India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the government’s response to a challenge by news publishers who say changes to data privacy rules threaten press freedom.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government introduced the rules last year to guide the law to strengthen personal data protection, but critics say their sweeping scope risks undermining public interest reporting.
The new rules “fail to provide any exemption in favor of journalistic activity” and “threaten the full spectrum of journalistic activity,” according to the petition by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which represents some of India’s biggest news organizations.
They include Network18, part of the Reliance conglomerate led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, and NDTV, owned by the Adani Group, founded by Gautam Adani -- two tycoons who are both close to Modi.
“We think it could have an impact on investigative journalism and compromise sources,” Sujata Gupta of the DNPA told AFP.
Data privacy laws in several parts of the world, including the European Union, provide specific exemptions for journalism.
The law’s requirement to disclose all personal data processed, without a public interest exemption, would “seriously hinder investigative reporting and could discourage whistleblowers from coming forward,” international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said in a statement.
Independent activists and smaller news organizations have also challenged provisions removing exemptions for personal information sought under India’s Right To Information (RTI) transparency law.
“The removal of the public interest override... of the RTI Act now allows information offices of the government to withhold information that is deemed ‘personal’ even if it has significant connection to a public activity or public interest,” argues a legal challenge filed by investigative news website, The Reporters’ Collective.
Critics have long accused Modi’s Hindu nationalist government of undermining press freedom, a charge it denies. The court will next hear the matter on November 17.
