File photo: Union minister for railways, information & broadcasting, and electronics & IT Ashwini Vaishnaw

NEW DELHI: IT & I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw Wednesday said the Digital Personal Data Protection Act does not infringe upon press freedom, amid concerns from news publishers that the law could hinder investigative reporting. He said the Constitution’s guarantee of press freedom remains paramount and secure.TOI has learnt that govt would be open to amending the law to explicitly safeguard journalistic work and would also invite editors and other media professionals to have a detailed discussion on their concerns.“Journalistic freedom is guaranteed by the Constitution of India. That freedom is absolutely available. There is not even an intention to affect journalistic freedom,” Vaishnaw told mediapersons. He was responding to questions over the issue in light of a legal challenge by news publishers to the new law’s potential implications for reporting on matters of public interest.Vaishnaw said the enactment of the new Act had followed a Supreme Court judgement recognising the right to privacy as a fundamental right and was framed after more than a year of consultations involving newspapers, television channels, media representatives, IT industry and other stakeholders. He added that during the consultation process, govt had explained that the legislation would not undermine press freedom.“It was clearly explained that provisions of the DPDP Act nowhere infringe upon freedom of the press, journalism and freedom of media,” the minister said. He argued that the constitutional guarantee of press freedom could not be overridden by data-protection legislation, distinguishing the misuse of private information from its legitimate use in journalism.

Vaishnaw also said that he would invite all editors and mediapersons to have an open dialogue with govt. “We will be very happy to explain, and if there is any doubt, we will be happy to take on record any suggestion and act if there is a need to.”