The Indian government yesterday issued an advisory to the significant social media intermediaries to ensure that due diligence is exercised and reasonable efforts are made to identify misinformation and deepfakes, and in particular, information that violates the provisions of rules and regulations and/or user agreements.

According to an official statement put out by the Press Information Bureau, cases of misinformation and deepfakes should be expeditiously actioned against, well within the timeframes stipulated under the IT Rules 2021, which is within 36 hours

Over the last few days a deepfake edited video involving actor Rashmika Mandhana, which went viral on social media, drew sharp reactions from many people, including the aggrieved person and her ‘Goodbye’ co-star Amitabh Bachchan who, in a post on X, said that such cases are fit for legal actions.

The government also reminded the SM intermediaries that any failure to act as per the relevant provisions of the IT Act and Rules would attract a penalty and could render the organisation liable to losing the safe harbour protection available under rules.

Electronics & IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “Safety and trust of our digital nagriks(digital citizens) is our unwavering commitment and top priority for the Narendra Modi Government. Given the significant challenges posed by misinformation and deepfakes, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a second advisory within the last six months, calling upon online platforms to take decisive actions against the spread of deepfakes.”

The Minister added that deepfakes are a major violation and harm women in particular.

Chandrasekhar added that it was the legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the Information Technology (IT) rules, 2021. Failure to follow rules empowers aggrieved individuals to take platforms to court under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

“It is imperative that platforms take proactive measures to combat this threat,” the Minister said, adding, “For those who find themselves impacted by deepfakes, I strongly encourage you to file first information reportsat your nearest police station and avail the remedies provided under the Information Technology Rules.”