The Indian government is considering imposing penalties on the creators of deepfakes as well as the platforms hosting them as part of new regulations to curb the menace, Union Minister of Electronics and Information and Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. The draft rules may come within 10 days, he added.
The minister’s comments come after recent incidents of deepfakes, which use artificial intelligence to replace, alter, or mimic someone’s face in video or voice in audio, have caused concern among the public. In one recent example, actor Rashmika Mandanna’s face was found to have been used in an embarrassing video.
Vaishnaw said that deepfakes are a “new threat to democracy” and that they can “weaken trust in society and its institutions.” He also said that the government is working with companies, industry bodies, and academics to develop “clear actionable items” to address the issue.
“Today we had discussions with companies that are leaders in AI (artificial intelligence) tools, (IT industry body) Nasscom, and academicians who are well known in this space, and we all agreed that within the next 10 days we will come up with clear actionable items on four pillars in a very structured way,” Aswini Vaishnaw said as per a report in Business Standard.
The minister said that the immediate focus will be on four areas: detection of deepfakes and misinformation, prevention of their spread, strengthening of the reporting mechanism, and creating awareness. He also said that the government will start drafting regulations today itself.
Vaishnaw said that the regulations will be applicable to all deepfake videos that are being shown in India, including those that are created outside of the country. He also said that the government is aware of the potential for misuse of deepfake technology and that it will take steps to prevent it.
The minister’s comments were welcomed by Google, which said in a statement that it appreciates the opportunity to work with the government to develop safeguards around synthetic content. Google also said that it is building tools and guardrails to help prevent the misuse of technology, while enabling people to better evaluate online information.
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