The Editors’ Guild of India has written to the leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi over “concerns” about “legislative measures taken to control media” over the past years, urging the opposition to raise questions in the parliament. 

The July 18 letter cited “increasing threat to fundamental freedom” and mentioned four legislations with their limitations: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2023; Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023; and amended IT Rules, 2021.     

The EGI said that “several legislative steps have been taken to regulate and control media” and some of these have “already been enacted” in the parliament. “Our general concern in all these legislative measures is that they were taken without adequate stakeholder consultation and parliamentary scrutiny in the drafting and passing of these laws.” 

It added that these legislation carry provisions that are “vague and overbroad, which could be misused to restrict legitimate journalistic activities. These provisions give sweeping powers to a wide array of government authorities and agencies to take action that can have a potential chilling effect on journalism and press freedom due to increased government control and punitive measures.”     

The journalists body noted that there are “inadequate safeguards for press independence and freedom of expression”.

Notably, the amendments to the IT Rules, 2021 have been particularly widely criticised by press groups, opposition leaders and journalists. The Editors Guild of India, the News Broadcast and Digital Association, and comedian Kunal Kamra have challenged the amendments in court, claiming that it will have a “chilling effect on free speech”.

Newslaundry has extensively reported on the violation of press freedom in India and the need for better safeguards. Read here.

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