NEW DELHI: A group of 21 news organisations, including NDTV and CNN-News18, have approached the Supreme Court challenging the Centre's data privacy law, arguing that it could hamper investigative journalism and endanger journalists' sources.
According to the cause list uploaded to the Supreme Court's website, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is expected to hear the petitions on Tuesday.
The petitions challenge the implementation of a data privacy law announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government last year to protect users' digital personal data. The law raises compliance requirements for platforms such as Meta and Google.
The publishers have argued that the law threatens press freedom because media organisations are not exempt from its provisions.
The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), the petitioner, has urged the Supreme Court to pass appropriate orders and directions, including quashing the Centre's data privacy law.
The petitioners said they feared the law could force reporters to seek consent from individuals and expose confidential journalistic sources to government data demands.