New Delhi: A parliamentary committee has urged the Indian government to introduce licensing norms for artificial intelligence (AI) content creators and mandate labelling of AI-generated material, in a bid to curb the growing spread of deepfakes and misinformation.
According to reports, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, submitted its draft report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, recommending legal and technological safeguards against harmful AI-driven content. While its proposals are advisory, such reports often guide future policy decisions.
The panel called fake news a serious threat to public order and democracy, advocating stronger penalties, higher fines and clear accountability mechanisms for those creating or distributing manipulated content.
It urged the government to develop tools capable of identifying and prosecuting offenders, while stressing that AI itself cannot reliably verify facts since it depends on existing data. However, AI can assist by flagging suspicious material for human fact-checking.
Highlighting the work of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the committee noted ongoing projects using deep learning to detect fake speech and identify deepfake videos and images. It recommended closer coordination among MeitY, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and other agencies to address the challenge of synthetic media.
The report further suggested that all media organisations, print, digital and broadcast, adopt in-house fact-checking systems and appoint internal ombudsmen. It emphasised that any new regulatory framework should be built through consensus with media bodies, technology platforms and other stakeholders to balance the fight against misinformation with the protection of free expression.
If adopted, these measures would mark a significant step toward formal regulation of AI-generated content in India, reflecting growing global concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence in shaping public discourse.
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