Amid outrage over a series of deepfake videos that surfaced on social media recently, the Union government is considering multiple measures to tackle the menace. Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Friday that the government will appoint an officer to check deepfakes and take appropriate action.
The Minister of State for Electronics and Technology said the government has raised the issue with social media companies and added that they have been given seven days to align their terms of use as per Indian IT rules.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) will develop a website on which users can register their concerns about IT rule violation by social media platforms. "Meity will assist users to notify it about violation of IT rules and assist them in filing a First Information Report or FIR," the Union Minister said.
"Remove any such content when reported within 36 hours of such reporting and ensure expeditious action, well within the timeframes stipulated under the IT Rules 2021, and disable access to the content or information," the advisory to social media platforms stated.
On Thursday, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology and Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw called deepfakes a 'new threat to society' and had said the government will announce new measures to regulate it. The minister said that the government will come out with measures revolving around four pillars—detection of deepfakes, spreading the spread of such content, strengthening reporting and spreading awareness on the issue.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also addressed the need to regulate the use of AI. The issue of deepfakes and the misuse of AI are being discussed widely especially after a deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna went viral recently. This was also followed by fake photos of Katrina Kaif and Sara Tendulkar as well.
Deepfake refers to a technology that uses artificial intelligence to generate fake videos or photos by altering the face and physical features of one person to make him/her look like someone else.
