# SC to examine if data law cripples RTI, journalism 2026-08-08T06:45:03+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine whether the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 can be used to cripple the Right to Information Act by classifying all data as 'personal' and to gag investigative journalists. The court noted that the DPDP Act imposes an 'en bloc embargo' on data sharing, while the RTI Act operates on a 'much larger domain.' It said both are central laws requiring harmonisation. Petitioners argued that Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amends the RTI Act's exemption clause, allowing public authorities to refuse information simply by citing personal data. The court also observed that journalists have no 'special category' right to access data under the Act. The court will now examine if the data protection law effectively repeals earlier transparency legislation. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Tags: data protection, DPDP Act, Investigative Journalism, privacy, RTI, Supreme Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sc-to-examine-if-data-law-cripples-rti-journalism/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sc-to-examine-if-data-law-cripples-rti-journalism/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.