Documentary filmmaker and an interdisciplinary multimedia researcher. Works across community, culture and digital rights of marginalized groups. Has built communities to develop Indian-language Wikipedias, mobilized Mozilla Campus Clubs across Asia so that students can use and contribute to Open Source, led large-scale content donations by negotiating with government entities and publishers, and shaped the open Internet landscape across Asia-Pacific. With a career spanning over a decade in nonprofits — including Wikimedia Foundation, Mozilla, Internet Society, Centre for Internet and Society — that safeguard the open Internet. Created documentaries for National Geographic on some of the languages that are facing imminent danger of extinction. Currently a Digital Identity Fellow at Yoti.
Views expressed here are personal and do not necessarily reflect the organizations Subhashish works for or is affiliated to. Connect on Twitter @subhapa.
Latest posts by Subhashish Panigrahi
India pushes for storage of private data using technology built for anonymity
As VPNs and blockchain-based services are often designed to assure user anonymity and privacy, this direction might force many service providers to shut down operations in India.
Pegasus spyware revelation indicates Indian state snooping on journalists, activists and politicians
The Pegasus Project released a report detailing the potential hacking and surveillance of more than 1,000 activists, journalists and politicians from India using the Israeli-made spyware, Pegasus.
Social media companies could be liable for user-generated content in India
Twitter in India has found itself outside the “safe harbour” that otherwise would have protected itself legally from being implicated for the content generated by its users.
India's digital ID system deepens exclusion of vulnerable communities amid pandemic
The use of Aadhaar-based authentication makes exclusions more likely.
Coronavirus and surveillance technology in India: Public health vs. privacy
Global Voices interviewed rights lawyer Mishi Choudhary and tech and policy researcher Srinivas Kodali to discuss the newest proposal in India to use unique ID data for #FacialRecognition with drones.
Is India fighting COVID-19 the “mass surveillance” way?
"There isn’t enough information available on what data will be collected, how long will it be stored and what uses it will be put to."
#MarginalizedAadhaar: Is India's Aadhaar enabling more exclusion in social welfare for marginalized communities?
India's biometric-based digital ID Aadhaar seems to bring more exclusion to marginalized communities rather than solving it.
What do we know about the ‘Great Firewall of India’?
After a six-month-long internet shutdown, access to only 301 white-listed websites has been granted in Jammu and Kashmir, whereas social media, VPNs and many other sites remain banned.
India bans China's TikTok for “degrading culture and encouraging pornography”
People in India have been banned from downloading TikTok, a hugely popular quick video-sharing app based in China.
India's biometric ID system takes more heat, after Google admits it coded helpline numbers into Android phones
With a growing list of incidents of system malfunctions and personal data leaks, Aadhaar has failed to gain public trust.
Indian Government Threatens to Revoke Media Accreditation Over ‘Fake News’
New federal guidelines in India which states that journalists can lose accreditation if found spreading "fake" or "uncomfortable" news raises an issue of media-surveillance.
‘Privacy is a Fundamental Right': Advocates Hail India's Supreme Court Ruling
The ruling followed multiple citizen petitions that challenged the government's move to make Aadhaar -- India's national digital ID system -- mandatory for various social welfare benefits.
Indian Techies Work To Detect Fake WhatsApp And Facebook messages
Many of the new users do not yet know how to differentiate between authentic sources and fake or malicious ones.
India's Open Tech Communities Work to Increase Public Knowledge of Online Privacy
Over the past year, free and open source communities in India have built a campaign to increase public understanding of online privacy issues both with online and public outreach events.
Indians Ask: Is Visiting a Torrent Site Really A Crime?
"Thousands of cases pending, criminals roaming scott free. That's fine. Lets arrest people who download #torrents"
Draft Law Would Prohibit Showing ‘Disputed Areas’ on Maps of India
A new bill in India has been proposed to ban anyone to call the Pakistan and China borders as "disputed areas" along with several other restrictions.
“A Good Day for the Internet Everywhere”: India Bans Differential Data Pricing
Indian Telecom Regulatory Authority bans differential data pricing and Facebook's large plans for Free Basics come to an end.
Millions of Indians Slam Facebook's ‘Free Basics’ App
With two weeks of public advertisements, Facebook would have got the maximum opposition in India so far in rolling a free access to its products called Free Basics.
How India's Porn Ban Backfired And “Brought the Entire Nation Together”
India's overreaching ban on pornography sites was lifted less than a week after it was laid down, in the wake of heavy criticism. But the mockery of government continues.
India's Supreme Court Axes Online Censorship Law, But Challenges Remain
People in India are cheering after the Indian Supreme Court struck down IT Act Section 66A, calling it a violation of free expression.