New Delhi: The central government has stepped up efforts to ensure a safe, trusted, and accountable cyberspace amid rising concerns over misinformation, deepfakes and AI-driven cyber threats, highlighted Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada.
The minister informed the Rajya Sabha that a series of legal and regulatory initiatives are being implemented to protect users and maintain online integrity.
India’s foundational legal framework for cyberspace governance continues to be the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act), which penalizes cybercrimes such as identity theft, privacy breaches, and distribution of obscene or sexually explicit content, including child sexual abuse material.
This framework is applicable to all content—whether generated by humans or AI tools—and aims to define and prevent unlawful online behavior.
To address the evolving risks posed by AI and synthetic media, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued several advisories to online platforms, reinforcing their obligations under the amended Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
These rules require intermediaries, including social media platforms, to actively remove unlawful content such as child abuse material, fake news, and posts that threaten national integrity or public order.
The government has also established Grievance Appellate Committees, allowing users to appeal decisions made by intermediaries’ grievance officers via the portal www.gac.gov.in.
To further tackle the menace of deepfakes and harmful synthetic media, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has published advisories and safety measures, including a November 2024 guideline specifically addressing deepfake threats.
The minister also noted that CERT-In has been conducting awareness campaigns under initiatives such as Cyber Jagrookta Diwas, Safer Internet Day, and the annual National Cyber Security Awareness Month, with the 2024 theme being “Satark Nagrik, Secure Our World.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs has bolstered its cybercrime response by expanding the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and operating the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal cybercrime.gov.in, supported by a 24/7 helpline at 1930 for real-time assistance with cyber fraud cases.
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