Today, at 11am, we have six appeals listed before the Chief Information Commissioner. These relate to 6 RTI applications we filed in 2018 seeking disclosure of data relating to interception, decryption and monitoring of electronic communication.
Why is this significant?

We want to know the scale of surveillance by the State on citizens. For this, we asked for statistics related to no. of orders issued under the IT Interception Rules.

We have not asked for info relating to the identity of the persons being monitored.
The CPIO, however, sought exemption under the following Sections of the IT Act:
8(1)(a) - Info affects National Security
8(1)(g) - Info endangers life of a person
8(1)(h) - Info impedes ongoing investigation

We filed an appeal against the CPIO’s refusal to provide information.
The First Appellate Authority dismissed the appeals, agreeing with the CPIO’s decision. So we filed second appeals before the Central Information Commission. These are the appeals listed today. We will keep you updated through the course of the day on the progress of the appeals.

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More from @internetfreedom

17 May
Attention, Indian Internet! Recent reports state that the Telegraph Act is going to be updated to include #NetNeutrality considerations. While this is a welcome move, we wrote to @MoitOfficial highlighting issues to consider while drafting the bill.
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In February, Twitter disabled 200+ accounts in the backdrop of the farmer’s protests. @GoI_MeitY has now confirmed to us that this action was authorised by law, and has denied recalling or disclosing the blocking orders. We've written back. A thread.
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3 May
In a significant order, the Supreme Court has passed a range of directions to ensure fundamental rights are not violated as the country continues the battle against Covid-19. We discuss two of those directions in this thread -
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