Month: February 2015

Editors' Picks (17/02/15)

1) The great Internet swindle: ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated? Jon Henley, The Guardian.

2) Google boss warns of ‘forgotten century’ with e-mails and photos at risk, Ian Sample, The Guardian.

3) Can Twitter fix its harassment problems without losing its soul? Rachel Metz, MIT Technology Review.

4) Millions of Facebook users have no idea they are using the Internet, Leo Mirani, Quartz.

5) Digital India Programme: Government rolls out beta version of ‘digital locker’, Neha Alawadhi, The Economic Times.

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Uber – Into the New Tomorrow

[Image Source: http://flic.kr/p/jyCqcH]

The rapid influx of technology has in recent times forced various firms to revamp their respective business models. The taxi industry is no exception. In this blog post, I will discuss the Delhi government’s ban on Uber cabs and the issue of its compliance with the IT Act, 2000 or the Radio Taxi Scheme, 2006. I will analyze the ban on the lines of the economic concept of ‘entry costs’. I will also deliberate on the need for leveling the play field between both, the radio cab operators and the taxi ‘app’ companies.

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Editors' Picks (8/2/15)

1. We Can Now Build Autonomous Killing Machines. And That’s a Very, Very Bad Idea, Rober McMillan, WIRED.

2. Blocking online porn: who should make Constitutional decisions about freedom of speech?, Chinmayi Arun, Scroll.in.

3. Office Puts Microchips Under Employees’ Skin, Luke Karmali, IGN.

4. Why economists are wrong about tech, Michael Baxter, The Next Web.

5. Watch Vestigen’s Project Ara Sensors Show How Modular Smartphones Could Change The World, Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch.

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Editors' Picks (01/02/15)

1. Securing a future for Digital India, Arun Mohan Sukumar, The Hindu.

2. SC orders Google, Yahoo! And Microsoft to stop advertisements relating to sex determination, Apoorva Mandhani, LiveLaw.

3. Drone maker to add no-fly firmware to prevent future White House buzzing, Sean Gallagher, ARSTechnica.

4. The Pirate Bay is live once again,  Selena Larson, DailyDot.

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Supreme Court on Non-Discrimination in Call Networks – An Argument for Indian Network Neutrality

(Image Source: http://flipthemedia.com/2014/01/net-neutrality-rules-are-dead-for-now-why-should-students-care/)

In an incredibly interesting judgement, the Supreme Court has on 30th January, in the case of Cellular Operators Association Of India & Ors. v. Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India & Ors., stated that providing different rates for calls to private Telecom Service Providers in comparison to those for calls to BSNL/MTNL violated of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. What is curious here is the implication that this case might have for Network Neutrality. The following is my argument in the same vein.

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