India mulling regulation to tame deepfakes, AI-user harm: Govt

New Delhi, Nov 23: India is mulling regulation to tame the spread of deepfakes and other user harm that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bring along, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said here on Thursday.

After meeting representatives from large social media platforms and other stakeholders, the Minister said India will draft new rules to spot and limit the spread of deepfakes.

The new regulation will also strengthen the reporting process for such deepfake videos for people.

“The social media companies share our concerns and they understand that deepfakes are not free speech. They understand the need for regulation for this and we will start drafting the regulation,” said Vaishnaw.

The IT Ministry will also look at imposing penalties on those who create deepfake videos.

“We need urgent steps to strengthen trust in society and to protect our democracy from deepfakes,” said Vaishnaw.

The Minister is expected to meet social media companies again on this burning topic next month.

The new regulation will also focus on strengthening the reporting mechanisms for individuals to report such videos, and for proactive and timely actions by social media companies, said Vaishnaw.

Speaking on the deepfake issue during a media interaction last week, Vaishnaw said, “Deepfake is a big issue for all of us.”

Deepfake technology poses a significant threat to the privacy and individual rights of public figures.

As seen in the case of Rashmika Mandanna, it can be used to create convincing fake videos that can potentially harm a person's reputation or even incite legal action.

Deepfake technology can be weaponised to create deceptive content that poses a threat to national security.

It can be used to manipulate public sentiment, create forged videos of politicians or leaders, and potentially incite chaos or conflicts, according to experts.

Earlier this month, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that those who find themselves impacted by AI-generated deepfakes should file First Information Reports (FIRs) at the nearest police stations and avail the remedies provided under the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021.