1) Defining Offensive: SC reserves verdict on pleas against 66A of IT Act, First Post. 2) Net Neutrality activists score landmark victory in fight to govern the Internet, Dominic Rushe, The Guardian. 3) Snapdeal has just been taken to court for selling vibrators, Manu Balachandran, Quartz India. 4) How the Military will fight ISIS on…
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…
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 government’s ban on Uber cabs and the issue of its compliance with the IT Act, 2000 or the Radio Taxi Scheme,…
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…
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.
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…
The Equations of Bots and the Law, Part I : Crimes and Torts
(Image Source: http://sites.psu.edu/periodicpostulations/2012/09/12/little-lost-robot/) One of the most interesting news items to come through the interwebs recently was the ‘seizure’ of a certain ‘art experiment’ in Switzerland. The bot, sadly unimaginatively named Random Darknet Shopper, lived up to its name by buying items randomly from Darknet marketplaces (with Bitcoins, interestingly) and shipping them to a gallery…
Editors' Picks (25/1/15)
1. The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence, Tim Urban, Wait But Why. 2. Searching for Sex, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, The New York Times. 3. How an Internet trolling victim bonded with her worst troll, Sam Machkovech, ARSTechnica. 4. Facebook’s impact on Indian economy pegged at $4 billion, Yuthika Bhargava, The Hindu. 5. China Cracks Down On VPN Services After Censorship System…
The Curious Case of Academic Journals
One of the prominent ways of ‘decorating’ our Curriculum Vitae (CV) is lacing it up with published research papers or articles in renowned academic journals. Not just students, but also teachers, scientists and academicians prefer submitting their works to noteworthy journals of their respective academic disciplines. In cases of public-funded research, the journals get the…
Spotify v. "Music"?
Controversy surrounded popular online music-streaming service Spotify after artist Taylor Swift pulled her entire catalog from it, and other prominent artists like Thom Yorke of Radiohead criticized it. The artists’ main issue with the service seems to be the fact that its revenue model is not artist-friendly, and threatens the music industry. Currently, Spotify is…