The Indian government plans to hammer out regulations specifically designed to tackle the issue of deepfake videos and photos within 10 days.
The remarks from minister Ashwini Vaishnaw came after he held a crucial meeting with social media platforms and companies working on artificial intelligence tools in New Delhi.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Vaishnaw said that all the companies which attended the meeting had shared concerns regarding deepfakes.
“The companies understand that this is not free speech, and this is something which is harmful for society. They also understand the need for a heavier regulation for this. We will start drafting the regulation today itself,” the minister said.
He further said that accountability for such content would lie both with creators and the platforms on which it has been uploaded.
Vaishnaw said that the discussion was around detecting deepfakes, preventing posting deepfakes, implementing reporting mechanism so users can alert the platform and authorities about a deepfake so that action can be taken and increasing awareness among the public.
He stated that the government, industry and media would work together to address all these issues.
Sharing the update about the next meeting, the minister said that it would take place in the first week of December.
The concerns about deepfakes have emerged in the country after videos and images of several actors have went viral. It also sparked public outrage and concerns were raised over the misuse of technology and tools for creating doctored content and fake narratives.