Working journalists’ representatives on Saturday (April 11, 2026) gathered to speak out against increasing censorship online, and the proposed changes to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, at the Press Club of India. “I fear this will be not just censorship, but selective censorship,” freelance journalist Jatin Gandhi said at the meeting.
The IT Rules’ proposed amendment, for which the government has now extended the last date to the end of April, will give the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting more authority over individual journalists unaffiliated to any organisation. That could hurt freelance journalists, said Ritika Jain, an independent reporter.
India proposes making government advisories legally binding on tech giants
The speakers highlighted a spate of takedown requests impacting satire and news platforms in recent weeks, such as Molitics and 4PM News, who have had their YouTube and Facebook accounts disabled in India following a government order.
“Freelancers don’t have institutional backing,” Ms. Jain said. “They work alone; they are their own editors, their own proofreaders, their own researchers, their own photographers … in between all that, if you give them the added compliance of following these rules of mandatory deepfake labelling, preserving content for over 180 days, and other requirements, it becomes a burden for a journalist.”
