NEW DELHI ¨C Transparency activists and journalists are taking the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the country¡¯s top court over its new privacy law, arguing the legislation will have a ¡°chilling¡± effect on journalism and enable officials to withhold information of public interest.
Four lawsuits are due to be heard ?in the Supreme Court on March 23, following criticism from media and activists that Modi¡¯s government is diluting a 20-year-old ?Right to ?Information (RTI) law that is similar to the Freedom of Information Act in the U.S. Modi¡¯s government ?has also faced criticism of curbing dissent through a stringent content removal regime. The government has denied the allegations and says it only orders removal of unlawful content and the RTI law continues to follow a principle of ¡°maximum disclosure and minimum exemptions.¡± The ?latest controversy surrounds a one-line amendment to the RTI law that came into force in November with the new privacy law, called the ?Digital Personal Data Protection Act, and excludes any ¡°personal information¡± from release. Previously, the law allowed officials to release such information in ¡°public interest.¡±
The lawsuits argue the change to the law should be quashed, because ?it would allow the government to deny ?the release of critical information of public interest, and undermine constitutional principles.
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