Editors Guild says DPDP Rules ignore journalistic safeguards, seeks MeitY clarity

New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has raised concerns over the recently notified Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, saying they leave key questions for journalists and media organisations unresolved and risk weakening press freedom.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Guild noted that it had earlier flagged major gaps in the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, including dilution of the Right to Information framework and the absence of an explicit exemption for journalistic work. It said the new Rules do not address those issues.

The Guild recalled that in July 2025, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) met press bodies and assured them that journalistic activity would not fall within the purview of the DPDP Act.

Following that meeting, the Guild and other media organisations submitted a detailed set of 35 questions and case-based scenarios to MeitY seeking clarity on consent, exemptions, data retention, research, and public-interest reporting.

However, the Guild said there has been no formal response from the government since that consultation.

According to the statement, the Rules notified last week keep “ambiguous obligations around consent” intact and risk exposing journalists and newsrooms to compliance burdens that could impede routine reporting.

In the absence of explicit exemptions or clear guidance, the Guild warned that journalistic work could be interpreted as “processing” personal data that requires consent, creating a chilling effect on newsgathering and accountability journalism.

The Guild urged MeitY to “urgently issue a clear and categorical clarification” exempting bona fide journalistic activity from the consent and processing requirements of the DPDP framework.

Without such clarity, it said, confusion and over-compliance by media organisations would “weaken press freedom and obstruct the media’s essential role in a democratic society.”

Reiterating that data protection and privacy are important policy goals, the Editors Guild stressed that these must be balanced against the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech and the public’s right to know.