The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said on Tuesday that it had sent another advisory to social media firms to comply with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The advisory was aimed at getting social media firms to crack down more forcefully on fabricated ‘deepfake’ clips of people made with Artificial Intelligence. A similar advisory was first sent to social media platforms early in November.
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“The advisory mandates that intermediaries communicate prohibited content, particularly those specified under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules, clearly and precisely to users,” the IT Ministry said in a press release. The advisory caps a month of discussions with social media platforms, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi also made a remark on deepfakes during a Deepavali interaction with supporters.
IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said in November that rules would soon be formulated to regulate deepfakes. However, no draft has emerged. The government said instead that further IT Rules amendments would follow “if and when required”. The IT Ministry did not share a full copy of the advisory sent to platforms.
“Content not permitted under the IT Rules, in particular those listed under Rule 3(1)(b) must be clearly communicated to the users in clear and precise language including through its terms of service and user agreements,” the Ministry wrote in the advisory, according to an excerpt shared by the government.
The government’s action on deepfakes follow a viral fabricated clip of actress Rashmika Mandanna, who publicly called out the video. Delhi Police arrested four individuals.