Advocacy statements

IT for Change was invited to participate in the 'National Consultation on SDGs through a Gender Lens', organised by Women 2030 in June 2017.

The Just Net Coalition (JNC) has sent an open letter to Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, voicing its objection to World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) official recommendation of Encrypted Media Extensions (EME). The use of EME, developed by W3C, poses a risk to billions of people's security and privacy, and restricts their access to information. EME's allow publishers to use Digital Rights Management/Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), a dangerous code installed on users' device without their consent. This in turn gives publishers control over what end-users do with their content.

IT for Change submitted comments to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the Consultation Paper on Net Neutrality. We urge the development of "Core Principles of Net Neutrality" based on human rights, equity and social justice.

IT for Change participated in the National Consultation for reviewing the Zero draft of the Agreed Conclusions of the 61st Session of the CSW, convened by Programme on Women's Economic Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR) in February 2017. The submission highlights the need to work towards the larger agenda of building a gender-just digital economy. It argues that women's economic empowerment in the digital society is much more than access.

IT for Change made a submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in response to the call for comments on the Pre-Consultation Paper on Cloud Computing. The response at the outset stresses that any discussions on the digital, like cloud computing, must be made in awareness of the fact that the digital is transforming all social systems and institutions and a new regulatory framework will be required to take such a wider view of the involved public interest

IT for Change made a submission, in response to the Call for Inputs from the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on ways to bridge the gender digital divide from a Human Rights perspective.

IT for Change submitted comments on the draft general comment on state obligations under the ICESCR in the context of business activities. The submission asserted the need for an immediate and appropriate regulatory response to platform-companies, who have increasingly become key actors in every sector.

As part of the Asia Pacific Regional CSO Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM), IT for Change is developing a collective stance on the progress towards Agenda 2030 to be presented at the High Level Political forum (HLPF), 2017. The theme of the this years' review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals is "Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world".

Anita Gurumurthy, Executive Director, IT for Change was invited to be part of a committee to make recommendations to the Government of Karnataka on the issue of violence against women for a 10 point strategy that the state proposes to adopt. As follow up to the meeting, IT for Change made a submission, focussed mainly on the realities of the digital context.

Statement issued by 8 Indian civil society organisations, supported by two key global networks, involved with Internet governance issues, to the meeting of ICANN in Hyderabad, India, from 3 rd to 9 th November, 2016