Two leading media organisations, the DIGIPUB News India Foundation and the Editors Guild of India, have strongly criticised the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, notified by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on November 15, warning that the new regime seriously undermines press freedom, weakens the Right to Information Act, 2005, and exposes journalists to onerous compliance requirements.
The Rules, which operationalise the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDPA), have been brought into force in a phased manner over 18 months. While the government has so far enforced only provisions relating to the constitution of the Data Protection Board and its enforcement powers, media bodies contend that the broader framework of the Act and Rules collectively jeopardises independent journalism.
In a detailed statement, DIGIPUB said the legislation “cripples the Right to Information Act, one of the most important legislations for democratic accountability” and creates “a regulatory framework that endangers journalism”. It pointed out that journalists have been excluded from any statutory exemption, while the State has been granted wide access and enforcement powers, opening the door to indirect censorship and disproportionate surveillance of legitimate newsgathering.
The organisation highlighted that Section 44(3) of the DPDPA effectively substitutes Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, removing the crucial public-interest override that allowed disclosure of personal information when warranted by larger public interest. “This makes access to information even more restrictive,” DIGIPUB noted.
Both DIGIPUB and the Editors Guild had repeatedly raised these concerns during the consultative process. DIGIPUB had submitted formal objections to the removal of the journalistic carve-out first introduced in earlier drafts of the Bill and later dropped. Representatives had also met the MeitY Secretary to present their apprehensions. The Guild, along with other media bodies, had posed 35 specific questions seeking legally tenable safeguards for journalistic activities.
Despite assurances in August 2025 that the Ministry would issue detailed FAQs to address the concerns of journalists and RTI activists, no such clarification has been released till date. “This reflects a serious departure from the democratic consultative process expected in delegated legislation,” DIGIPUB said, terming the Rules “a serious threat to the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a)” and an “unreasonable, constitutionally suspect burden on independent media”.
The Editors Guild echoed similar apprehensions, stating that ambiguous obligations around consent could force newsrooms into over-compliance, impeding routine reportage and chilling accountability journalism. “Without explicit exemptions or clarifying guidance, journalistic activities could be interpreted as ‘processing’ requiring individual consent, thereby hindering public-interest investigations and source confidentiality,” the Guild warned.
Urging the Ministry to immediately issue a categorical clarification exempting bona fide journalistic activity from the consent and notice requirements, the Guild emphasised that while data protection remains a vital objective, it must be balanced with constitutional guarantees of free speech and the public’s right to know.
As the Rules begin to take effect, the absence of safeguards for the press has left media organisations apprehensive that the new data protection regime, instead of merely regulating digital platforms, may inadvertently—or deliberately—curtail the media’s ability to hold power to account.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
