Conclusion and Way Forward

Philanthropy can play a catalytic role in creating a safe and inclusive digital society. This can be achieved through collaborative interventions aligned with the stage of evolution of the ecosystem’s response to a particular risk.

Internet penetration is progressing at a fast pace to reach about 900 mn Indians by 2025.141 It is essential to address the potential risks associated with the digital society so that the individuals are able to reap its benefits to the fullest potential. The mainstream technology and philanthropic ecosystem have been actively working on these risks in the last few years. As a result of this work, the Indian ecosystem has evolved significantly. However, much more still needs to be done.

Creating tangible impact in a complex interconnected system requires working collaboratively and building consensus among all stakeholders. Moreover, different stages of evolution need specific interventions based on the level of awareness, presence of regulations, and maturity of solutions available across the private and public sectors. In early stages, building vocabulary and awareness is helpful, and as the ecosystem gets more mature, piloting solutions and supporting effective implementation of solutions becomes more important. The exhibit below shows the illustrative opportunities that can be deployed in each of the risks to evolve the ecosystem further. RISK

Misinformation and fake news

Emerging

Use relatable and vernacular channels such as radio, TV shows , movies and social media to spread awareness and build capability of large sections of population to identify and combat misinformation.

Build strong regulatory / oversight mechanisms and mandates to strike the right balance between misinformation and censorship and for effective grievance redressal.

Fund proof of concept of technology tools, solutions, and processes that can address misinformation in local and slang languages.

Online harassment

Mainstream

While most of the risks are understood, creating a shared regulatory vocabulary for problematic content that is consistent and exhaustive so as to cover largescale issues such as online misogyny and harassment will help improve redressal of complaints.

Support evidence building towards strengthening existing regulations that include aspects such as morphing of images, into the ambit of the law. Dedicated institutional bodies for resolving online harassment concerns are needed to combat the growing number of online harassment cases.

Fund and support proof of concept for technology add-ons in social media apps for building capacity of Indian users to recognise online harassment and protect themselves. These technologies should be adept at identifying local and slang languages to help users in all ways.

Negative impact on mental wellbeing

Emerging Conduct credible and pan-India research and collect large-scale datasets on the impact of digitisation on mental wellbeing in the Indian context.

Fund proof of concept for innovative technology solutions that combat wellbeing concerns rising due to internet and social media usage, such as anxiety, addiction, and depression.

Exclusion from digitally delivered services

Mainstream

Partner with grassroots organisations to understand the exclusion challenges and fund proof of concept for technology solutions to minimise verification/authentication errors.

Use the learnings from Aadhaar to conduct data protection impact assessment before linking other digital IDs.

Build narratives of best practices on digital IDs to build capacity of policymakers for building better digital IDs going forward.

Risk of surveillance due to emerging technologies

Nascent Conduct and disseminate research among users and policymakers to shared understanding of the manifestation and magnitude of potential and risk of FRTs in the Indian context.

Conduct extensive research to understand the impact on data protection for each of these technologies, and create a repository that can be used as a reference before the technologies are adopted for law enforcement in the Indian context.

Fund fellowships or skilling programmes to increase awareness among practitioners (programmers, entrepreneurs, public policy experts), to create a strong community of responsible technology actors.

Data security breaches and online frauds

Mainstream

Create a strong ecosystem of cybersecurity professionals that work on building a white hat culture, conduct preventive assessments to avoid private sector negligence.

Support capacity building of public institutions and safeguards.

Provide incubation support to innovators where they can test out their innovations and develop proofs of concepts. Incubation support can include tools such as synthetic data assets, Application Programming Interface (API) marketplaces, a coding environment, and access to expert mentors and observers.

Fund and support innovative, easy-to-use encryption and password-less identity and access management products that can serve mid-market clients and promote decentralised data management.

Fund and support digital risk management platforms that help companies detect cybersecurity threats.

Non-consensual or unauthorised data collection, sharing and usage