Ashwini Vaishnaw informs of new regulations to counter deep fake; meeting held with social media platforms
Ashwini Vaishnaw informs of new regulations to counter deep fake; meeting held with social media platforms
By: Pune Pulse
November 23, 2023
Pune: Union Minister for IT Ashwini Vaishnaw expressed concerns about the emergence of deepfakes as a fresh challenge to democracy. He emphasized that the government is actively working on formulating new regulations to effectively address this issue.
Following discussions with social media platforms regarding deepfakes, Vaishnaw highlighted the consensus among companies regarding the importance of taking concrete actions in various aspects, including detection, prevention, enhancing reporting mechanisms, and increasing user awareness.
As per the information provided, Vaishnaw informed that the drafting of the regulation will commence from Thursday and a new set of regulations for deep fakes will be available in a short period. This could either be in the form of amending the existing framework or introducing new rules or laws. The next meeting is scheduled for the first week of December, where follow-up action on the decisions made in the previous meeting will be discussed, along with the inclusion of the draft regulation.
In recent times, numerous viral videos known as ‘deep lakes’ have emerged on social media platforms, specifically targeting prominent actors. These videos have caused widespread public outrage and have raised significant concerns regarding the potential misuse of technology to fabricate false narratives.
Deep Fakes of popular personalities such as Shahrukh Khan, Virat Kohli, and Akshay Kumar have been discovered in advertisements and sponsored posts on social media. Shah Rukh Khan’s deepfake video is featured in a game called Aviator, while Virat Kohli’s deepfake is seen promoting a betting game.
MeitY had issued advisories to various social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, earlier this month, instructing them to remove deep fakes. The advisories referred to Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, which stipulates a maximum punishment of three years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh for cheating by personation using computer resources.
