A few days ago, the government notified the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, touted as proof that India is finally taking privacy seriously. On paper, they promise stronger citizen rights, greater trust, and real accountability in the digital economy. However, as the fine print makes clear, India’s new data framework does something very different: it grants sweeping powers to the State while imposing heavy burdens on journalists, start-ups, and everyday consumers.

For a country that prides itself on being the world’s largest democracy and a rising digital superpower, this should worry us. On paper, the DPDP framework promises control and consent. But for millions of Indians, especially those who rely on an independent press and the Right to Information to hold power accountable, these rules threaten to shrink the very transparency that keeps democracy healthy. Two of the country’s most important media watchdogs, DIGIPUB and the Editors Guild of India, have sounded the alarm. Their message is simple: the new rules could make journalism itself a consent-based activity. If routine newsgathering is reinterpreted as “data processing,” reporters may need consent from the very people they are investigating. That’s not privacy protection. That’s a muzzle. And the consequences do not stop at the newsroom.

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The rules weaken the RTI framework by diluting........

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