Internet Freedom Foundation defends online freedom, privacy and innovation in India.

Born out of the SaveTheInternet.in movement for net neutrality, IFF works on a range of issues including net neutrality, free expression, privacy and innovation.

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Updates

2024 Elections

Your personal data, their political campaign? Beneficiary politics and the lack of law

As the 2024 elections inch closer, we look into how political parties can access personal data of welfare scheme beneficiaries and other potential voters through indirect and often illicit means, to create voter profiles for targeted campaigning, and what the law has to say about it.
10 April, 2024
6 min read
Disha VermaDisha Verma
2024 Elections

Press Release: Civil society organisations express urgent concerns over the integrity of the 2024 general elections to the Lok Sabha

11 civil society organisations wrote to the ECI, highlighting the role of technology in affecting electoral outcomes. The letter includes an urgent appeal to the ECI to uphold the integrity of the upcoming elections and hold political actors and digital platforms accountable to the voters. 
08 April, 2024
2 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar
vulnerability

IFF Explains: How a vulnerability in a government cloud service could have exposed the sensitive personal data of 2,50,000 Indian citizens

In January 2022, we informed CERT-In about a vulnerability in S3WaaS, a platform developed for hosting government websites, which could expose sensitive personal data of 2,50,000 Indians. The security researcher who identified the vulnerability confirmed its resolution in March 2024.
06 April, 2024
5 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar
meta

Instagram Wants to Throttle Politics

Meta rolls out a feature limiting recommendation of political content on Instagram and Threads before an important election cycle but with little to no transparency or informed consent.
04 April, 2024
7 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar
IT Rules, 2021

"Delhi HC to Hear All Challenges Against IT Rules, 2021”, Supreme Directs.

On March 22, 2024, the Supreme Court transferred to the Delhi High Court all petitions filed across the country challenging the constitutionality of the IT Rules 2021.
02 April, 2024
4 min read
Radhika RoyRadhika Roy
artificial intelligence

What we do in the shadows: IFF seeks transparency in how Indian ‘smart governments’ are using AI

Noting a glaring lack of transparency and publicly available information on how union and state governments are deploying AI in the public sector, we write to the National Institute of Smart Government urging proactive disclosures and publication of government-led AI projects.
26 March, 2024
5 min read
Disha VermaDisha Verma
ITRules

Big Relief! Supreme Court Stays Notification Constituting Fact-Check Unit!

In a small win for press freedom, Supreme Court has stayed the notification of Union Government operationalising the Fact-Check Unit under Information Technology Rules, 2021, till the constitutionality of the same is finally decided by Bombay HC.
23 March, 2024
5 min read
Radhika RoyRadhika Roy
MeitY

A DM from the PM (and the storm it stirred)

Last week, millions of WhatsApp users received a message from the Ministry of Electronics & IT, undersigned by the Prime Minister, asking for feedback on schemes introduced by the incumbent government. We unravel what this means for your privacy and the electoral process.
22 March, 2024
7 min read
Tejasi PanjiarTejasi Panjiar & Disha VermaDisha Verma
fact check unit

Statement: MeitY has notified the PIB Fact Check of MIB as the fact-checking unit under the IT Amendment Rules, 2023

The notified FCU will be empowered to flag online “false”, “fake”, or “misleading” information related to the Union government.
20 March, 2024
2 min read
Internet Freedom FoundationInternet Freedom Foundation
Surveillance

We will not be tracked! Indian Railways’ plans to introduce FRT surveillance in train coaches is a big departure from the right to privacy

Indian Railways has floated a tender for the installation of 3.3 lakh FRT-enabled CCTV cameras in train coaches which will be used alongside face-matching servers to surveil and identify passengers and ‘curb crime’. We write to authorities pushing back against this massive privacy violation.
12 March, 2024
10 min read
Disha VermaDisha Verma

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Campaigns & Projects

The Digital Patrakar Defence Clinic provides pro bono legal assistance to all journalists in India who face legal threats related to their reporting.

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IFF’s Project Panoptic aims to bring transparency and accountability to the relevant government stakeholders involved in the deployment and implementation of facial recognition technology (FRT) projects in India.

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#SaveOurPrivacy is an online collective launched in May, 2018 to safeguard your privacy and ensure a citizen centric data protection law.

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The ‘Zombie Tracker’ is a platform which monitors cases which include a charge under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act 2000 which was deemed unconstitutional by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Shreya Singhal v Union of India.

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