IT firms ready to act in 7 days: Centre on tackling deepfakes

New Delhi, November 24

A day after the Centre said it was coming up with stricter regulations and penalties to tackle deepfakes, it today asserted all platforms and intermediaries have agreed to align their community guidelines specifically targeting 11 types of content that cause user harm, including deepfakes.

• Editorial: Deepfake crackdown

A statement of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said a ‘Digital India’ dialogue session was held with ‘Digital Intermediaries’ on deepfakes’ compliance of Information Technology rules today.

Platform to flag violations

• Govt will assist people in filing FIRs against social media platforms if aggrieved by objectionable content like deepfakes
• Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar said MeitY will develop a platform on which people can flag IT rule violations
• Officer will be appointed to deal with implementation of Sec 7 (revoking intermediary status of firms, allowing action under IPC) of IT Rules

Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar said: “All platforms and intermediaries agreed that current rules and laws, even as we discuss new laws and regulations, provide for adequate compliance requirements on their part to deal with deepfakes conclusively.” They have agreed in the next seven days to ensure users are expressly forbidden from accessing 11 types of content specified under IT rules.