Govt to help users file FIRs against social media firms over deepfakes

Officials from companies including Meta, Google, Telegram, Koo, Sharechat, Apple, HP and Dell, among others, met Chandrasekhar as part of the second-leg of a two-day meeting over the threat of deepfakes. The first meeting took place with IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday.

“At today’s meeting, I pulled up the Internet platform companies for not having their terms of use aligned with the Information Technology Rules. They have not made it clear and explicit to their users about what can and can not be posted on their platforms,” Chandrasekhar told The Indian Express.

This inaction has led the government to nominate an officer to create a mechanism for verifying platforms’ compliance with the rules, and issue notices warning them of losing their legal immunity from user-generated content. This officer will also assist aggrieved users to file FIRs in cases related to deepfakes, Chandrasekhar said.

“The platforms need to display to their users about the types of content that are prohibited on their site, including deepfakes very clearly,” Chandrasekhar said. The IT Rules prohibit platforms from hosting deepfakes, misinformation, and content that spreads obscenity, among other things.

Chandrasekhar said the companies must raise awareness of the rules by reminding users every time they log in that they cannot post such content, or by issuing reminders.

He said that while new rules are needed for curbing deepfakes, current rules offer enough regulatory teeth to deter such content. On Thursday, Vaishnaw had said that the government will come up with regulations to control the spread of such content on social media platforms.

Last Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said it is important to understand how AI works as it could be used to create deepfakes to purposefully spread false information or have malicious intent behind their use.

Several deepfake videos targeting leading actors have gone viral on social media platforms in the recent past.

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