(No.148) INTERMEDIARIES ON THE INTERNET - INSTRUMENTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OR CRUSADERS OF FREEDOM AND PRIVACY?

The proposed workshop will look at the recent emergence of intermediaries across the globe and the role that intermediaries are today playing in the context of free flow of information, access to information and with respect of human rights. What are the various rights, obligations and duties of intermediaries? What kind of due diligence are intermediaries expected to exercise and whether intermediaries are acting as an impediment to Internet freedom? Are law-enforcement agencies using intermediaries to force them to give access to information which needs to be only given on issuance of court orders? The role of intermediaries in the context of Arab Spring Revolution and the suppressionist regimes has assumed all the more significance. Can the intermediaries be seen as votaries of Internet freedom or do they guarantee free flow of information access to information or protection of basic human rights? Are intermediaries used as an instrument to crush popular feelings and free flow of information? What should the future responsibilities and obligations of intermediaries in the context of the converged environment? How can intermediaries help to further not being impacted by new technical and political instruments on the free flow of information access to information and with respect to human rights? These and other related questions would be sought to be covered under the proposed workshop.