India Cracks Down on Deepfakes, Warns Social Media to Adhere to IT Rules

To tackle deepfake issues, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has revealed plans to appoint an official who will be tasked with taking necessary actions against deepfakes in the near future. 

In a recent session of the Digital India Dialogues, The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has confirmed the impending appointment of a “Rule 7 officer. This officer will oversee the implementation of Rule 7, allowing users to report violations of the law by intermediaries. This step aligns with the initiation of First Information Reports (FIRs) and the legal process in court.

The minister also said the FIR will be registered against the intermediary and if they disclose the details from where the content has originated then the FIR will be filed against the entity that has posted the content.

He said that social media platforms have been given seven days time to align their terms of use as per the IT rules. “From today onwards, there is zero tolerance for violation of IT rules,” Chandrasekhar said.

“I have urged them today and have said that we will follow it up with an advisory and a directive that all platforms must align their and transform their terms of use with their users to be consistent with the twelve areas that are prohibited on the internet in India, and the platforms have agreed in seven days to ensure that harmonisation and that alignment,” Chandrasekhar added.

The Indian government’s swift action follows the widespread sharing of a deepfake video, wherein the face of Indian actress Rashmika Mandanna was manipulated onto another woman’s body.

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