Indian news publishers, including Ambani and Adani firms, challenge privacy law in court
A group of 21 news publishers has taken India's digital privacy law to court, arguing that the absence of a media exemption threatens investigative reporting, press freedom and the confidentiality of journalists' sources.
New Delhi, India. Twenty-one news publishers, among them companies owned by billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, have filed a court challenge against India’s privacy law, documents show. They argue that the legislation would undermine investigative journalism and enable the authorities in New Delhi to identify journalists’ sources.
Background to the law
Last year the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that it was putting into effect a law protecting the digital personal data of users. The measure tightens compliance obligations for platforms such as Meta and Google. The publishers contend that, because media organisations receive no exemption, the law infringes on press freedom.
Consent and notification rules
Under the law, anyone who uses a person’s digital personal data must inform that person and obtain consent. This affects firms like Meta and Google, which commonly collect such consent when users register. Research, archiving and statistical work are carved out of the rules, but journalism is not.
The group representing the publishers, the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), says that obliging a reporter to notify the subject of an investigation “would allow that subject to destroy evidence, intimidate witnesses, or otherwise frustrate the story before publication.”
Withdrawal of consent
The law gives people the right to withdraw consent at any time. Once they do, the organisation holding their data must stop processing it and erase it within a reasonable period, unless a different law requires the data to be retained.
Because news reporting has no exemption, the publishers say the subjects of investigative stories could invoke this right “not to protect any legitimate privacy interest, but to burden or deter publishers.” They also fear that outlets could be compelled to take down, or heavily redact, accurate reports made in the public interest, which would change the historical public record.
Government information requests and source protection
The government may order any organisation that handles personal data to supply information it requests. The publishers say that, without an exemption for them, this provision extends to newsrooms.
If the government considers that disclosing such a request could endanger national security, the organisation can be prohibited from informing the person whose data is being handed over.
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