Centre for Internet & Society

What Centre for Internet & Society does

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is a Bangalore-headquartered, India-based non-profit interdisciplinary research organization, established circa 2008-2009, conducting policy and academic research on internet and digital technologies. CIS does not sell commercial products; instead it operates six structured research programmes — Accessibility, Access to Knowledge (A2K), Openness, Internet Governance, Telecom, and researchers@work (r@w) — that produce publications, policy submissions, empirical studies, conference proceedings, and community engagement outputs. The organization has built an archive exceeding 1,300 articles and reports, with notable empirical outputs including a 3,784-respondent study on digital financial risks and a 2,128-survey occupational health study of app-based transport workers.

CIS's revenue mechanics are grant-based: funding flows from a roster of international philanthropic foundations — Wikimedia Foundation (core A2K funder since September 2012), Mozilla Foundation, Google.org, Privacy International, Omidyar Network, Internet Society Foundation, and the Association for Progressive Communications — alongside institutional donations to its corpus fund. Distribution is entirely open-access: outputs are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 via the cis-india.org website, Wikimedia Commons, the Medium-hosted r@w blog, and conference channels including RightsCon and the annual Internet Researchers' Conference (IRC). CIS serves policymakers and regulators (MeitY, DoT, TRAI, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities), international bodies (WIPO, ITU, UN Special Rapporteur), civil society and Wikimedia communities, and marginalized constituencies including persons with disabilities, gig workers, and gender/sexual minorities. The organization's value proposition lies in its interdisciplinary legal-technical-social science perspective, its sustained role as a trusted civil-society voice in Indian digital policy consultations, and its bridge function between academia, government, and open-knowledge movements.

Name

Centre for Internet & Society

Legal name

The Centre for Internet and Society

Website

https://cis-india.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is a Bangalore-based non-profit research organization conducting interdisciplinary policy research on internet governance, digital accessibility, telecom, open knowledge, and platform labour, serving Indian policymakers, international bodies, civil society, and marginalized digital-rights constituencies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Policy Research

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights (BPADAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Minority, Indigenous & Disability Rights (BPADAGAH), Special Education & Accessibility-Optimized Media (UDL, AAC, Captioning) (EDAGALAH)

Keywords

• Internet policy research
• Digital rights advocacy
• Accessibility research
• Internet governance
• Open knowledge

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangalore

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: CIS receives grants from international foundations including Mozilla Foundation, Wikimedia Foundation, Google.org, Privacy International, and Omidyar Network to fund specific research projects and initiatives.
2. Institutional Donations: The organization accepts charitable contributions towards its Institutional Corpus Fund, with donations accepted via online payment and cheque.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is a non-profit research and advocacy organization that conducts research, publishes reports, and engages in policy interventions on internet governance, digital rights, accessibility, access to knowledge, and openness. It produces academic and policy outputs and convenes stakeholders across government, civil society, academia, and industry in India and globally.

Product overview

Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is a non-profit interdisciplinary research organization focused on internet and digital technologies from policy and academic perspectives. Rather than a commercial product company, CIS operates structured research programmes covering Access to Knowledge, Openness, Internet Governance, Telecom, Accessibility, and researchers@work. These programmes produce publications, policy analysis, advocacy, and community initiatives rather than commercial software products. The organization also produces the 'In Flux' podcast on technology and policy topics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CIS-A2K (Access to Knowledge Programme): CIS-A2K is the Access to Knowledge project at CIS, which works towards catalysing the growth of the open knowledge movement in South Asia and Indic languages. It has been funded by the Wikimedia Foundation since September 2012.

Products and services

• Internet Governance Research Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,784 users surveyed + 18 interviews + 7 focus group discussions on digital financial risks
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wikimedia FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2012Since September 2012, CIS has been actively involved in growing the open knowledge movement in India through a Wikimedia Foundation grant. The CIS-A2K team works to catalyze growth of the open knowledge movement in South Asia and Indic languages, spanning 5 language areas (Kannada, Konkani, Marathi, Odia, and Telugu) and multiple Wikimedia projects.
• Mozilla FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMozilla Foundation has funded multiple CIS research initiatives including work on open source software security and voice interface accessibility. Sponsored research on State of Openness in India's E-Governance Applications and Making Voices Heard study on privacy and inclusivity of voice interfaces.
• Privacy InternationalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-year research partnership on Privacy in Asia (2010-2012) and SAFEGUARD project (2013-2015) on surveillance and freedom. Also supported research on gender, welfare, and surveillance. CIS engaged with national, regional and international policy dialogues on privacy.
• Association for Progressive CommunicationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Feminist Internet Research Network, supporting CIS research on platform modalities in domestic and care work in India (2019-2021). Domestic Workers' Rights Union served as co-researchers.
• G3ict (Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-published the e-Accessibility Policy Handbook for Persons with Disabilities and multiple publications on accessibility policy including Universal Service for Persons with Disabilities survey and Web Accessibility Policy Making guide.
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on mobile accessibility guidelines and e-accessibility policy research. Co-published Making Mobile Phones and Services Accessible for Persons with Disabilities.
• ASPI (Australian Strategic Policy Institute)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership on Tech Diplomacy initiative, collaborating on technology and policy discussions between India and Australia.
• International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with ITF's New Delhi office and Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT) on occupational health and safety of app-based transport workers, conducting 2,128 surveys across 6 major cities.
• Society in Action GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the two-year Privacy in Asia research project (2010-2012) alongside Privacy International.
• Whose Knowledge?minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating on State of the Internet's Languages report with Oxford Internet Institute and CIS to demonstrate the need for a multilingual internet.
• Oxford Internet InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration on State of the Internet's Languages report to create baseline research on internet multilingualism.
• Data & SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCIS essay on platform economy's gatekeeping featured in Data & Society anthology 'The Formalization of Social Precarities' edited by Murali Shanmugavelan and Aiha Nguyen.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Internet Democracy Project: India-focused non-profit research and advocacy organisation working on internet freedom, gender, and digital rights. Directly comparable in size, mission, and policy-submission approach.
• Privacy International: UK-based non-profit that researches and advocates against state and corporate surveillance. Already a CIS partner on SAFEGUARD and Privacy in Asia projects, sharing mission and methodology.
• Access Now: Global digital rights organisation defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk. Directly comparable through work on internet freedom, privacy, and policy advocacy including at WIPO and UN mechanisms.
• IT for Change: India-based non-profit working on digital rights, internet governance, and gender/development in the digital economy. Closest direct peer to CIS with overlapping policy research and government consultation work in India.
• G3ict (Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs): UN-affiliated initiative advocating for digital accessibility for persons with disabilities. Direct co-publisher with CIS on the e-Accessibility Policy Handbook and shared accessibility-policy mandate.
• ARTICLE 19: International human rights organisation working on freedom of expression and information, with active India and South Asia programmes. Strong overlap with CIS on WIPO engagement, intermediary liability, and digital rights submissions.

Regional players

• Digital Rights Foundation (Pakistan): Pakistan-based non-profit working on digital rights, gender, and internet freedom. Comparable in mission and South Asia regional scope, with similar size and policy-submission approach.

Broad incumbents

• Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF): Larger US-based digital civil liberties organisation working on internet freedom, privacy, and open access. Broader scope and resources but comparable advocacy and research function on internet governance.

Others

• Wikimedia Foundation: US-based non-profit that operates Wikipedia and funds open knowledge. Funder and partner to CIS-A2K programme since 2012; comparable in non-profit open-knowledge mission though vastly larger in scale.
• Mozilla Foundation: Non-profit arm of Mozilla that funds internet health research, including CIS's work on open source software security and voice interface accessibility. Adjacent funder/peer with shared open-internet values.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cis_india
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC0SLNXQo9XQGUE7Enujr9Ng
• Instagraminstagram.com/cis.india
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centre-for-internet-and-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Internet & Society