Lawyers and activists on Friday raised concern over the potential misuse of the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules for money laundering and terrorism and demanded its rollback.

DPDP Rules, 2025, was drafted by the electronics and information & technology ministry in January to facilitate the implementation of the DPDP Act.

The draft rules recommend the formation of a Data Protection Board, which will have the power to impose a fine of up to ₹500 crore for non-compliance with the DPDP Act and can become a weapon to control whistleblowers and journalists, the activists said in a news conference.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan called the rules "dangerous" as they would bar journalists from exposing corruption without obtaining the consent of the persons concerned.

“The way the Data Protection Act and rules were drafted is dangerous and can be misused,” he said.

He said there was no clarity on whether journalists would be kept immune from the Act.