The Supreme Court issues notice to the Union government regarding a petition challenging the ambiguous provisions of the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act, particularly Section 44(3), which bans disclosure of personal information without definition and is deemed a potential threat to journalistic freedom.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Union government seeking their response to a challenge lodged by The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), which represents several media publishers including those owned by businesspersons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani. The DNPA has taken issue with Section 44(3) of the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act, as it imposes a blanket ban on the disclosure of personal information without defining what constitutes 'personal information'.
The Association contends that this ambiguity may lead to indirect censorship and infringement of journalistic freedom. The petition argues that the Act's lack of clarity in defining 'personal information' contradicts the Supreme Court’s privacy judgement, which recognizes the right to privacy as inviolable and fundamental to human dignity and life.
The DNPA also points out that Section 44(3) impermissibly restricts the fundamental right to information, and freedom of speech and expression. The rules had clarified how organizations processing personal data should handle it, notify individuals of data breaches and obtain consent for data collection. However, the petition claims that the Act grants the Union government an 'unbridled and standardless authority' to requisition any information from data fiduciaries or intermediaries without any judicial oversight.
Organizations classified as 'data fiduciaries' must provide notices to users that are easy to understand, explaining why they are collecting data and how it will be used. A ‘data fiduciary’, according to the Act, is any entity that processes any personal data.
Source:
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