November 24, 2023
NEW DELHI – Amid rising concerns over deepfakes, the Centre has decided to bring in a regulation to tackle the issue which has recently been flagged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.
The decision was taken during a meeting of Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw with social media platforms and technology firms working on AI tools.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, the minister said that deepfakes have emerged as a new threat to democracy and added that both creators and the social media platforms will be held accountable for such content.
During the meeting, the minister said that four key issues were discussed. These were : 1. How deepfakes can be detected; 2. Whether and how people can be prevented from posting deepfakes and whether such content can be stopped from going viral; 3. How a reporting mechanism can be implemented so users on any app or website can alert the platform and the authorities about a deepfake so that action can be taken; 4. Increasing awareness among the public.
He further stressed that the government, industry and the media will need to work together to create awareness among masses about the deepfakes.
He said that there is an urgency to bring in a new regulation for deepfakes and added that work will begin immediately and attempts will be made to finish drafting the regulation in the next few weeks.
The issue gained weight after a deepfake video of Bollywood actress Rashmika Mandhana went viral on social media earlier this month. Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bacchan flagged the video and called for regulation to curb the menace.
Prime Minister Modi also highlighted his concerns about deepfakes after a video of him singing and dancing on Garba went viral.