Ashwini Vaishnaw advised social media intermediaries to exercise due diligence against deepfake

Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has, from time to time, advised social media intermediaries to exercise due diligence and take expeditious action against deepfake.

Earlier today, Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronics & IT Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, interacted with representatives from academia, industry bodies, and social media companies on the need to ensure effective response to deepfake.

It was agreed during the discussion that the government, academia, social media companies and NASSCOM will jointly work towards responding to deepfake. It was further agreed that within next 10 days, actionable items on the following four pillars would be identified:

• Detection: Deepfake content should be detected before and after such content is posted
• Prevention: There should be an effective mechanism for preventing the propagation of deepfake content
• Reporting: Effective and expeditious reporting and grievance redressal mechanisms should be available
• Awareness: Mass awareness on the issue of deepfake should be created

Further, with immediate effect, MeitY will commence an exercise for assessing and drafting necessary regulations to curb the menace of deepfake. For this purpose, MeitY will invite comments from the public on MyGov portal.

A follow-up meeting with relevant stakeholders will be held again in the first week of December 2023 to finalise the 4-pillared structure. The government of India remains committed to combat the growing threat of deepfake by leveraging technology and fostering public awareness.