Supreme Court seeks Centre's reply on DPDP Act over privacy, press freedom concerns

• The Supreme Court has issued notice to the Centre on a petition challenging provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.
• The plea argues the Act and its rules dilute safeguards from the Right to Privacy judgment and raise concerns for journalistic work.
• Petitioners, including journalist Geeta Seshu and SFLC.in, claim the Act weakens personal data protections and is prone to misuse.
• Concerns include Section 17 allowing state agency exemptions, lack of independence for the Data Protection Board, and absence of clear journalistic exemptions.
• The Centre has been asked to file its response by March 23, leading to closer judicial scrutiny of the DPDP framework.