India, April 15 -- The future of India's digital governance hinges upon how judiciously we balance two foundational rights-privacy and access to information. These are not adversaries in a zero-sum game. Instead, they are companion principles of a robust democracy. One safeguards the individual's dignity; the other equips the citizen with the means to question, participate, and hold power to account. Yet, this delicate equilibrium now stands imperilled.

Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), 2023, which amends Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. This clause removes the vital safeguard of the "public interest test", which had long allowed disclosure of personal information when such access se...