Deepfakes: Stricter IT rules coming soon for social media platforms, says Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced on January 15 that the Indian government would soon be notifying Information Technology (IT) Rules to address the issue of deepfakes on social media platforms.

Chandrasekhar responded to a tweet from cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, who had earlier posted a video promoting a betting app. Tendulkar clarified that the video was a deepfake, with his voice synthetically generated.

"These videos are fake. It is disturbing to see the rampant misuse of technology. Request everyone to report videos, ads & apps like these in large numbers. Social media platforms need to be alert and responsive to complaints. Swift action from their end is crucial to stopping the spread of misinformation and deepfakes," Tendulkar stated.

In response, Chandrasekhar commented, "#DeepFakes and misinformation powered by #AI are a threat to the safety & trust of Indian users and represent harm & legal violations that platforms have to prevent and take down. A recent Advisory by @GoI_MeitY requires platforms to comply with this 100%. We will be shortly notifying tighter rules under the IT Act to ensure compliance by platforms."

Regarding the deepfakes issue, the ministry has issued multiple advisories to the industry and conducted meetings with platforms on tackling deepfakes. The ministry has consistently asserted that deepfakes and other AI-generated misinformation fall under the ambit of the IT Rules.

In these meetings and advisories, MeitY urged platforms to comply with IT Rules and specifically mentioned that platforms must communicate to users the type of content that is not permitted under the regulation.

For instance, in the last advisory sent by MeitY to platforms on December 26, the advisory said, "The content not permitted under the IT Rules, in particular those listed under Rule 3(1)(b) must be communicated to the users in clear and precise language including through its terms of service and user agreements..."