Deep Fake: Remove deepfakes within 24 hours of complaint: Government

NEW DELHI: The government has got cracking on the issue of deepfakes or morphed videos on the internet, and has instructed social media companies such as Instagram, X and Facebook to remove such content from their platforms within 24 hours of receiving a complaint. To those impacted by the menace, the government has advised them to file FIR at the nearest police station, while promptly informing the social media platforms to take them down.
The move comes after a deepfake video of actress Rashmika Mandanna was found to be circulating on social media platforms, which had prompted her to complain and talk about it online.
“An advisory has been issued to top social media platforms to take down such content within 24 hours, or risk being censured around the provisions of the IT Rules,” sources said.
The advisory said that Section 66 D of IT Act, 2000 provides for punishment — which can be imprisonment for up to three years and fine up to Rs 1 lakh — for those found cheating by personation by using a computer resource.
The advisory mentions that social media intermediaries shall observe due diligence, including ensuring the rules and regulations, privacy policy or user agreement and inform users not to host any content that impersonates another person.
“Intermediary shall, within 24 hours from the receipt of a complaint in relation to any content… in the nature of impersonation in an electronic form, including artificially morphed images of such individual, take all… measures to remove or disable access to such content,” the advisory further said.
Sources said that the IT ministry is monitoring the situation and “will act if social media companies fail to act” as per the rules.
Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar had on Monday reacted to the deepfake video of Mandanna on X where he said that social media companies are bound to remove any misinformation. “It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the IT Rules, 2021. They are further mandated to remove such content… upon receiving a report from either a user or government authority. Failure to comply with this requirement invokes Rule 7, which empowers aggrieved individuals to take platforms to court under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It is imperative that platforms take proactive measures to combat this threat. For those who find themselves impacted by deepfakes, I strongly encourage you to file FIR at your nearest police station and avail the remedies provided under the Information Technology (IT) rules.”