Need for stringent laws to fight the growing threat of 'deepfake' technology

Vibha Sharma

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Chandigarh, November 9

Speaking on actor Rashmika Mandanna’s recent deepfake video, Telangana minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday spoke about stringent measures in the form of legislation to curb the growing cyber menace.

“It is truly atrocious to demean her (Mandana) and go after someone like her who is a celebrity. It is deeply insulting and infuriating. Whatever regulations are to be brought, whatever stringent measures are to be brought in the form of legislation, we are happy to bring it in our state and hopefully, the Government of India will also play along and do the same,” he was quoted as saying at a media event

Technology misuse

This was not the first time such an issue has been reported.

After Mandanna, a deepfaked image of actor Katrina Kaif was also spotted on the social media

In fact, the Internet is loaded with content and images created by generative Artificial Intelligence to sway masses on social media and influence decisions.

According to reports, deepfakes (images and videos digitally altered and spread to form false narratives) have been deployed by both sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Earlier in March 2022 a heavily manipulated video showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling soldiers to lay down arms and surrender the fight against Russia. Government officials in Ukraine had been warning about the possibility of “Russia spreading manipulated videos as part of its information warfare,” according to reports.

Current legal situation in India

Experts say at present, India does not have any specific law to deal with deepfake cybercrime but laws like the IT Act, the Copyright Act and the Data Protection Act can be combined to deal with it. For example, the Data Protection Act can play a crucial role in dealing with various cybercrimes, including deepfakes, they add.

The IT Ministry has also issued an advisory to social media platforms on the use of AI to create convincing images, audio and video hoaxes.

On Tuesday, Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar said those who find themselves impacted by AI-generated deepfakes should file FIRs at nearest police stations and avail the remedies provided under the Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021, and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the IT Rules, 2021. “They are further mandated to remove such content within 36 hours upon receiving a report from either a user or government authority. Failure to comply with this requirement invokes Rule 7, which empowers aggrieved individuals to take platforms to court under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” he said.

What is deepfake

Deepfake is digitally manipulated to replace one person’s likeness convincingly with that of another through deep generative methods.

Experts say that new-age technology can be used to create convincing photos, videos and audios from scratch.

While the act of creating fake content is not new (photo-shopping has been around for quite some time), deepfake leverages powerful techniques from machine-learning and AI to manipulate and generate visual and audio content that can deceive more easily.

Tip of iceberg

According to experts, what is happening right now is just the tip of the iceberg. The problem is, even a poor-quality deepfake is good enough to create room for doubt and pollute the information ecosystem.

The fact is as technology becomes more accessible and advanced, the quality of deepfakes would only improve.

“Not all deepfakes are bad, but the majority of stuff floating around happens to be pornographic and aimed at female celebrities. The technology has many good uses; unfortunately; it is largely being used to harass, spread misinformation and destabilise,” they say

For example, the Zelenskyy video also appeared, albeit briefly, on television in Ukraine and on a news broadcaster’s website. There are ways to spot real from fake but the way social media operates, it is quite easy for a fake to become viral.