MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Communications) met all social media platforms, Nasscom and professors from the field of AI, agreed that within 10 days they would draw up clear actionable items based on four pillars to combat the deepfake menace which the government said is a threat to democracy.
The first pillar is detection of deepfakes and misinformation. Acknowledging the rapid spread of deceptive content on social media, the pillar aims to fortify users’ ability to identify and discern such fabricated content.
The second pillar concentrates on preventing the dissemination of detected deepfakes and misinformation.
The third pillar addresses the enhancement of reporting mechanisms.
“There is already an app mechanism in place for reporting. However we have to strengthen those both within and outside the company,” said Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology and Communications, Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Lastly, the fourth pillar highlights the need for heightened awareness.
The social media platforms share the ministry’s concern, said Vaishnaw.
“They understood that this is not free speech and that this is something which is really harmful for the society. The companies understood the need for much heavier regulation on this. So we agreed that we will start drafting the regulation today,” he added.
The rules before being implemented would be open for feedback and consultation for all stakeholders.
“We have identified a nodal officer within MeitY and very soon we will be uploading an email id or within the MyGov platform through which all feedback can be taken,” he said.
The minister also said that they are not ruling charging penalties for non-compliance.
The threat of deepfakes was recently made more apparent when deepfakes of celebrities such as Rashmika Mandanna, Katrina, Kaif, Kajol and more went viral. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently expressed his concerns about the misuse of artificial intelligence to create deepfakes and urged the media to spread awareness about the problem.
A day after the IT ministry summoned social media companies to meet on November 23, sources said that the government has sent another invitation for a meeting with Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar on November 24. The second meeting under the title of ‘Digital India Dialogue with intermediaries’, doesn’t clearly state Deepfakes as a point of discussion or the subject of the meeting. However, Chandrasekhar’s recent comments about the deepfakes menace indicate that this meeting, too, will be on the threat of the technology and its misuse.
Read More: MeitY mulls new regulations to combat deep-fakes menace: Breaking