New Delhi | 08 July 2025
Journalism on the Edge: AI Sparks Crisis in Indian Newsrooms
In a rapidly digitizing India, where artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we access news, Indian Publishers Demand AI Regulation to Protect Journalism. The Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), representing top media houses like The Indian Express and Hindustan Times, has issued an urgent call for government intervention to stop unauthorized AI web scraping.
This cry for help isn’t isolated. Globally, outlets like The Atlantic and Associated Press have teamed up with Cloudflare to block AI crawlers. But in India, where legal safeguards are still missing, publishers find themselves increasingly vulnerable to silent exploitation.
“Our journalism is being harvested for free to train commercial AI tools. That’s not innovation—it’s intellectual theft,” said a senior DNPA representative.
The Invisible Theft: How AI Is Exploiting Indian Journalism
Imagine working tirelessly to craft stories that inform the nation—only to have them scraped by AI bots, used for training large language models, and turned into content elsewhere without permission or compensation. That’s the grim reality today for Indian newsrooms.
The DNPA has warned that the lack of clear regulation in India has opened the floodgates for AI scraping at scale. Tech giants like OpenAI and Meta are believed to be using publicly accessible content, including from Indian publishers, without formal consent.
While countries like the US and UK are moving towards stronger content protection laws, Indian publishers are demanding their rightful seat at the table.
A Call for a Licensing Framework That Respects Journalism
The DNPA is not just sounding the alarm—it’s presenting a path forward. They are urging the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to:
- Recognize AI scraping as a form of copyright infringement
- Establish a mandatory licensing framework for AI companies
- Ensure transparency around AI model training data sources
“The situation is becoming untenable. AI firms are profiting from our content without giving anything back. That must change,” the DNPA said in a statement.
They point to emerging licensing models in the West as inspiration and assert that Indian newsrooms deserve similar protection and fair compensation.
India’s Moral Test: Will Journalism Survive the AI Era?
The demand for AI regulation isn’t just about money—it’s about preserving the soul of journalism. Without legal protections, smaller publishers could crumble under the pressure, leading to a loss of diverse, independent voices in Indian media.
Cloudflare’s AI-blocking tools are a small step forward, but Indian journalism needs strong, homegrown legal frameworks. The DNPA’s campaign may mark a turning point in India’s digital policy narrative—if the government listens.
In a world driven by innovation, India must strike a balance between progress and protection. This is not just a fight for content—it’s a fight for truth.
#Ai news,# aiupdates,#artifitialintelligence
