The government will soon meet social media platforms on the deepfake issue, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Saturday, asserting that the safe harbour immunity clause would not apply if platforms did not take adequate steps to remove deepfakes.
Vaishnaw said the government had recently issued a notice to companies on the deepfake issue. He said the firms would have to be more aggressive in taking action on such content.
Vaishnaw also made it clear that the safe harbour immunity that platforms currently enjoy under the Information Technology Act would not be applicable unless they take adequate action.
“The safe harbour clause, which most social media platforms have been enjoying, does not apply if they do not take adequate steps for removing deepfakes from their platforms,” he said.
Recently, several ‘deepfake’ videos targeting leading actors went viral, sparking outrage and raising concerns over the misuse of technology and tools for creating fake content and narratives.
On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned that deepfakes created by artificial intelligence could lead to a big crisis and stoke discontent in society. He urged the media to raise awareness about its misuse and educate people.
