Indian media groups challenge Modi’s privacy law, warn of shutdown risk

NEW DELHI, Oct 27: The Indian government's privacy law, which would require journalists to seek consent from people they write about, amounted to pre-censorship and could lead to newsrooms shutting down, media groups told the Supreme Court on Tuesday, starting the most high-profile challenge against the legislation.

The lawsuit comes amid accusations of declining press freedom in India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Critics say many mainstream media outlets have not done enough to scrutinise Modi’s government, which has denied such allegations and says it respects press freedom.�"REUTERS