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Internet Freedom Foundation
FormationAugust 15, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-08-15)
FoundersApar Gupta, Aravind Ravi Sulekha, Karthik Balakrishnan, Rachita Taneja, Raman Jit Singh Chima, Rohin Dharmakumar, Kiran Jonnalagadda, Nikhil Pahwa
TypeCharitable organization
FocusDigital Rights
Location
Area served
India
Websiteinternetfreedom.in

Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) is an Indian digital rights organisation that advances liberty, equality, fraternity and social justice in the digital age. IFF has three verticals of work that include strategic litigation, policy engagement and civic literacy.

Background

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IFF was formed out of the SaveTheInternet.in campaign which was a volunteer-driven campaign and launched on August 15, 2016.[1] The campaign in support of net neutrality garnered over 1.2 million signatures and led the TRAI to prohibit discriminatory practices by companies on the internet.[2]

To enable structured engagement, the co-founders of the SaveTheInternet.in campaign established IFF to work on issues of privacy, free speech, net neutrality, and innovation on the internet. IFF became a staffed organisation in 2018 and Apar Gupta took over as the Executive Director where he served till March, 2023.[3]

Work

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IFF has a wide mandate of work. It undertakes court litigations, policy engagement and advocacy campaigns against digital surveillance, blocking of websites,[4] technology related interference in elections,[5] free speech violations,[6] internet censorship,[7][8] net neutrality, and defends encryption.[9]

Projects

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Zombie Tracker

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Zombie Tracker is a tool built by IFF in partnership with Civic Data labs to track cases under Section 66A as a "data-driven evidence-based solution" to highlight the continued use of Section 66A, which was struck down by the Supreme Court of India in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India.[10] The tracker along with strategic litigation lead to a closure of all 66A cases.[11]

Project Panoptic

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Project Panoptic tracks the development and implementation of facial recognition technology projects in India with an aim to increase transparency and accountability around the use of Facial recognition technology in India. The tracker was built by IFF along with volunteers from Datakind and Frappe. As of November 2021, Project Panoptic has been tracking 78 FRT projects across the country, with an estimated cost of 9.6 billion rupees.[12] IFF's Project Panoptic along with Amnesty International and Article 19, launched the Hyderabad leg of BanTheScan campaign. Hyderabad is one of the most surveilled cities in the world, with 600,000 cameras monitoring its citizens all the time.[13]

Digital Patrakar Defence Clinic

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Digital Patrakar Defense Clinic ( DPDC) offers pro-bono legal assistance and representation to Indian journalists, cartoonists, bloggers, and any individuals who use the medium of the internet to report on daily affairs.[14]

Public Campaigns

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Speech Bill

In March 2017, IFF drafted a law to reform India's defamation law which was introduced in Lok Sabha as a Private Member's Bill by Tathagata Satpathy.[15] The bill garnered more than 2000 signatures and 54 organisational supporters, including India's largest publishing houses.

Keep Us Online

In April 2017, IFF launched a campaign against internet shutdowns in India called KeepUsOnline. They petitioned the Prime Minister and the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology to introduce credible measures to stop arbitrary internet shutdowns in India.[16]

Save Our Privacy

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Launched in 2018, SaveOurPrivacy is a public initiative launched by a collective of 35 organizations including IFF, which put across a model draft law called "Indian Privacy Code, 2018".[17] The code has seven core principles, one of which calls for surveillance reform. It advocates for a law that limits mass or 'dragnet' surveillance, and lays down clear rules governing individual surveillance.[18] It also seeks the strengthening and protection of the right to information. After going through multiple revisions, the draft was filed as a private member's bill in the parliament, twice. The collective creates resources for public awareness and continuously engages with government representatives.[19]

Strategic Litigation

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IFF has petitioned or intervened in cases relating to Internet Shutdowns,[20] WhatsApp Privacy,[21] the Right to be Forgotten,[22] CCTV surveillance,[23] PUBG bans,[24] Section 66A arrests,[25] Aadhaar Social-Media Linking.[26] It has represented public interest litigants and open source tools such as VLC Player which were blocked in India.[27]

Publications

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IFF publishes open working papers from fellows. The first research paper by Nakul Nayak studied the law and impact of internet shutdowns in India,[28] and the second research paper by Apar Gupta and Abhinav Sekhri called attention to the continued use of Section 66A of the IT Act, despite the Supreme Court striking it down.[29] In addition to this IFF published issue specific briefs and explainers such as those on the Digital Data Protection Act, 2023, a quarterly tracker on internet connectivity and briefs for parliamentarians.

Support

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IFF is a donor-driven organisation with recurring monthly payment subscriptions for members.[30] It is also organisationally supported by Indian startups and a grant from UNESCO.[31] It also publishes monthly transparency reports[32] and is rated by Guidestar[33] and Credibility Alliance.

References

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  1. ^ "Hello world - and happy Independence Day!". Internet Freedom Foundation. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. ^ "India's Net neutrality crusaders". livemint.com. Mint. 9 May 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Transitions and achieving our true potential". Internet Freedom Foundation. 2023-07-18. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  4. ^ "Not just porn, Indian telecom firms are blocking other websites, too". qz.com. Quartz India. 11 February 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  5. ^ Chaturvedi, Anumeha. "Internet Freedom Foundation, Constitutional Conduct, ex CECs among others appeal to EC to reign in digital platforms". The Economic Times. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  6. ^ Martineau, Paris. "India is Cracking Down on Ecommerce and Free Speech". Wired. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  7. ^ Goel, Vindu (14 February 2019). "India Proposes Chinese-Style Internet Censorship". The New York Times. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  8. ^ "Netflix will regulate its content in India. It swears that's not a bad thing". edition.cnn.com. CNN. 18 January 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  9. ^ "WhatsApp is at risk in India. So are free speech and encryption". vox.com. Vox. 19 February 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Zombie Tracker https://zombietracker.in/. Retrieved 29 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ^ "SC's direction: Stop prosecuting people under S.66A". Internet Freedom Foundation. 2022-10-12. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  12. ^ Panoptic Project https://panoptic.in/. Retrieved 29 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ "Hyderabad". Ban the Scan: Hyderabad. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  14. ^ Digital Patrakar Defence Clinic https://patrakardefence.in/. Retrieved 29 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ "Now, debate on defamation law goes online". The Times of India. 14 September 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  16. ^ "'Keep Us Online,' says a new campaign by the Internet Freedom Foundation against internet shutdowns in India". factordaily.com. Factor Daily. 20 March 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "SaveOurPrivacy". SaveOurPrivacy. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Citizens' group unveils draft law on data protection that safeguards the right to privacy". scroll.in. 8 June 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  19. ^ "Save Our Privacy". SaveOurPrivacy. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Our Legal Work". Internet Freedom Foundation. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  21. ^ "WhatsApp privacy policy affects users' rights? Supreme Court to examine". The Economic Times. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  22. ^ "Delhi HC accepts intervention against a Right to be Forgotten case in India". medianama.com. MediaNama. 21 September 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  23. ^ "'CCTV project a voyeur's dream, will lead to surveillance state': Delhi govt gets legal notice". theprint.in. The Print. 7 June 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  24. ^ "PUBG Mobile: IFF moves Gujarat High Court against the ban". hindustantimes.com. Hindustan Times. 9 April 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  25. ^ Christopher, Nilesh. "Police using lapsed law to curb e-speech: Internet Freedom Foundation". The Economic Times. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  26. ^ "Madras HC: Internet Freedom Foundation to act as an intervener in WhatsApp traceability case". medianama.com. MediaNama. 28 June 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  27. ^ Singh, Manish (2022-11-14). "India lifts download ban on VLC". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  28. ^ Nayak, Nakul (September 25, 2018). "The Legal Disconnect: An Analysis of India's Internet Shutdown Laws". SSRN 3254857. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  29. ^ Sekhri, Abhinav; Gupta, Apar (October 31, 2018). "Section 66A and Other Legal Zombies". SSRN 3275893. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  30. ^ "Donate". internetfreedom.in. Internet Freedom Foundation. 19 February 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  31. ^ "Organisational Donors and Supporters". internetfreedom.in. Internet Freedom Foundation. 13 May 2019. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  32. ^ "Transparency and Finances". internetfreedom.in. Internet Freedom Foundation. 25 September 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  33. ^ Guidestar. "Profile of, "Internet Freedom Foundation"".
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