Indian news publishers challenge DPDP Act in Supreme Court

The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which represents major Indian media houses, has initiated a legal challenge against the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) of 2023. The organization argues that the act’s provisions, which require journalists to obtain consent from subjects of news reports, effectively create a system of pre-censorship that prevents independent reporting.

Representing the DNPA, Advocate Madhavi Divan argued before the Supreme Court that the law fails to provide specific exemptions for journalism found in other global jurisdictions, such as the EU and Singapore. The association contends that provisions allowing subjects to demand the erasure of their data without safeguards could force publishers to redact or unpublish factual reports, thereby stifling investigative journalism.

Chief Justice Surya Kant responded by encouraging the publishers to work with the government to develop safeguards that prevent misuse, rather than solely seeking a stay on the law. The Supreme Court has deferred the matter until November 2026 to allow the government to present its defense.

DNPA members have criticized the government for granting itself broad exemptions under the act while failing to extend the same protections to the press. The litigation highlights an ongoing tension between personal data privacy regulations and the operational requirements of the news industry.