Social media platforms will have seven days to bring their terms of service and other policies into compliance with Indian laws and regulations, according to a statement from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This will allow the platforms to properly address the problem of deepfakes on them.
This decision was communicated during a discussion on the subject of deepfakes between social media sites and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology.
According to Rule 3(1)(b) of the present IT Rules, which requires the removal of 12 types of content within 36 hours of user complaints being made, Chandrasekhar indicated that deepfakes may be subject to action.
“Today we had a very longish meeting with all of the important players on the Internet, the Internet intermediaries. And we have raised the issue of Deep Fakes with them… I reminded them that way back from October 2022, the government of India has been alerting them to the threat of misinformation and Deep Fakes, which are part of misinformation,” said Chandrasekhar in a statement.
When it comes to deepfakes, the Ministry of Electronics and IT will help irate users file FIRs. In addition, Chandrasekhar stated that in accordance with Rule 7, a designated officer will be tasked with creating a system via which consumers can file complaints against deepfakes. MeitY might also help these resentful consumers file FIRs in some situations.
This comes the day after Minister of Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on November 23 that the government will start working on a regulation aimed at combating deepfakes. As worries about the use of artificial intelligence technology to spread misinformation grow, the minister met with social media platforms.
