Marching Forward: A Month of Impact & Action
We Had a Mighty March—Here’s How We Defended Internet Freedom!
March was a powerhouse month for digital rights, and we couldn’t have done it without you! From advocating for stronger privacy laws to pushing back against censorship, here’s a look at what we accomplished together:
Legislative Watch
Income Tax Bill 2025: A Threat to Privacy
On February 13, 2025, the Income Tax Bill, 2025, was introduced in Lok Sabha seeking to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961. IFF has written to the Select Committee to review the Bill, citing serious concerns about privacy and constitutional rights. With expert insights from Advocate-on-Record Deepak Joshi, we break down what’s at stake.
Opposing RTI Dilution Under the DPDP Act, 2023
On March 3, IFF joined the Save RTI campaign to oppose the RTI Act’s weakening under the DPDP Act, 2023.
We further analyzed the amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act under the DPDP Act, 2023. Backed by NCPRI, MKSS and 30+ groups, these campaign efforts led to a March 21 press conference demanding a rollback of these amendments that threaten activists, journalists, and lawyers.
IFF also met with the leaders of opposition Mr. Rahul Gandhi and Ms. Priyanka Gandhi to further discuss the concerning implications of the amendment and digital authoritarianism.
Lend your voice to this fight today—sign the petition now.
Reports, Submissions and Reviews
📌 IFF’s Response to MeitY on Draft Data Protection Rules – The Draft Data Protection Rules, 2025 weaken privacy rights, expand government surveillance, undermine RTI, and lack accountability. Our submission to MeitY highlights concerns over vagueness, violations of privacy, and excessive executive control—falling short of constitutional data protection standards. Read our submission.
AI Governance Guidelines: Gaps & Concerns – We submitted our comments on MeitY’s AI Governance Guidelines, highlighting issues in consultation processes, lack of principle-based governance, weak constitutional safeguards, and risks of excessive self-regulation. Dive into our submission.
Broadcasting Bill Revival & Aadhaar Fraud Oversight – A March 11 parliamentary report confirmed the 2024 draft of the Broadcasting Bill, contradicting RTI responses—likely revived after the India’s Got Latent controversy. Another report flagged rising Aadhaar-linked payment fraud but failed to address accountability gaps. Get the full breakdown.
Aadhaar & Voter ID: A Dangerous Link – Despite no legal mandate, on March 18, the ECI & MeitY suggested linking Aadhaar with Voter IDs, raising concerns about disenfranchisement and mass surveillance, while Form 6B’s misleading declaration makes the process coercive. Read our statement here
Press Freedom at Risk – X Corp (formerly Twitter) has challenged the Union government in Karnataka HC over misuse of Section 79(3)(b) to bypass 69A safeguards. At the core is Sahyog, a secretive tool bypassing due process. Understand the issue.
Expanding AI Oversight or Creeping Censorship? – On March 21, a parliamentary panel recommended broader AI-driven misinformation tracking, a Unified Media Council, and stricter digital platform controls. With tools like SAMVAD in play, we question whether this is governance—or a step toward digital authoritarianism. Read our analysis here.
IFF in Press
Breaking Down the Income Tax Bill – IFF’s Founder Director Apar Gupta also joined The Wire Wrap podcast and featured on Ravish Kumar’s YouTube to explain the expanded search and seizure powers under the Income Tax Bill, 2025, and their impact on privacy rights.
Fighting for Student Privacy – Apar also penned an Op-Ed in Deccan Herald on the secretive implementation of the APAAR ID system, exposing its invasive data collection practices.
IFF in Court
Defending Free Expression- We provided legal support to Vikatan in challenging its arbitrary website block because of a controversial cartoon! On March 6, the Madras HC granted interim relief, ordering MIB to restore access (minus the cartoon). The next hearing is in April.
📌 #PegasusProject: The Fight for Accountability – After three years, the Supreme Court is finally taking up the Pegasus surveillance case. At the March 7 hearing, Sr. Adv. Kapil Sibal pointed out that only two related cases were listed, leaving out the rest. The judges agreed this could affect the hearing and directed the registry to list all cases together on April 22, 2025. Stay informed—follow IFF in Court on X for the latest updates on the case.
💡 Your Support Fuels Our Fight!
Thanks to our incredible community, we raised INR 14,80,601.37 in March—exceeding our monthly expenses of INR 10,52,786.45. This surplus strengthens our long-term sustainability, ensuring we can take on urgent challenges without hesitation. But sustained support is key to keeping our work going strong.
🎯 Donate or set up a fundraiser today!
📩 Contact: donate@internetfreedom.in or aarushi@internetfreedom.in
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