Editors Guild seeks Rahul Gandhi's support to raise press freedom issues in Parliament

The Editors Guild of India (EGI) on Saturday, 20 July, sought Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's support in raising issues of press freedom and right to information in Parliament and claimed the government has taken several legislative steps to regulate and control the media.

In a letter to Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the EGI expressed concerns on legislative measures taken to control the media -- print, broadcast and digital -- over the last few years and called for renewed debate and consultations.

The EGI also flagged concerns about the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, Broadcast Services Regulation Bill, Press and Registration of Periodicals Act and the IT Rules 2021 and subsequent amendments to it in 2023.

"We believe that a free and independent press is vital for the health of our democracy and it is imperative that these legislative measures are revisited to safeguard these fundamental principles," EGI said.

It said a general concern about these legislative measures was that they were taken without adequate stakeholder consultation and parliamentary scrutiny in the drafting and passing of these laws.

"They 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 actions that can have a potential chilling effect on journalism and press freedom due to increased government control and punitive measures," the EGI said.

The EGI said there were inadequate safeguards for press independence and freedom of expression.