To guarantee adherence to the current IT regulations, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has sent a warning to all social media intermediaries. The directive focuses on the deepfakes, or artificial intelligence-powered falsehoods, that are causing increasing worry.
The advise requires intermediaries to accurately and clearly inform users about information that is forbidden, especially those listed under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules. “The 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 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,” the notice states.
The recommendation highlights the need for digital intermediaries to make sure users are aware of the penalties for violating Rule 3(1)(b)—including those found in the IPC and the IT Act 2000.
Intermediaries are required under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT rules’ due diligence section to provide their regulations, privacy policy, and user agreement to users in their preferred language. Additionally, they must make sure that reasonable measures are taken to stop users from hosting, displaying, uploading, changing, publishing, sending, storing, updating, or sharing any data pertaining to any of the 11 user harms or content that is forbidden on digital intermediaries. By implementing this guideline, platforms will be able to recognize and swiftly remove content that is misleading or deceptive, misinformation, and materials that impersonate other people—including deepfakes.
In order to address the urgent problem of deepfakes, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar called stakeholder meetings with leaders in the sector over the previous month. He emphasised during the discussion how important it is for all platforms and intermediaries to carefully abide by the existing laws and regulations, and how the IT rules effectively address the threat posed by deepfakes.
“Misinformation poses a serious risk to users’ online security and confidence. The threat to our Digital Nagriks’ safety and trust is exacerbated by deepfake, which is misinformation driven by artificial intelligence, according to Chandrasekhar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the nation on November 17 about the dangers of deepfakes. Since then, the ministry has held two Digital India Dialogues with all Indian Internet stakeholders to inform them of the provisions of the IT Rules, which were amended in April 2023 and notified in October 2022. These rules specify 11 types of content that are prohibited from being posted on any social media platform or intermediary.
The minister further emphasized that spreading false information is expressly forbidden by Rule 3(1)(b)(v). As a result, all middlemen were requested to take reasonable steps to remove the content from their platforms as soon as possible. He goes on to clarify that platforms have been well notified of the legal ramifications of breaking any IT regulation.
Misinformation and blatantly false information are forbidden by Rule 3(1)(b)(v). The government and business community decided to take further steps during the two Digital India Dialogues to guarantee that platforms and users abide by the IT regulations that have already been made public by the media. According to Chandrasekhar, a formal advice was released today that includes the “agreed to” procedures to make sure that users of these platforms do not breach the forbidden content in Rule 3(1)(b). If any legal infractions are discovered or reported, there will be legal repercussions.
In the upcoming weeks, MeitY will be closely monitoring intermediaries’ compliance and, if necessary, will take further action to alter the law and IT regulations.
