Punjab Journalists Allege AAP Censorship via Copyright, IT Act

Independent journalists and activists convened at the Press Club of India on April 11, 2026, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab is deploying copyright strikes, Section 79(3) of the IT Act, FIRs, and physical press disruption to suppress critical coverage. A speaker identified as Sahil, who operates a social media platform called Duniya, described the pattern as systemic, noting that a coalition named Press Di Azadi Bahal Karo Sangharsh Committee has formed in response. The copyright mechanism works by filing claims from AAP's own Facebook page against content using images of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Vidhan Sabha, or opposition figures. Platforms accept the strikes and remove the posts. Pages including RMP Television, with 1.4 million followers, and Talk with Rapan, with roughly 300,000 followers, were reportedly targeted repeatedly. Section 79(3), which governs intermediary liability, was separately invoked to disable entire accounts. Beyond digital tools, an FIR was registered against nine journalists and RTI activist Manik Goyal over a query about the Chief Minister's helicopter use. Police allegedly stopped printing and distribution of Punjab Kesari and Jagbani Akhbar on January 20. Proposed IT Rules amendments would lower the takedown window to three hours and extend Ministry of Information and Broadcasting oversight to user-generated news content, creating structural incentives for automated over-compliance that would scale exactly the mechanisms described.