Shillong, November 7: In response to the recent uproar surrounding a morphed video of actor Rashmika Mandanna circulating on social media, the IT Ministry has taken action.
As per IANS, on Tuesday, the Ministry issued advisories to prominent social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, instructing them to promptly remove artificial intelligence (AI)-generated fake content within 24 hours.
The advisory emphasizes the importance of adhering to existing legal provisions that apply to online intermediaries, in line with the Information Technology Act of 2000. These provisions include penalties for cheating by impersonation using computer resources, with the potential for imprisonment for up to 3 years and fines of up to Rs 1 lakh.
The advisory specifically references Rule 3(1)(b)(vii) of the IT Intermediary Rules, which requires social media intermediaries to exercise due diligence. This includes informing users that hosting content impersonating another person is prohibited.
The issuance of this advisory follows concerns raised by the Congress party, which addressed Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The Congress party highlighted the significant threats posed by deepfake technology to individuals’ privacy and security. They called for the establishment of a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework in India to address these challenges effectively.
Rashmika Mandanna’s strong reaction against her deepfake video has also brought attention to the issue, with a new morphed image of actress Katrina Kaif from the film ‘Tiger 3’ now circulating on social media, underscoring the urgency of tackling this problem.