We wrote to the Department of Telecommunications @DoT_India to highlight how lack of access to reliable and fast 4G internet is affecting the people of Odisha. #4GforAll 1/n
The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated structural disparities between rural and urban areas. It has had a critical impact on the education of children, especially the disadvantaged ones. 3/n
Subhashish Mohanty reports that students in the Sambalpur district of Odisha climb a water tank 150 feet high to access the internet to participate in their online classes. 4/n
Another report quoted the Odisha School and Mass Education Minister saying that “due to poor internet connectivity in the state many students have to walk miles, climb hills and trees to attend online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 5/n
The BharatNet project, which is funded by the Universal Service Obligation Fund, aims to provide secure, reliable, affordable and high quality connectivity in rural India. 6/n
Thus, our main recommendation to @DoT_India was that swift operationalisation of the BharatNet Project is necessary in bridging the digital divide which Odisha is currently suffering from.
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If you live in such a region that lacks mobile internet infrastructure and want to help us in mapping this digital divide, please fill out the form below. 9/n
If you would like to support our work, we urge you to contribute to the ongoing fundraising campaign for obtaining secure and essential digital tools for our team. Donate and become an IFF member today! #4GforAll 10/n
Been hearing some chatter around #DigiYatra? As scary questions about ownership, transparency, and data flow emerge, here is a quick rundown of everything we know about the service, and more importantly, everything we don’t. 😶🌫️🧵1/7
1️⃣Who owns DigiYatra?
In 2019, @MoCA_GoI passed on DigiYatra's operations & data ecosystem to a *private company* created for this very purpose – DigiYatra Foundation. DYF is a joint venture between 5 Indian airports (public-private, 74% stake) & @AAI_Official (public, 26%). 2/7
2️⃣ Such a public-private venture must be answerable to citizens?
Not exactly. Neither DYF nor its security audit agency @IndianCERT fall under the RTI Act. It cannot, technically, be forced to disclose any information on its data practices & security. 3/7 medianama.com/2023/03/223-ci…
Were you among the millions of @WhatsApp users who got a DM from ‘Viksit Bharat Sampark’? 🫠🫠
The account, seeking feedback on government initiatives, is now barred by the Election Commission from sending messages.
But several concerns persist… (1/10) internetfreedom.in/whatsapp-messa…
The message, accompanied by a letter from the PM, listed the various schemes and initiatives introduced by the incumbent government and was, in many cases, sent after the ECI released its Model Code of Conduct for upcoming elections. (2/10)
It stirred a storm and how…
First, we wonder how exactly did MeitY secure the contact information of such a large number of people and when/how did it begin using this information for outreach purposes? (3/10)
@GoI_MeitY has notified the @PIBFactCheck of the @MIB_India as the fact-checking unit (FCU) under the IT Amendment Rules, 2023.
The notified FCU will be empowered to flag online “false”, “fake”, or “misleading” information related to the Union govt. 1/9 🧵
The establishment of the FCU less than a month before the country heads for the #GeneralElections2024 could vastly affect the nature of free speech on the internet as it holds the potential to be (mis)used for proactive censorship, most importantly in the context of dissent. 2/9
This notification follows the March 13 decision of the Bombay HC, where the Bench refused to restrain the setting up of an FCU until the third Judge decides on the constitutionality of the 2023 Amendment.
This effectively allowed the Union govt to operationalise the FCU, despite its constitutionality being under deliberation before the High Court. 3/9
‼️Indian Railways has floated a tender for the installation of 3.3L facial recognition-enabled CCTV cameras inside railway coaches with a central face-matching server to surveil & identify passengers (adults & children) to ‘curb crime’. (1/7)
@amofficialCRIS invited tech providers to install FRT-enabled tech with ‘video analytics’ to identify faces & send them to a ‘face matching server’. This lacks legal safeguards, creates a fertile land for misidentification & staff bias, & fails Puttaswamy criteria. (2/7)
CCTV systems enabled with FRT operate in regulatory limbo as there is no legislative basis to use it to combat crime. & there’s the currently inoperational DPDPA which may not adequately regulate CCTV and FRT, leaving individuals' sensitive facial data vulnerable to misuse. (3/7)
🚨🔊May I have your attention please. @RailMinIndia is planning to install over 3.3 Lakh facial recognition-enabled CCTV cameras inside 44,038 train coaches across India… and our right to privacy is about to depart from platform number five. 🔊🚆1/7 medianama.com/2024/02/223-in…
With an intent of enhancing security for passengers in trains, @amofficialCRIS has floated a tender for installing CCTV surveillance systems enabled with ‘video analytics’ & facial recognition in coaches & at exit/entry points. 2/7 medianama.com/wp-content/upl…
A face image cropping tool built into the 4 entry/exit CCTV cameras will identify faces of passengers from the camera’s live feed & send the metadata to a central ‘face matching server’ in real time. This ecosystem will collect & store facial data of adult & child passengers alike. 3/7
Can we catch a break!?
The past few days in the Parliament align on the chaotic bad plane. Suspensions, followed by more suspensions, followed by draconian bills passing without any opposition (because, yk, suspensions). 🎪
Broadcasting Bill, Telecom Bill, & now the criminal reform bills – our digital rights are in deep waters. 1/n
The bills were introduced in the Monsoon Session aimed to "decolonise" criminal laws, but actually pose threats to privacy and free speech, as the bills digitise criminal procedures without clear safeguards, & expand executive powers for digital evidence search & seizure. 3/n