Indian Newsrooms Take Modi's Privacy Law to Supreme Court, Warn of Shutdowns

India's biggest media houses just picked a fight with the government, and they took it straight to the Supreme Court. On Oct 27, a group of 21 news publishers argued that the country's privacy law — which would require journalists to seek consent from the people they write about — amounts to pre-censorship, according to Reuters. Their lawyer, Madhavi Goradia Divan, didn't soften the warning: newsrooms, she said, will shut down if they have to ask permission first.

The case is the most high-profile challenge to the law so far. Until now, only free speech activists and a handful of smaller outlets had pushed back. The Supreme Court has posted the matter for November, so this isn't going away quietly.

The publishers are asking the court to quash most of the law's contentious provisions, which take effect in May 2027. They argue the rules could force them to erase stories, and could hand the government powers to demand information from publishers that exposes reporters' sources. Divan told the judges the law is 'changing the whole concept of what is news.'

The industry's frustration has been building. In August, media companies met with the government and came away with assurances that press freedom would be protected. But the publishers said in an October filing that the lack of a written carve-out for journalists — the kind that exists in the European Union, Singapore and Britain — is alarming.

Divan also pointed out that earlier drafts of the legislation left journalists out entirely. The final version didn't.

The list of names behind the challenge is a who's who of Indian media. The Digital News Publishers Association counts Ambani's Network18, Adani's NDTV, the Indian Express and Times Internet among its members. Times Internet is part of the Times of India group, publisher of India's largest-selling English-language daily. The lawsuit lands amid long-running accusations that press freedom has declined since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Critics say many mainstream outlets haven't done enough to scrutinize his government. Modi's administration denies that, saying it respects press freedom.