Censorship

The Editors Guild of India has submitted a representation to the ministry of electronics and information technology asking the Union government to exempt journalists from certain clauses of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDPA) as they violate the freedom of expression guaranteed under article 19 of the Constitution. The letter expresses the grave concerns about the impact of the recently enacted DPDPA on journalistic activities. Parliament passed the act last year and it will come into force once the Centre notifies dates.

The letter states that the enactment of the DPDPA inadvertently endangers freedom of the press, and if applied indiscriminately to the processing of personal data in a journalistic context, will bring journalism in the country to a standstill. “This will have a long-standing impact on the freedom of the press, and the dissemination of information not just in reporting in print, TV, and the internet, but also the mere issuance of press releases by all parties including political parties.”