New Delhi, Nov 23: The Government of India will soon come out with a new set of regulations to deal with deepfakes as it poses new threats to democracy and society, informed Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday.

Addressing the media here, the Union Minister said that there is a need to take urgent steps to tackle deepfakes strengthen trust in our society and protect democracy.

Also Read: Deepfake Dilemma

Ashwini Vaishnaw said that he held a meeting with all social media platforms and the company leaders in Artificial Intelligence tools and experts on the challenges emerging out of deepfakes.

“The social media companies share our concerns and they understand that deepfakes are not free speech. They understand the need for regulation for this and we will start drafting the regulation,” said Vaishnaw.

The IT Ministry will also look at imposing penalties on those who create deepfake videos.

“We need urgent steps to strengthen trust in society and to protect our democracy from deepfakes,” said Vaishnaw.

The Minister is expected to meet social media companies again on this burning topic next month.

The new regulation will also focus on strengthening the reporting mechanisms for individuals to report such videos, and for proactive and timely actions by social media companies, said Vaishnaw.

Read: Watch: AI-Generated Video Of Actress Rashmika Mandanna Goes Viral; Amitabh Bachchan Demands probe

Speaking on the deepfake issue during a media interaction last week, Vaishnaw said, “Deepfake is a big issue for all of us.”

Deepfake technology poses a significant threat to the privacy and individual rights of public figures.

As seen in the case of Rashmika Mandanna, it can be used to create convincing fake videos that can potentially harm a person's reputation or even incite legal action.

Deepfake technology can be weaponised to create deceptive content that poses a threat to national security.

It can be used to manipulate public sentiment, create forged videos of politicians or leaders, and potentially incite chaos or conflicts, according to experts.

Read: National News

Earlier this month, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said that those who find themselves impacted by AI-generated deepfakes should file First Information Reports (FIRs) at the 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 Information Technology (IT) Rules, 2021.

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