On November 7, 2023, the Centre issued an advisory to the significant social media intermediaries to ensure that due diligence is exercised and reasonable efforts are made to identify misinformation and deepfakes.
“In particular, information that violates the provisions of rules and regulations and/or user agreements and Such cases are expeditiously actioned against, well within the timeframes stipulated under the IT Rules 2021,” the advisory mentioned.
The social media intermediaries are further mandated to remove such content within 36 hours of receiving a report from either a user or government authority.
The advisory was floated after a fake video of actor Rashmika Mandanna went viral and many Bollywood celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan sought legal action against those responsible for the criminal act.
Deep fakes are forged or fake videos created via deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence, where a person’s likeness, including their face and voice, are realistically swapped with someone else’s.
Given the significant challenges posed by misinformation and deepfakes, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a second advisory within the last six months, calling upon online platforms to take decisive actions against the spread of deepfakes.
In February 2023, the government asked social media companies such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and Twitter to take ‘reasonable and practicable measures’ to remove or disable access to ‘deep fake imagery’ as per the IT Rules, 2021 and remove such imagery within 24 hours of getting a complaint from an individual.
Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar emphasised that deepfakes are a major violation and harm women in particular.
The intermediaries were reminded that any failure to act as per the relevant provisions of the IT Act and Rules would attract Rule 7 of the IT Rules, 2021 and could render the organisation liable to losing the protection available under Section 79(1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
“Safety and trust of our Digital Nagriks is our unwavering commitment and top priority for the Narendra Modi Government. For those who find themselves impacted by deepfakes, I strongly encourage you to file First Information Reports (FIRs) at your nearest police station and avail the remedies provided under the Information Technology (IT) rules, 2021,” the Minister added.
Social media platforms with more than 5 Mn registered users are classified as ‘significant’ social media intermediaries’ in India under the IT Rules, 2021.
The government has been coming out with amendments to the IT Rules from time to time to make the internet ‘safe, trusted and accountable’.
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