Centre for Internet & Society
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.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2008
- HeadquartersBangalore, India
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
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.
Centre for Internet & Society firmographics
Firmographics- 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
Centre for Internet & Society industry classification
Industry- 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
Where Centre for Internet & Society is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bangalore
- HQ country
- India
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Centre for Internet & Society business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- 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.
- 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
Centre for Internet & Society product offering
Product offeringCore 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
Companies that use Centre for Internet & Society
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Centre for Internet & Society technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Centre for Internet & Society partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Wikimedia FoundationcoreSince 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 FoundationcoreMozilla 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 InternationalcoreMulti-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 CommunicationscorePartnership 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)coreCo-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)corePartnership 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)minorPartnership on Tech Diplomacy initiative, collaborating on technology and policy discussions between India and Australia.
- International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)coreResearch 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 GroupminorPartner in the two-year Privacy in Asia research project (2010-2012) alongside Privacy International.
- Whose Knowledge?minorCollaborating on State of the Internet's Languages report with Oxford Internet Institute and CIS to demonstrate the need for a multilingual internet.
- Oxford Internet InstituteminorResearch collaboration on State of the Internet's Languages report to create baseline research on internet multilingualism.
- Data & SocietyminorCIS 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
Centre for Internet & Society competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect 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
Centre for Internet & Society social profiles
Digital presenceCentre for Internet & Society financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Centre for Internet & Society leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Centre for Internet & Society funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Centre for Internet & Society M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Centre for Internet & Society
What does Centre for Internet & Society do?
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.
Is Centre for Internet & Society a public or private company?
Centre for Internet & Society is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Centre for Internet & Society founded?
Centre for Internet & Society was founded in 2008. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Centre for Internet & Society based?
Centre for Internet & Society is headquartered in Bangalore, India, in the Asia region.
How does Centre for Internet & Society make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Foundation Grants are the primary driver. The others are institutional Donations.
Who are Centre for Internet & Society's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Internet Democracy Project, Privacy International, Access Now, IT for Change, G3ict (Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs) and ARTICLE 19. Digital Rights Foundation (Pakistan) is listed as a regional player. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is listed as a broad incumbent. Others are Wikimedia Foundation and Mozilla Foundation.
Does Centre for Internet & Society have an API?
No public API is recorded for Centre for Internet & Society.
What industry is Centre for Internet & Society in?
Centre for Internet & Society's product category is Internet Policy Research. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAGAE, Media Freedom, Access to Information & Digital Rights, with a secondary code of BPADAGAH, Minority, Indigenous & Disability Rights. Its NAICS code is 813311 and its SIC code is 8600.