Government alert about the threat of deepfakes, meeting held with many social media platforms; New rules will be implemented soon

In view of the continuing threats from deepfakes, the government has issued a warning to social media companies including Facebook and YouTube. The government has asked social media sites to send reminders to users that posting deepfakes and content spreading obscenity or misinformation is banned.

News agency Reuters, citing two sources, said that this warning was given by IT Minister Rajiv Chandrashekhar in a closed-door meeting.

There has been a meeting of the government and big internet companies, where they have been given a week to update their terms of use, which have not updated them despite the 2022 rules, which are harmful to children, obscene, or any Restrict content that impersonates another person. Union IT Minister Ashwinin Vaishnav also said that the government is also working on rules to solve the problem of deepfakes.

Chandrashekhar said Facebook and YouTube should increase awareness of the rules by reminding users every time they log in that they cannot post such content and issue reminders. He said otherwise he would issue instructions to force them to do so. Chandrashekhar recently said that all platforms have agreed to align their content guidelines with government rules.

The government will appoint a special officer to look into the deepfake menace on online platforms and assist citizens in filing FIRs whenever they see fake content online. Chandrashekhar also told the forums that the government will create a platform where citizens can bring to the notice of the government their notices, allegations, or reports of violations of law by the platforms.

The issue of deepfake was also raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in recent times. During a virtual summit of G20 countries earlier this week, Modi highlighted the dangers of deepfakes and called for global cooperation on AI rules.