Does regulating digital content hurt freedom of speech?

November 19, 2020

The recent decision of the Central government to bring OTT platforms under the purview of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has sparked off a serious debate. The contours of this discussion centre on constitutional protections for free speech in a democracy, the boundaries of artistic exploration, business competitiveness and innovation,...

DEPA: The technology of consent, India style

October 9, 2020

“In view of the new communication technologies which make it possible to store and use personal data, the right to control one’s own data should be added to this definition.” — Resolution 1165 (1998) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, about privacy. In the beautiful tech-savvy Baltic...

Chinese app ban is a big boost for Indian startups

September 15, 2020

“Cyber-related risks are a global threat of bloodless war. India can work towards giving the world a shield from the threat of cyber warfare.” —PM Narendra Modi in 2015 Recently, the Government of India issued orders for a ban on 118 Chinese apps taking the total number of such Chinese...

The gory world of video games

September 2, 2020

This is an area of law that’s evolving so fast anything I say will be obsolete by tomorrow. -- Professor Joshua Fairfield A former bank robber Michael, who is on the edge of a breakdown; Trevor, an arms smuggler-cum-drug dealing psychopath; and Franklin, a street gangster who will do anything...

The curious case of online gambling laws in India

August 12, 2020

Gambling is prohibited in India. The Public Gambling Act, 1867 and several local acts passed by the states make it a legally proscribed activity with punishments ranging from financial fines to years of imprisonment. Despite these laws, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) estimates India’s illegal...

Non-personal data: Tread wisely in the new gold rush

August 3, 2020

There is a distinction between rival and non-rival goods. Material goods cannot be used by multiple people at the same time, making them rival goods. On the other hand, information, ideas and data are non-rival which means they can be used by multiple people at the same time without reduction...

Custodial deaths are a blot on criminal justice system

July 20, 2020

Black’s Law dictionary defines custody as the “care and keeping of anything”. Implicit in this common law definition is a duty to care. The “corpus” of a person, when in confinement of the state, through a lawful process, is the sole responsibility of the state. The recent deaths in custody...

Data is ‘inflammable’ oil

July 10, 2020

The year 2019 was the worst in the history of data breaches. More than 5,500 large breaches resulted in approximately 8 billion leaked records. Most affected sectors were health, followed by financial, energy, industrial and pharma. Even the Education sector was badly hit. A worrisome factor of these breaches and...

Chinese apps & geopolitical threats

June 30, 2020

Bruce Schneier, in his book Data and Goliath, talks about the “hidden battles to collect your data and to control your world”. In 2015, this notion did not seem so sinister. The nightmare unfolded so slowly that the world missed the horror since. Various kinds of data are used for...

India’s Covid response is well calibrated

June 16, 2020

India had its first case of onavirus infection on 30 January. It was confirmed in Kerala’s Thrissur district when a student who had returned home for a vacation from Wuhan University in China was found positive. After that the Central and state governments began to undertake a series of measures...