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The Digital News Publishers Association has moved the Supreme Court of India against the digital data protection law, saying it could make it harder for journalists to investigate wrongdoing and preserve confidential sources. Twenty one news publishers, including large media companies like The Hindu, Times of India, Indian Express, Mathrubhumi, Manorama, India Today, NDTV and Network18 have approached the court through DNPA. The DNPA, which represents the publishers, has sought the removal of provisions it says threaten press freedom.
Several media organisations like Reporters Collective and Digipub had already challenged the law.
The petition, filed by DNPA on October 6, challenges parts of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and the rules notified in 2025. It is among the most prominent legal challenges to the law, which is intended to regulate the processing of individuals’ digital personal data. Most of the disputed provisions are scheduled to take effect in May 2027.
Their challenge centres on the absence of a specific exemption for journalistic work, despite assurances from the government that press freedom would be protected.
The DNPA argues that the law could force reporters to seek permission from people they are investigating before processing their personal information. Such a requirement, it says, could alert those under scrutiny and give them an opportunity to destroy evidence or intimidate witnesses before a story is published.
The association has also questioned provisions allowing individuals to withdraw consent and demand the erasure of their personal data. Without an explicit safeguard for reporting in the public interest, publishers could face demands to remove or substantially alter factual news reports, the petition argues.
The consequences, according to the DNPA, could extend beyond individual stories. If sources fear that information shared with journalists could eventually be disclosed or erased, they may be less willing to provide evidence of corruption, corporate wrongdoing or electoral malpractice.
The petition challenges Section 36 of the Act, read with Rule 23 and the Seventh Schedule of the rules, which empower the Union government to seek information from organisations handling personal data. The DNPA argues that the provision lacks clear limits and adequate safeguards, including judicial oversight and requirements to establish necessity and proportionality.
It warns that the power could be used to identify confidential sources and access communications between reporters and informants. The association has also challenged the government’s authority to block access to information in the interests of the general public, arguing that this could be used to restrict press freedom.
The DNPA has further contested an amendment to the Right to Information Act, 2005, introduced through Section 44(3) of the data protection law. It argues that the amendment places personal information beyond disclosure and could impede access to information concerning public offices.
In its petition, the association said the law was inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s recognition of privacy as a fundamental right, arguing that its provisions also restricted the right to information and freedom of speech and expression. It said the framework failed to distinguish journalistic activity from other forms of personal data processing.
The group had raised its concerns with the government in August, arguing that broad exemptions had been granted to the state without equivalent written protections for the press. It has pointed to data protection frameworks in the European Union, Singapore and the United Kingdom, which provide specific safeguards for journalism.
The government has maintained that India has a vibrant media ecosystem and has rejected international criticism of its press freedom record.
The Supreme Court’s consideration of the challenge will address the competing claims around personal privacy and the public’s right to information. The publishers are asking the court to strike down the contested provisions before most of them come into force in 2027.
