The entry into force of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and Rules has effectively overturned more than 20 years of legislation designed to protect the right to information. Now, the disclosure of all personal information is prohibited, with no exceptions for access to data on grounds of public interest. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Indian government not to use the protection of personal data — a legitimate concern — as a pretext to sacrifice access to information of public interest.
Twenty years ago, India improved transparency in public life with the Right to Information Act, which allows citizens and journalists to access and use certain types of personal data provided the “larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information.” However, in November 2025, the government published new rules to accompany the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act. This new legal framework directly undermines the fundamentals of journalism by restricting access to, processing of, and publication of certain types of information that could be of interest to the public, starting with administrative documents, public archives, and all other information that could implicate public officials or institutions entrusted with a mission of general interest.
An additional threat lies in the requirement to disclose all "personal data" being processed. Meaning that if a journalist were investigating someone, they would be legally required to inform that person about the information being collected or used. This requirement would seriously hinder investigative reporting and could discourage whistleblowers from coming forward.
In response to this new threat to the right to information, the journalists’ collective The Reporters’ Collective, alongside several civil society organisations, journalists, and transparency advocates, have filed petitions with the Indian Supreme Court to challenge these provisions. These petitions are of the utmost importance for Indian democracy as the case will determine whether and how the right to privacy can be invoked to restrict press freedom and citizens’ right to information. The first hearing before the Indian Supreme Court took place on 23 March 2026, and the next is scheduled for 13 May.
“The protection of personal information must not become a pretext for shielding government actions from scrutiny by journalists. RSF calls on the Indian government to amend the rules concerning the implementation of the DPDP Act to ensure they are compatible with press freedom and the right to information. Processing personal data for public interest purposes must be explicitly exempted from the restrictions and penalties applicable to other uses of such information. Without these safeguards, the law risks not only further weakening the press but depriving Indian citizens of their fundamental right to information.
