Google News Censorship Increased Further

Google has been censoring news results for long. While censoring of unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) related posts is a very regular feature yet censorship and filtering of news regarding international organisations like World Bank and world intellectual property organisation (WIPO) is the latest trend.

For some strange reasons the article titled WIPO patent committee discussed tech transfer and public health has been filtered twice. There is no technical error and webmaster tool of Google is also not showing any error. Even the novel excuse of Google news server 503 error is also missing.

Google has been in controversies from time to time. Whether it is illegal data gathering, censorship of Google news searches, manipulation of search results, etc, Google has been doing it all.

Further, Google has been censoring critical web posts regarding Aadhar project of India and unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) for the past two or more years. Further, it has also temporarily filtered some of our posts questioning the practice of World Bank to grant unaccountable loans to countries like India. Further, international loans and grants related posts questioning the role of World Bank and Indian government are also poorly placed in search results.

It is not clear why Google is doing so. But it would be safe to presume that Google is doing this to safeguard its own commercial interests in India even if means violating civil liberties of Indians. The draconian cyber law of India has finally started showing its true nature. Let us see what is waiting for us in future.

Aadhar Project And UIDAI Must Be Scrapped

One of the most controversial projects of India is unique identification project of India (UID project of India) or Aadhar project of India. The Aadhar project is openly and blatantly violating various civil liberties of Indian citizens. Even the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) is devoid of any constitutional and legal status.

If Aadhar project and UIDAI are clearly unconstitutional project/authority why is Indian government wasting crores of money upon them? This is the most frustrating aspect of Aadhar project and UIDAI.

The only answer seems to be so that the Indian government can enhance its e-surveillance capabilities by clubbing Aadhar project with national population register (NPR) of India, national intelligence grid (Natgrid), crime and criminal tracking network and systems (CCTNS), etc. These are only known projects and there may be many projects that Indian citizens may not be aware of.

According to Praveen Dalal, Supreme Court lawyer and leading techno legal expert of India, there is no second opinion about the fact that Aadhar Project and UIDAI are “Unconstitutional” in the absence of a “Constitutionally Sound Law” in this regard. This is more so when there are no dedicated Privacy Laws in India and Data Protection Laws in India, opines Praveen Dalal.

Surprisingly, the government of India has deliberately abstained from enacting suitable privacy and data protection laws in India. On the contrary, it amended the sole cyber law of India contained in the information technology act 2000 (IT Act 2000) through the information technology amendment act, 2008 (IT Act 2008).

After this amendment, unregulated, unaccountable and unconstitutional powers were obtained by Indian government regarding e-surveillance and electronic eavesdropping in India. This amendment was primarily made to accommodate projects like Natgrid, Aadhar, CCTNS, etc.

Even there is no lawful interception law in India. The present E-Surveillance and Phone Tapping practices adopted by India are “Unconstitutional” in the absence of a Constitutionally Sound Lawful Interception Law, says Praveen Dalal.

If we analyse the entire scenario, there are very strong ground to scrap Aadhar project and UIDAI till proper legal framework is at place. May be our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh would take initiative in this regard before it is too late.

UID Project And UIDAI Are Instrumentalities Of Social Oppression

Aadhar project of India or UID project of India is often portrayed as a tool of social inclusion. But this is just a façade. The truth is that Aadhar is a tool and instrumentality of social oppression and social exploitation of Indians.

To achieve this exploitative purpose, unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) has been established. Despite the ferocious protests by civil liberty activists, neither Aadhar project nor UIDAI are empowered by a legal framework. Even the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 (Bill) has failed to provide adequate safeguards against privacy violations and data breaches.

Interestingly, even if the Bill proposed by UIDAI is made an enforceable law, it still remains unconstitutional. According to Praveen Dalal, Supreme Court Lawyer and leading Techno Legal Expert of India, even if the Bill becomes an enforceable piece of Legislation, it still is vulnerable to the attacks of “Unconstitutionality”. In the absence of “Proper Laws and Adequate Safeguards”, both Aadhar Project and UIDAI would remain “Unconstitutional”, warns Praveen Dalal.

The privacy rights issues are currently pending before the Supreme Court of India. It would be a good idea to strengthen Privacy and Data Protection Laws of India by “Judicial Activism” in the absence of “Parliamentary Will”, suggest Praveen Dalal.

Behind the façade of social inclusion and welfare scheme, the naked face of Aadhar and UIDAI is very apparent. Aadhar project is an instrumentality of e-surveillance in India. Its only purpose is to serve the unlawful interests of intelligence agencies of India and law enforcement demands in India.

Let us not be fooled by the façade of social inclusion and welfare scheme and ask the government of India to enact suitable and adequate privacy and data protection laws before Aadhar is fully operational in India.

Data Protection Law In India Is Urgently Required

Indian government’s hunger for e-surveillance as well as the pressure from the industrial bodies for weak and ineffective cyber laws is costing Indians their privacy and data protection law. The truth is that privacy rights in India are at sale.

The e-surveillance projects include unique identification project of India (UID project) or Aadhar project of India. It is managed by Nandan Nilekani as the chairman of unique identification authority of India (UIDAI). Other projects include national intelligence grid (Natgrid), CCTNS, etc.

The ineffective and cyber criminal’s friendly laws include information technology act 2000. IT Act 2000 is the sole cyber law of India that has been made an instrumentality of e-surveillance by Indian government. Further, under pressure from industrial bodies, almost all the cyber crimes have been made bailable.

However, the gravest of all concerns is the high level of e-surveillance in India with no corresponding privacy laws, data protection laws and procedural safeguards. Even the IT Act 2000 is silent on the procedural safeguards against illegal and unconstitutional e-surveillance, internet censorship, etc.

In these circumstances, it is of paramount importance that suitable privacy laws and data protection laws must be enacted by Indian parliament as soon as possible.

Cyber Security In India Is Needed To Defeat E-Surveillance

As more and more public services are attached to information and communication (ICT) technology, their security becomes of paramount importance. In India there is very little research, training and education in the field of cyber security. Further, even lesser is research and training regarding techno legal issues.

So much so that India has just a single techno legal cyber security research, training and education centre (CSRCI). The same is managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB) and it is providing research, training, education, policy making etc in the crucial field of cyber security in India.

It is also maintaining a world class cyber security software repository that is unique in the world. The repository carries both technical as well as legal resources and software.

India has been facing cyber threats from cyber criminals, cyber espionage groups, cyber war groups, cyber terrorists, etc. Even the homeland security of India needs rejuvenation. Indian departments and strategic computer systems have been under constant threats from adjacent countries. Many sensitive documents have also been stolen through hacking the crucial computer systems in India.

Even the cyber law of India is a very weak piece of legislation with no deterrent effect. When cyber crimes like hacking have been made bailable nothing can make such a law a deterrent for committed cyber criminals.

In the name of national security and cyber security, the Home Ministry is taking absurd decisions like banning Blackberry, Gmail, Skype, etc. Further, illegal and unconstitutional projects like CCTNS, Natgrid, Aadhar project, etc have been also pushed for the sole purpose of enhancing the illegal and unaccountable e-surveillance powers of Indian government and its agencies.

The truth is that authorities like unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) and projects like CCTNS, Natgrid, Aadhar, etc are violative of civil liberties and fundamental rights of Indians. The worst affected are the privacy rights in India that have simply been compromised for the façade of security. It is high time for Indians to reclaim their human rights before it is too late.

Legal Enablement Of Intelligence Agencies Of India Is required

Intelligence agencies and law enforcement machinery of India are working almost with no legal framework supporting their functioning. This is not only affecting the genuineness and credibility of such agencies and authorities but is also casting a great doubt about their impartiality.

For instance, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is under fire for the same reason and is considered to be a puppet in the hands of ruling government. This is bound to happen so long there is neither a legal framework nor accountability of the CBI to Parliament of India or to any statutory enactment. Why India abhors enactment of relevant and mandatory legislations is still a mystery to solve.

India is notoriously infamous for creating authorities and agencies without any legal sanction and framework. Surprisingly, a majority of them pertains to law enforcement and intelligence agencies like CBI, IB, RAW, etc.

Of course, we have illegal and unconstitutional projects like the unique identification project of India (UID Project of India) or Aadhar project of India and unconstitutional authorities like unique identification authority of India (UIDAI). Why Parliament of India is not conferring legitimacy and constitutionality upon these authorities is still not understandable.

Scrap Aadhar Project And Dissolve UIDAI

Privacy rights in India do not exist. Instead of strengthening the civil liberties and privacy rights in India, the Indian government has preferred to impose unconstitutional and civil liberty violative projects like National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) Project, Aadhar Project/UID Project, Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project, etc.

The worst civil liberty violative project is Aadhar project managed by Nandan Nilekani who is presently acting as the chairman of the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI). The biometric identification initiative has already attracted major opposition from almost all the segments of the society.

Indian government has openly and in an unambiguous manner declared that it does not care about civil liberties in general and privacy and data protection laws in particular. All its promises regarding privacy rights have proved to be just a façade to gain time and subsequently do nothing. The truth is that India is forcibly implementing “unconstitutional projects” like NATGRID Project, Aadhar Project/UID Project, Crime and CCTNS Project, etc.

Another truth is that under the garb of welfare schemes the Indian government is gaining illegal, unconstitutional and unreasonable e-surveillance, Internet censorship and other draconian powers. It is trying to get a complete control over information pertaining to Indians.

The government is not satisfied even with this and now they are planning to introduce the most stupid amendments in the IT laws or cyber law of India.

Although all the projects recently introduced by Indian government are illegal, unconstitutional and outrageous, one project requires special mention. This is the Aadhar project or UID project of India. The same is managed by Nandan Nilekani as the chairman of unique identification authority of India (UIDAI).

What is surprising is that Indian government is wasting crores of public money upon an authority (UIDAI) that does not exist in the eyes of law. This wastage of public money is not only violating many laws of India, including criminal laws, but also against the democratic and Parliamentary scheme of Indian Constitution.

The constitutional analysis of the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 produced by the UIDAI clearly shows that UIDAI is an illegal authority and aadhar project is an unconstitutional project.

The Indian government is still pushing hard this project under pressure of industrial lobbying and the only purpose of this project seems to be to serve private interests.

Time has come to scrap these unconstitutional projects till they are duly supported by constitutionally sound legislations.

SOURCE: CIO

Unethical And Illegal SEO Activities Regarding UIDAI Are Happening And Google Seems To Be Indifferent

It has come to our knowledge that controversial topics regarding projects like Natgrid, CCTNS, etc in general and Aadhar project in particular have been systematically filtered at the Google news search. Surprisingly, all the topics pertaining to unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) and carrying the term UIDAI are dumped deep into the Google news search engine irrespective of their relevance and quality.

Since Google is aware of this issue and this cannot happen without its consent, we can safely presume that Google is also involved in this process. We would post more details very soon.

The latest article on breach of public trust by Indian government has been dumped once again.

Also see this CIO article.

Law For UIDAI In Pipeline

At last the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) managing the UID project of India decided to do the right thing. It has decided to propose a law that would regulate its functioning and incorporate provisions for the safeguard of privacy rights of the citizens whose database it is going to manage.

The step came after objections were raised by civil liberty activists in India. The first and most vibrant protest came from the Aadhar Watch Initiative of India. Opposing the Aadhar project of India in its present form the aadhar watch initiative specified the ground on which UIDAI in general and UID project/Aadhar project in particular are illegal and unconstitutional.

This is a welcome step and would strengthen Aadhar project of India in the long run. However, the task is not easy as India does not have any dedicated and exclusive data protection and privacy law. UIDAI would be performing a difficult task especially since it has a time of almost 20 days alone. Let us hope that UIDAI would be able to achieve what it has promised because in the absence of the same, no action of UIDAI can be held to be legal and constitutional.

SOURCE: CIO

Heroes Who Saved Aadhar Project Of India

Aadhar project of India was never constitutional and legal. However, the government was confident that it would be successful in imposing the same upon Indian citizens. At this stage some public spirited individuals rose up to the occasion and forced the Indian government to reconsider its decision. Now as per the latest news, the government of India has agreed to enact a law for Aadhar project of India.

Let us see the heroes who saved Aadhar project of India from governmental arbitrariness and lawlessness.

The first and most obvious choice is the Aadhar Project Watch Initiative founded by Praveen Dalal, the leading techno-legal expert of India and a civil liberty expert of India. The suggestions and recommendations of Aadhar Project Watch Initiative of India have been finally accepted by the government of India. The government has finally agreed to enact a law to back UID Project of India or Aadhar Project of India. There was a growing dissatisfaction among the masses in India regarding the way Aadhar project has been implemented in India. Civil liberty experts like Praveen Dalal have been suggesting that aadhar project of India is illegal and unconstitutional in the absence of a legislative framework. According to Praveen Dalal, the UIDAI must not use public funds till provisions regarding the same are incorporated in the law to be formulated by Parliament of India.

It is good to see that government of India has once again accepted the suggestions that are pertinent for the successful implementation of aadhar project of India. It would be even better if techno-legal experts like Praveen Dalal are inducted into the process of law making so that both technical as well as legal aspects can be suitable incorporated into the proposed law.

Others have also raised their voices against the present form of aadhar project. For instance, V.K.Singh has given a very good account why aadhar project of India is unconstitutional. Gunjan Singh has explained that hit and trial attitude of India is the real cause of failure of these projects. Ram K Kaushik has outlined the importance of aadhar watch project of India in streamlining the efforts of UIDAI. He has also analysed the legal position when citizens of India can take recourse of private defense against the State if projects like Natgrid, Aadhar, etc are imposed upon them.

These people are the real heroes who have played a great role in strengthening the civil liberties of Indian citizens. Interestingly, aadhar is not the first project that has been opposed to by Indians. Previously, even Natgrid project was objected to and the government finally accepted the suggestions of Praveen Dalal in this regard. Let us hope that India will learn from these incidences before trying any new hit and trial project in India.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Unique Identification Project Of India In Bad Shape

Unique identity (UID) project (UID Project) is a very ambitious and useful project of government of India. However, according to Praveen Dalal, the leading techno-legal expert of India and Managing Partner of Perry4Law, the Unique Identification Project of India is based upon lack of planning and foresight. The hit and trial attitude of the Government of India (GOI) coupled with the charitable tendencies to distribute the public money among corrupt officials of India without any transparency and accountability would once again fail another much needed project in India.

There are various “shortcomings” of the UID project of Indian government and the same would ultimately fail the project if necessary and corrective actions are not taken immediately, suggested Praveen Dalal.

See here for more.

IT Training Centre For Police Force Of India

Perry4Law has launched an information technology training centre for police force of India and other jurisdictions of the World. The centre would train police force in areas like basics of computers, cyber law, cyber forensics, cyber security, telecommunication laws, mobile forensics, etc.

The centre also aims at developing and maintaining initiatives like Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS) Project of India, National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), etc.

Haste Is Spoiling Projects Like Natgrid

India is presently going through a storm of quandary and unpredictability. In order to streamline and strengthen its internal security, India is taking haste decisions that would ultimately prove wastage of public money and violation of their valuable civil liberties, says Praveen Dalal.

India has been at unrest due to internal security breaches in the form of terrorist attacks and other similar activities. India responded quickly, though wrongly, by planning an endemic e-surveillance model for strengthening its internal security. However, the real beginning of e-police State in India started only after the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 (IT Act 2008) was notified by the central government. It is really surprising that instead of strengthening and improving the sole cyber law of India, i.e. Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) the Indian government preferred to make it further weaker and making it an instrumentality of e-surveillance in India.

The problem is more severe as issues pertaining to data protection law in India, privacy rights protection in India, etc would arise in the very near future. We need to protect human rights in cyberspace as well as in real world while implementing various governmental projects.

Experts have been questioning the inadequacy of safeguards for prevention of abuses and violation of civil liberties by projects like unique identification (UID), national intelligence grid (NATGRID), etc.

The project executors, however, did no pay much heed to the same. The results were not difficult to anticipate. The Natgrid project has been stalled due to inadequate privacy safeguards and possibility of political misuse after experts like Praveen Dalal suggested inclusion of the same. According to him India must understand thoroughly that “Haste is a Waste” for UIDAI, NATGRID, CCTNS, and other similar important projects. The truth is that projects like UID, Natgrid, etc must comply with civil liberties protection in cyberspace and real world., says Praveen Dalal.

The sooner this fact is realised by Indian government the better it would be for all concerned, especially for the Indian citizens whose civil liberties are at great peril.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Centre For Protection Of Human Rights In Cyberspace Launched In India

The Natgrid Project of India has been stalled due to lack of safeguards as prescribed by techno-legal experts like Praveen Dalal. This has also shown that India has no legal framework for protection of civil liberties in cyberspace. Fortunately, Perry4Law has launched the first and exclusive Techno-Legal Human Rights Protection Centre in India. The basic purpose of this initiative is to strengthen the human rights protection in cyberspace that is increasingly violated by governments and private individuals alike. Further, the resource also intends to provide good and effective legal framework for protection of civil liberties in cyberspace.

Human Rights Protection in Cyberspace is a tricky issue. On the one hand we have to respect the civil liberties like right to privacy, right to speech and expression, right against Internet censorship, etc whereas on the other hand we have to comply with the State’s right to regulate its citizens and territories. Here comes the real problem as Internet or cyberspace is boundary less.

The problem is not unique to India alone but is a universal problem. Whether it is the “anonymity controversy” regarding Google or recent controversy regarding “censorship” by China or the blocking of the website of zone-h.org in India or any other similar incidence, governments all over the world are unable to cope up with the present information and communication technology (ICT) systems. As a result they are superimposing the traditional concepts to cyberspace resulting in absurd results, says Praveen Dalal, leading techno-legal expert of India.

There is an emergent need to formulate good techno-legal regulation regarding human right protection in cyberspace. We cannot blindly apply the traditional concepts to cyberspace and we need a separate and dedicate branch of techno-legal laws and regulation in this regard. In the Indian context one such initiative has already been undertaken by Perry4Law.

The initiative intends to provide a techno-legal framework to the stakeholders and governments. In the Indian context, it would cover those areas that have a tendency to violate human rights in real life as well as cyberspace. Some of the areas include Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) Project (CCTNS Project), National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India, E-Surveillance under the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and other laws, etc.

The “suggestions” of Praveen Dalal regarding privacy protection and prevention of potential misuse of information for political ends gathered through NATGRID have already been accepted by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of India. In the end, the CCS withheld its nod and asked the Home Ministry to come back after further consultation with all stakeholders.

Let us hope that the proposed initiative on protection of civil liberties in cyberspace would prove useful to all concerned.

SOURCE: GROUND REPORT

Inadequate Safeguards Stalled Natgrid Temporarily

The proposal to launch national intelligence grid (NATGRID) in India was recently considered by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of India. The CCS took a clue from precautionary advice given by techno-legal expert Praveen Dalal regarding the possible political misuse and violation of civil liberties of the Indian citizens. As a result, the CCS withheld its nod and asked the Home Ministry to come back after further consultation with all stakeholders and incorporating adequate safeguards in this regard.

A “dedicated resource” in this regard has been launched by Perry4Law in this regard that may be helpful for the Indian government while implementing projects like Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) Project (CCTNS Project), National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India, E-Surveillance under the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and other laws, etc.

The basic purpose of this initiative is to strengthen the human rights protection in cyberspace that is increasingly violated by governments and private individuals alike. Further, the resource also intends to provide good and effective legal framework for protection of civil liberties in cyberspace.

SOURCE: ITVOIR

Cabinet Committee On Security Of India Accepted Expert’s Suggestions On Natgrid

Recently the proposal to establish national intelligence grid (NATGRID) in India was considered by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) of India. However, the CCS was advised in advanced by techno-legal experts like Praveen Dalal regarding the possible political misuse and violation of civil liberties of the Indian citizens. As a result, the CCS withheld its nod and asked the Home Ministry to come back after further consultation with all stakeholders.

In the past Praveen Dalal has suggested that NATGRID is an essential requirement for robust and effective intelligence agencies and law enforcement functions in India. The only requirement is to ensure that its abuses can be anticipated, prevented and remedied.

The Home Ministry of India would now start fresh discussions with various stakeholders to ensure that NATGRID may not be abused in future. The task is difficult and it would be beneficial to consult good techno-legal experts in this regard.

The most important aspect that must be kept in mind by the government of India is that it must reconcile the national security aspects of India with human rights protection in cyberspace. This is a difficult task especially in the absence of a dedicate privacy law and data protection law in India, says Praveen Dalal.

A “dedicated resource” in this regard has been launched by Perry4Law [http://perry4law.com/hr/index.html] in this regard that may be helpful for the Indian government while implementing projects like Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) Project (CCTNS Project), National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) of India, E-Surveillance under the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act 2000) and other laws, etc.

SOURCE: MYNEWS

Is The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Legally Constituted?

India seems to be following the hit and trial method for some of the most crucial projects in India. The end result is obvious, i.e. wastage of crores of public money and violation of civil liberties of the Indian citizens. In this “guest column”, Mr. Praveen Dalal , Managing Partner of Perry4Law has shared his valuable insights in this regard.

India is notoriously infamous for creating authorities and agencies without any legal sanction and framework. Surprisingly, a majority of them pertains to law enforcement and intelligence agencies like CBI, IB, RAW, etc. What India is actually doing is using administrative circulars and executive orders to give legitimacy to these institutions. Why these circulars and orders have still not been declared “unconstitutional” by Indian judiciary is still a bigger mystery?

The latest in the league is the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI) managing the proposed Unique Identification Cards for Indian citizens. Where is that authority, what are its rules and regulations, what legal framework is supporting it, what are the legal and technical safeguards available for the possible misuse of the same, etc are some of the questions that would always vex the Indians.

It seems India has developed a habit of constituting “multiple agencies” without and legal framework and sanctions. This would result in more troubles than solutions. None can dispute that the unique identification number's database is too precious to be handled so casually.

On the front of security and safety of unique identification number's database, even Nandan Nilekani has accepted these concerns to be “legitimate one”. For instance, it would be a big task to secure such database from possible hacking and free from any misuse.

Invasion of Privacy of Indian citizens by Indian Government and its Agencies is certainly going to be there in future. This is more so when the Indian Government has openly declared its Policy to adopt endemic surveillance and e-surveillance over Indian citizens. The Indian Government would spend 800 Crores hard earned public money for tapping all phones in real time. Ironically, Indian citizens’ money would be used against Indian only and that also in an illegal and unconstitutional manner.

With the “Judicial Silence Strategy” adopted by the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court of India, the fate of the already scarce Privacy and Data Protection Rights in India is going to face extermination. It would be a good idea to call for explanation form Indian Government and stressing upon establishment of proper safeguards before departing with any sensitive information to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIAI).

Mr. Praveen Dalal, Managing Partner of Perry4Law, is the Leading Techno-Legal Specialist of India and is an Internationally renowned Expert in the fields of Cyber Forensics, Cyber Security, Cyber Law, etc. These are his personal views and opinion.

AUTHOR: PRAVEEN DALAL

SOURCE: MERINEWS