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Chinmayi Arun is the Executive Director of the Information Society Project and a Lecturer in Law (Spring '24) at Yale Law School. Her research focuses on global platform governance, social media, algorithmic decision-making, the data economy and privacy, within the larger universe of questions raised by law’s relationship with the information society.  She is interested in how these questions affect marginalized populations, especially in the Majority World.

Before arriving at Yale, Arun was Assistant Professor of Law at two of the most highly regarded law schools in India. During that time, she also founded and led  the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi. Arun has served as a Human Rights Officer (temporary appointment) at the United Nations, where she worked on questions of privacy, online speech and artificial intelligence, as well as on advisory committees of international bodies like UNESCO and UN Global Pulse. She has also advised governmental entities and served on the boards of non-profit entities.


Projects & Tools

Digital Asia Hub

The Digital Asia Hub is an independent, non-profit Internet and society research think tank based in Hong Kong.

Past

Harmful Speech Online

The Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society is in the third year of a research, policy analysis, and network building effort devoted to the study of harmful speech, in close…

Privacy Initiatives

The Berkman Klein Center has long been home to a number of cross-disciplinary initiatives that investigate privacy and privacy-relevant questions in the digitally networked…


Publications

Publication
Dec 8, 2016

Preliminary Findings on Online Hate Speech and the Law in India

This briefing paper outlines preliminary issues that we noted while conducting a detailed study of hate speech laws in India. It teases out some of the major concerns that arise…


Community

The Washington Post

Tech giants banned Trump. But did they censor him?

Chinmayi Arun discusses the consequences for democracy if major social media platforms arbitrarily blocked political leaders.

Jan 7, 2022
Just Security

Facebook Oversight Board’s Decision on Trump Ban in a Global Context: The Treatment of Political Leaders

Chinmayi Arun examines the Oversight Board’s decision in the context of the options before it.

May 17, 2021
Lawfare

Chinmayi Arun on India and the Future of the Internet

Chinmayi Arun joins the Lawfare podcast to discuss India and the future of the Internet.

Feb 18, 2021
The New York Times

The Internet Is Splintering

Chinmayi Arun and evelyn douek discuss Internet governance in The New York Times.

Feb 17, 2021
Just Security

The Facebook Oversight Board: An Experiment in Self-Regulation

Chinmayi Arun says Oversight Board might be the most interesting development in social media self-regulation in a decade

May 6, 2020
Interpreting India

Applications and Ethics of AI with Chinmayi Arun

Chinmayi Arun in conversation about the applications of AI and the ethical debates surrounding its use on the podcast Interpreting India.

Jan 8, 2020
Scroll.in

Facebook’s new Oversight Board is a step forward – but it can’t help Kashmiris

If Facebook decides incorrectly that local laws in India require it to silence Kashmiri calls for self-determination, the Board will not be able to review this.

Oct 17, 2019
Lawfare

Safety and Security in a Digital World

Chinmayi Arun hosts a discussion with Microsoft President during 2019 Verify Conference

Jun 12, 2019
SSRN

AI and the Global South: Designing for Other Worlds

Chinmayi Arun on how AI affects, and will continue to affect, the Global South

Jun 9, 2019
Washington Post

India may be witnessing the next ‘WhatsApp election’ — and the stakes couldn’t be higher

On the heels of a Brazilian electoral process that was marked by outrageous disinformation campaigns, India may be witnessing the world’s next “WhatsApp election.”

Apr 24, 2019
Economic and Political Weekly

On WhatsApp, Rumours, and Lynchings

In the last decade, India has seen multiple rounds of communal violence in which rumour and information technology played a role

Feb 9, 2019
Scroll.in

The ‘Purdah’ amendment

Proposed changes to the IT Act could draw a veil over the Indian internet

"The planned changes will undermine freedom of expression and privacy online, weakening Indian democracy itself."

Jan 23, 2019
The Print

36 brilliant Indian women

Chinmayi Arun's work on law and technology in India earned her a place on Salil Tripathi's list of 36 brilliant Indian women for The Print

Dec 28, 2018
New York Times

Inside Facebook’s Secret Rulebook for Global Political Speech

Under fire for stirring up distrust and violence, the social network has vowed to police its users. But leaked documents raise serious questions about its approach.

Dec 26, 2018
Council on Foreign Relations

Three Problems with India’s Draft Data Protection Bill

India is attempting to create a complex new framework for data protection that will require firms to physically host user data, but they might be moving too fast.

Oct 3, 2018
Video

AI Threats to Civil Liberties and Democracy

Chinmayi Arun of the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University, Delhi

Chinmayi Arun discusses the challenges unchecked AI development could pose to civil liberties in Asia.

Jan 11, 2017

Events

Mar 5, 2024 @ 12:15 PM

Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State

RSM Speaker Series

RSM welcomes Chinmayi Arun, Anupam Chander, and Haochen Sun for a conversation launching Data Sovereignty: From the Digital Silk Road to the Return of the State, a new open access…

Event
Apr 23, 2019 @ 12:00 PM

How to Work with Tech Companies on Human Rights

Insights from a decade of multi-stakeholder collaboration (and an argument with Steve Jobs)

PODCAST & VIDEO: In conversation with Chinmayi Arun, David Sullivan draws upon a decade of work with technology companies (and a heated argument with Steve Jobs) to offer insights…

Apr 9, 2019 @ 12:00 PM

Constitutionalizing Speech Platforms

Featuring Kate Klonick and Thomas Kadri with members of the BKC community

PODCAST & VIDEO: We're never going to get a global set of norms for online speech but do the platforms pick our global values and constitutionalize them? Something to tie them to…

Event
Sep 29, 2018 @ 4:00 PM

NETIZENS

Boston Women's Film Festival

A screening of the film NETIZENS, followed by a panel discussion led by Kendra Albert, a clinical instructional fellow at the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard Law School.