Report : Ranking Digital Rights in India

[This report, co-authored with Divij Joshi, was originally published by the Centre for Internet and Society, India on February 12, 2017]

This report is an attempt to evaluate the practices and policies of companies which provide internet infrastructure or internet services, and are integral intermediaries to the everyday experience of the internet in India.

The report studies five Indian telecommunication companies (Tata Communications Ltd., Reliance Communications Limited, Aircel Limited, Vodafone India Private Limited and Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited) and three Indian online service providers (Hike Messenger, Shaadi.com and Rediff.com).

The report draws upon the methodology of Ranking Digital Rights project, which analysed 16 of the world’s major internet companies, including internet services and telecommunications providers based on their commitment towards upholding human rights through their services — in particular towards their commitment to users’ freedom of expression and privacy. It assesses the performance of companies on various indicators related to these human rights, as per information which was made publicly available by these companies or was otherwise in the public domain. This report follows the methodology of the proposed 2017 Ranking Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index, updated as of October 2016.

The full report can be accessed here.