According to a top official, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) has advised social media companies like X (previously Twitter) and Meta to take down deepfakes created by artificial intelligence (AI) from their platforms.
We developed a fresh recommendation for the social media middlemen. According to the advise, you must exercise caution when providing an AI product to avoid providing underdeveloped versions that could cause hallucinations or disseminating false information, S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, told ET.
According to the official, social media firms are required to take down these “deepfakes” from their networks as soon as they are discovered.
Furthermore, Krishnan stated that deep fakes are a form of deception and that the IT Act and Rules already encompass any exploitation of this kind.
A “social media intermediary” is defined by Rule 2(1)(w) of the IT Rules 2021 as an intermediary that permits users to generate, upload, share, disseminate, alter, or access information using its services, either exclusively or predominantly. The term “deepfakes” refers to the alteration of a person’s facial features using deep generative techniques supported by AI, such as speech and image rendering methods.
“A deepfake is only a deception using improved and new technology. In order to prevent this deception from spreading too quickly, it is crucial to act swiftly and see to it that it is immediately corrected.” Deepfake or misinformation has become a nightmare due to the lack of global regulation, which calls for the ethical use of AI.
The ministry sent a similar warning to Alphabet’s Google, Elon Musk’s X, and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta in December of last year, requesting that they remove deepfakes from their platforms.
The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 were also instructed to be followed by intermediaries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has referred to deepfakes as “one of the biggest threats” to the Indian system, stating that they have the potential to destabilize society.
The issue attracted significant attention after this year’s Lok Sabha elections, with worries centered on social media platforms facilitating an increase in the number of bad actors’ deepfakes, which misrepresent politicians or public figures in order to obtain political advantage.
Earlier this month, an artificial intelligence (AI) voice cloning technology was used to propagate a deepfake of Indian billionaire and chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, in order to support a stock market community.
Social activists fear that the rise of AI-generated misinformation could endanger civil society, even as law enforcement and regulators struggle to keep up with it.
