid (Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 7–8 November 2008), where Nishant Shah presented “Of Pranksters, Jesters and Clowns: YouTube Videos and Conditions of Collaborative Authorship”
• Chutnefying English (Le Royal Meridien, Mumbai, 10–11 January 2009), organised by the Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad

Teaching

CIS researchers designed and taught courses and workshops at institutions including:

• Christ University, Bangalore
• CSCS, Bangalore
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad

Teaching modules included:

• “Metaphors and Narratives” (Christ University and MICA)
• “Gender and Technology” (CSCS)
• “Cybercultures” (Tata Institute of Social Sciences)

Publications

Publications by Nishant Shah during the year included:

• “Material Cyborgs: Asserted Boundaries” (European Journal of English Studies)
• “Now streaming on your nearest screen: Contextualising New Digital Cinema through Kuso” (Journal of Chinese Cinema)
• “Internet and Society in Asia” (Inter Asia Cultural Studies)

Accessibility

Accessibility emerged as one of the organisation’s central advocacy areas during its first year.

Readable.in

CIS collaborated with Inclusive Planet on Readable.in, an e-book portal intended for disabled readers in India. As part of this initiative, CIS joined the DAISY Consortium of India, a network of organisations producing accessible “speaking books”.

National Policy for Electronic Accessibility

CIS worked with the United Nations Solution Exchange and the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People to advocate for a national policy ensuring that publicly funded electronic infrastructure in India remained accessible to disabled users.

WIPO Treaty Advocacy

CIS organised a signature campaign in support of the proposed World Intellectual Property Organisation treaty intended to improve access for blind, visually impaired, and reading-disabled persons.

NIC Web Accessibility Policy

The report documented CIS’s collaboration with the National Informatics Centre on a draft web accessibility policy. Nirmita Narasimhan engaged with NIC representatives and assisted in reviewing the draft policy document, which was returned to NIC with CIS’s comments on 18 March 2009.

RTI Petitions

CIS filed multiple Right to Information petitions seeking information about public accessibility programmes and expenditure related to accessibility initiatives.

Accessibility Events

CIS organised:

• a Meeting on National Policy for Electronic Accessibility at CIS, Bangalore (7 November 2008)
• a Workshop for Web Developers on Web Accessibility at CSIR, Ghaziabad (16–18 February 2009), in collaboration with UN Solution Exchange and the National Internet Exchange of India

CIS representatives also attended:

• Techshare India 2008 (Bangalore, 29 August 2008)
• DAISY Forum of India meeting (Bhopal, 26–27 December 2008)
• Workshop on “The Digital Divide” (Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, Bangalore, 12 July 2008)

Intellectual Property Rights

CIS approached intellectual property from the perspective of public interest, access to knowledge, and the social implications of copyright and patent systems.

Regional IPR Study

CIS prepared a proposal for a regional study examining intellectual property policy, practice, and alternatives across 20 countries in South and South East Asia, submitted to the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Copy South

CIS joined the Copy South Research Group and participated in its first workshop held at Technopark, Thiruvananthapuram (7–10 December 2008).

Events and Screenings

The organisation organised:

• a lecture by Eben Moglen and Mishi Choudary on “Who Killed Intellectual Property and Why We Did It / Globalising Public Interest Law: The SFLC Model” at the National Law School of India University, Bangalore (13 December 2008), in collaboration with the Software Freedom Centre and NLSIU
• a screening of Steal This Film (Nani Cinematheque, Bangalore, 8 November 2008)
• a screening of Pixel Pirate II: Attack of the Astro Elvis Video Clone (Nani Cinematheque, Bangalore, 19 December 2008)

Events Attended

CIS representatives participated in:

• National Seminar on Privacy Rights and Data Protection in Cyber Space (KLE Society’s Law College, Bangalore, 17 October 2008)
• Workshop on “Digital Education and Copyright” at the Internet Governance Forum (Hyderabad, 3–6 December 2008)
• Workshop on “Digital Identifiers and IPRs” at the Internet Governance Forum (Hyderabad, 3–6 December 2008)
• Inaugural Conference of the Law and Social Science Network (JNU, New Delhi, 8–10 January 2009)
• ACA2K Mid-Project Workshop (Cairo, 12–15 January 2009)
• Consumers International’s Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting on Access to Knowledge (Kuala Lumpur, 16–19 February 2009)

Teaching

Pranesh Prakash taught a course on Intellectual Property Rights at the Centre for Culture, Media, and Governance, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

Open Access

Open access advocacy formed a major institutional priority during 2008–09.

Open Access to Law Project

CIS partnered with LexUM at the Faculty of Law, University of Montreal, and the Southern African Legal Information Institute (SAFLII) on a project studying open access to legal information in South and South East Asia, funded by the Open Society Institute’s Information Programme and IDRC. The project budget for the CIS component was USD 60,000. Countries identified for research included:

• India
• Bangladesh
• Indonesia
• the Philippines

CSIR Open Access Policy

Distinguished Fellow Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam participated in a committee constituted by CSIR to examine the adoption of open access policies. Based on the committee’s recommendations, CSIR adopted a council-wide open access policy covering all 39 of its laboratories. At the time of reporting, six of CSIR’s 17 journals were already open access, with all remaining journals committed to open access before the end of July 2009.

Open Access Events

CIS organised:

• Open Access Day at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi (14 October 2008), in collaboration with the Centre for Culture, Media, and Governance
• Open Access to Science Publications: Policy Perspective, Opportunities and Challenges at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi (24 March 2009), in collaboration with CSIR, with keynotes by Prof. John Willinsky (Stanford University) and Prof. Leslie Chan (University of Toronto)
• Scholarly Communication in the Age of the Commons at the National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore (26 March 2009), in collaboration with the National Aerospace Laboratories and the Indian Academy of Sciences, at which Sunil Abraham presented “Academic and Scholarly Communication in India: Copyright Law, Patent Law and PUPFIP”

Publications

CIS produced a flyer containing quotations from leading national and international open access advocates.

Open Standards

CIS coordinated public feedback on the Draft National Policy on Open Standards for e-Governance published by the National Informatics Centre and the Department of Information Technology. The revised draft incorporated three of the four suggestions submitted by CIS.

CIS also joined the Dynamic Coalition on Open Standards at the Internet Governance Forum in Hyderabad and contributed to the drafting of the Agreement on Procurement in Support of Interoperability and Open Standards. CIS contributed a report on Open Standards to the Global Information Society Watch 2008 Report (GISWatch), published by the Association for Progressive Communications, the Third World Institute, and Hivos.

Events attended included:

• National Consultation on Open Solutions in e-Governance (India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, 23 October 2008)
• Workshop on Reforming the International ICT Standardisation System at the IGF (Hyderabad, 6 December 2008), at which Sunil Abraham participated in a panel discussion

Free and Open Source Software

CIS organised a National Public Meeting on Software Patents (United Theological College, Bangalore, 19 December 2008), in collaboration with multiple non-profit organisations and small and medium enterprises, at which Pranesh Prakash presented “Software Patents Applied for and Granted in India”.

The organisation also organised a Software Freedom Day Essay Competition (Bangalore, 20 September 2008) and participated in the InfoActivism Camp (Doddaballapur, Karnataka, 19–25 February 2009), in collaboration with the Tactical Technology Collective, Aspiration, the Alternative Law Forum, and Mahiti, with funding from the Oak Foundation, Sigrid Rausing Trust, Open Society Institute, and Hivos.

Sunil Abraham attended the Free Software, Free Society Conference 2008 (Thiruvananthapuram, 9–11 December 2008) and presented “Growing Global Information Commons”. CIS also filed a Right to Information application to Visvesvaraya Technological University, the largest technological university in India with 144 affiliated colleges, to examine the effect of software vendor agreements on curriculum design.

Internet Governance

Internet governance emerged as another important area of engagement during CIS’s first year.

Dark Fibre

CIS provided a sponsorship of ₹3,00,000 for Dark Fibre, a docu-fiction film by Jamie King (director of Steal This Film) and Peter Mann examining Bangalore’s cable industry from an internet perspective. Siddhartha Chadha documented the making of the film in a series of blog posts, of which one had been published by 31 March 2009.

Analysing Wikipedia

CIS supported the development of analysis tools for Wikipedia, including work by Bangalore-based mathematician Hans Mathew Varghese, who developed algorithms to detect pack behaviour on Wikipedia, in collaboration with Kiran Jonnalagadda.

Events Attended

CIS representatives participated in:

• Workshop on Low Cost and Sustainable Access at the Internet Governance Forum (Hyderabad, 5 December 2008)
• Cyber Crime, Cyber Law, Cyber Society (Thiruvananthapuram, 8–9 February 2009), at which Sunil Abraham presented “Is Piracy a Cyber Crime or Alternate Developmental Paradigm? Legal and Technical Perspectives from the Global South”

Miscellaneous Events

CIS organised a wide range of public talks and discussions at its Bangalore office during the year:

• Talk by Dr. Shefali Moitra on “Justice and Difference” (14 November 2008)
• Discussion on “Fear and Gender in Public Space” (16 January 2009)
• Talk by Abhishek Hazra on “Inheritance of Alphanumeric Characters” (24 January 2009)
• DigiActive Meetup with digital activist Mary Joyce (26 February 2009)
• Talk by Kiran Sahi on “The Internet and Illusions of Space and Liberty” (7 March 2009)
• Talk by artist Julie Freeman on “Art and Science from the Tiniverse: An Artist’s Perspective on Nanotechnology” (9 March 2009)
• Talk by Patrice Riemens on “The Dark Face of Google” (27 March 2009)
• Talk by artist and curator Emma Ota on “Technology and the Mediation of Place” (28 March 2009)

CIS also participated in the Knowledge Society Debates (National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, 8–9 January 2009), organised by the UK-India Education and Research Initiative in collaboration with the Institute of Development Studies and the Steps Centre.

Organisation and Governance

Identity and Values

The Centre for Internet and Society was registered as a society in August 2008, with Registration No. SOR/BLU/DR/57/08-09. It aims to critically engage concerns of digital pluralism, public accountability, and pedagogic practices, with particular emphasis on South-South dialogues and exchange.

Governance

The board of CIS as on 31 March 2009 comprised seven members:

Staff

The staff listed in the report included:

• Sunil Abraham, Director–Advocacy
• Nishant Shah, Director–Research
• Nirmita Narasimhan, Programme Manager
• Pranesh Prakash, Programme Manager
• Sanchia de Souza, Publications Manager
• Ajoy Kumar C., Administrator
• Velankanni Royson, Office Assistant

Travel and Salaries

The report included detailed disclosures regarding international travel, salaries, and staff gender distribution as part of its Credibility Alliance Norms Compliance section.

International travel documented in the report included visits to:

• Cairo (Pranesh Prakash, ACA2K Mid-Project Workshop, ₹94,000, funded by CIS)
• Kuala Lumpur (Pranesh Prakash, Consumers International A2K Meeting, ₹75,000, funded by Consumers International)
• Thailand (Sunil Abraham, access-to-law research and Consumers International meeting, ₹65,778/₹18,865, funded by OSI Sub Board/CIS)
• Geneva (Prof. Subbiah Arunachalam, A2K3 Panel XI Conference, ₹8,560, funded by CIS/A2K3)
• Delhi and Bangalore (Dr. Leslie Chan, open access conferences, ₹51,058, funded by CIS)
• Amsterdam (Madhan Muthu, UKOLN International Repositories Workshop, ₹40,394, funded by CIS)

The highest monthly remuneration recorded was ₹1,40,000 and the lowest was ₹2,000. The organisation reported seven male and three female staff members across all employment categories. The registered office was Centre for Internet and Society, #106, Vineyard Jasmine Apartments, Bank Avenue, 1st Main Road, Babusapalya, Banaswadi, Bangalore 560043. The organisation’s bankers were the State Bank of India, Race Course Road Branch, Bangalore 560001, and its auditors were Nath Associates.

Thanks and Acknowledgments

The report acknowledged the Kusuma Trust as CIS’s sole donor. It also thanked event co-organisers and supporters, including:

• Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore
• Bangalore International Centre
• Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
• Free Software Foundation of India
• National Internet Exchange of India
• Tactical Technology Collective
• UN Solution Exchange
• Wiki Ocean, Pune
• Zyxware Technologies, Trivandrum

Media coverage during the year appeared in:

• The Hindu (multiple articles on software patents and accessibility)
• The Deccan Herald
• The Guardian
• The Indian Express
• Daily News and Analysis
• The Bangalore Mirror
• Time Out Bengaluru

Request for Collaboration

The report concluded with an invitation to researchers, practitioners, and organisations to collaborate on internet and society issues. Research collaboration enquiries were directed to Nishant Shah, Director–Research, and advocacy collaboration enquiries to Sunil Abraham, Director–Advocacy. The report also included an appeal for financial support and volunteers.

Full Report

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