Delhi High Court directs Centre to nominate panel members to examine deepfake menace

New DelThe Centre submitted that it was actively taking measures to address and mitigate the issues related to deepfake technology.hi: The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to nominate members for a committee constituted to examine the issue of deepfakes.

The high court's direction came after it was informed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) that a committee had been formed on November 20 on deepfake matters.

The Centre submitted that it was actively taking measures to address and mitigate the issues related to deepfake technology.

A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the central government to nominate the members within a week.

"The committee shall examine and take into consideration the suggestions filed by the petitioners. The committee shall also consider the regulations as well as statutory framework in foreign countries like the European Union," the bench said in an order passed on November 21.

The court further directed the committee to invite the experiences and suggestions of a few of the stakeholders like the intermediary platforms, telecom service providers, victims of deepfakes, and websites which provide and deploy deepfakes before submitting its report.

"The committee shall submit its report, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within three months," the bench said and listed the matter for hearing on March 24.

The court was hearing two petitions against the non-regulation of deepfake technology in the country and the threat of its potential misuse.

Deepfake technology facilitates the creation of realistic videos, audio recordings and images that can manipulate and mislead the viewers by superimposing the likeness of one person onto another, altering their words and actions, thereby presenting a false narrative or spreading misinformation.

During the hearing, the counsel for petitioners said the delay in creation, detection, and removal of deepfakes is causing "immense hardship" to the public at large.

They prayed that their suggestions on deepfake should be considered by the committee.

The court had earlier directed the Centre to file a status report on the steps being taken by it to counter the menace of deepfake technology which is increasing every day.

The deepfake technology was going to be a serious menace in society and the government should start thinking about it, it said, adding, the antidote to Artificial Intelligence would be technology only.

In response, the MeitY told the court that it was not empowered to monitor any online content on the internet on a suo motu basis.

One of the pleas, filed by journalist Rajat Sharma, seeks regulation of deepfake technology in the country and directions to block public access to apps and software enabling the creation of such content.

The other petition has been filed by Chaitanya Rohilla, a lawyer, against deepfakes and the unregulated use of artificial intelligence.

Rajat Sharma, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Independent News Service Private Limited (INDIA TV), in a public interest litigation said that the proliferation of deepfake technology poses a significant threat to various aspects of society, including misinformation and disinformation campaign, and undermines the integrity of public discourse and the democratic process.

The PIL said there is a threat of potential use of this technology in fraud, identity theft and blackmail, harm to individual reputation, privacy and security, erosion of trust in media and public institutions and violation of intellectual property rights and privacy rights.

It is imperative the government establish regulatory frameworks to define and classify deepfakes and AI-generated content and prohibit the creation, distribution and dissemination of deepfakes for malicious purposes, the plea contended.