New Delhi: The Central government issued an advisory to social media platforms on Tuesday, directing compliance with IT rules amid escalating concerns over deepfakes. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) mandates intermediaries to clearly and precisely communicate prohibited content, specifically those outlined in Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules.
This advisory follows a meeting over a month ago, where officials from companies including Meta, Google, Telegram, Koo, Sharechat, Apple, HP, and Dell met Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar to address the threat of deepfakes.
According to a PIB release, the advisory mandates clear communication of content prohibited under IT Rules, especially those specified in Rule 3(1)(b). This includes informing users at first registration and regularly during logins and information uploads. The advisory stresses the need for social media platforms to inform users about penal provisions, including those in the IPC and the IT Act 2000, for Rule 3(1)(b) violations.
Additionally, platforms are required to make reasonable efforts to prevent users from hosting, displaying, uploading, modifying, publishing, transmitting, storing, updating, or sharing information related to the 11 specified user harms or prohibited content.
Chandrasekhar said, “Misinformation represents a deep threat to the safety and trust of users on the Internet. Deepfake, which is misinformation powered by AI, further amplifies the threat to safety and trust of our Digital Nagriks.”
In a previous move, the IT Ministry had called out platforms for not aligning their terms of service with India’s internet laws, instructing them to promptly inform users about permissible content. The Union government has also appointed an officer to assist users in filing FIRs against social media firms in cases related to deepfakes.
Prime Minister Modi had earlier sought media assistance in educating the public about the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and the potentially alarming impact of deepfake technology in a diverse and large country like India.
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