Deepfake video row: Centre to soon appoint special officer to combat deceptive menace; gives 7-day deadline to media platforms

Deepfake video row: Amid the concerns and safety over deepfake content which had been earlier highlighted and flagged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several celebrities and other content users, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that Centre to soon appoint an officer to take appropriate actions against such deceptive content and to combat deepfake. 

After conducting a very longish meeting with all of the important players on the Internet, the Internet intermediaries, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced  the imminent appointment of an officer tasked specifically with curbing this deceptive content. Following discussions with social media companies, Chandrasekhar emphasised the need for decisive action against deepfakes. 

MoS Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, "The Rule Seven officer will also be a person who will create a platform where it will be very easy for citizens to bring to the attention of the Government of India their notices or allegations or reports of violation of law by the platforms. And the Rule Seven officer will take that digital platform information and respond accordingly. So we'll make it very simple for the citizen to report violations of law by platforms to the government"

#WATCH | On Deep fake issue, MoS Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, "The Rule Seven officer will also be a person who will create a platform where it will be very easy for citizens to bring to the attention of the Government of India their notices or allegations… pic.twitter.com/AHiATR6DD4 — ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2023

Highlighting the legal framework encompassing deepfakes and the potential penalties for their creation and dissemination, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has given seven days time to social media platforms to align their terms of use as per the IT rules. "From today onwards, there is zero tolerance for violation of IT rules," Mr Chandrasekhar said.

Expressing the government's commitment to ensuring the safety and trust of Indian users in the digital realm, the minister underscored the substantial penalties associated with creating and sharing deepfakes, including a fine of Rs 1 lakh and up to three years of imprisonment.

What are Deepfakes?  

Deepfakes are used to purposefully spread false information or they may have a malicious intent behind their use. They can be designed to harass, intimidate, demean and undermine people. Deepfakes can also create misinformation and confusion about important issues.

The Centre has said that creation and circulation of Deepfakes carry strong penalty - Rs 1 lakh in fine and three years in jail.

Misrepresentation of individuals in Deepfakes has led to the generation of blackmail materials to falsely incriminate people. As these videos and audio recordings can be difficult to verify, the negative impact on reputation can be difficult to recover from, even when verified as a Deepfakes.

- With inputs from agencies

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