Supreme Court Seeks Response on Publishers’ Data Law Challenge

The Supreme Court of India on October 27 issued notice to the Union government on the Digital News Publishers Association’s challenge to the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and its accompanying rules, but declined to grant interim relief before hearing the government. The case is scheduled for further hearing on November 17. The court has not ruled on the merits of the challenge, which asks it to strike down several provisions of the law and rules as unconstitutional. The DNPA, which represents 21 news publishers, argues that the framework lacks a specific exemption for journalism. The association says requirements governing consent, notice and the erasure of personal data could hinder reporting, including investigations into people whose conduct is under scrutiny. Those are the petitioners’ claims, not findings by the court. The publishers also contend that provisions allowing individuals to withdraw consent and seek deletion of personal data could lead to published reports being removed or altered. They argue that government powers to demand information from organisations handling personal data could put confidential journalistic sources at risk. The court has not...