MeitY’s Advisory On Deepfakes: Comply With IT Rules Or Face The Music

Amid the ongoing debate around deepfakes, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Tuesday (December 26) issued an advisory to all social media platforms to comply with existing IT rules and ensure deepfakes and the misinformation enabled by them are curbed.

The advisory by the IT ministry directed intermediaries to inform their respective users ‘clearly and precisely’ about what kind of content is prohibited, especially the ones specified under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules. Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules aims to ensure platforms identify and promptly remove misinformation, false or misleading content, and material impersonating others, including deepfakes.

The advisory was formulated after discussions between Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar and intermediaries during Digital India dialogues.

“The content not permitted under the IT Rules, in particular, those listed under Rule 3(1)(b) must be communicated to the users in clear and precise language including through its terms of service and user agreements and the same must be expressly informed to the user at the time of first-registration and also as regular reminders, in particular, at every instance of login and while uploading/sharing information onto the platform,” read the advisory.

The MeitY advisory also stressed that digital intermediaries ought to communicate information about penal provisions, including those in the IPC and the IT Act of 2000 to users. It added that digital platforms are legally obligated to report legal violations to enforcement agencies under existing laws.

The IT ministry added that Chandrasekhar, during his meetings with stakeholders on the deepfake issue, highlighted the urgency for all platforms and intermediaries to strictly adhere to the current laws and regulations.

Commenting on the issue, Chandrasekhar said, “… the ministry had two Digital India Dialogues with all the stakeholders of the Indian internet to alert them about the provisions of the IT Rules notified in October 2022, and amended in April 2023 that lays out 11 specific prohibited types of content on all social media intermediaries & platforms.”

The minister also asked all the intermediaries to conduct due diligence and remove AI-powered deepfakes from their platforms and remain compliant with the IT Rules. Chandrasekhar also warned of legal consequences for flouting the rules.

“MeitY will closely observe the compliance of intermediaries in the coming weeks and follow this up with further amendments to the IT Rules and/or the law if and when required,” he added.

The development comes as the government has clamped down on deepfakes, following several high-profile cases targeting celebrities and politicians. Earlier this month, YouTube India director Ishan John Chatterjee said deepfakes were not in the Google-owned video-sharing platform’s interest at all as viewers, creators and advertisers want to steer clear of platforms that allow fake news or misinformation.

The government also plans to appoint a Rule Seven officer soon to oversee the establishment of a mechanism to enable users to file complaints regarding deepfakes.