Fighting Deepfakes: MeitY, social media reps formulate plan to take on AI-gen fake videos

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw earlier today, convened a meeting that brought together several social media platforms, AI companies, Nasscom, and experts in the field of artificial intelligence. In this collaborative effort, Minister Vaishnaw announced that the participating entities have collectively committed to formulating tangible action plans across four key pillars — Detection of deepfakes, Prevention of their virality, the enhancement of existing Reporting mechanisms for deepfakes, and the promotion of Awareness regarding how deepfakes operate and the appropriate countermeasures against them. “All the companies have shared our concern. They have understood that this is not free speech, that this is something very harmful… they have understood the need for regulation,” he added. Minister Vaishnaw also revealed that the ministry has already started working on creating a set of regulations. A consensus has been reached between the government and social media companies to release comprehensive guidelines within the next ten days. These guidelines will specifically address the detection, prevention, and dissemination of videos containing deepfake content. In a media interaction held on November 18, Ashwini Vaishnaw addressed the pressing issue of deepfakes, highlighting its significant impact. He underscored the gravity of the problem, stating, “Deepfake poses a substantial challenge for everyone.” The Minister commended the responsiveness of social media platforms to the notices issued, noting their active efforts in tackling the issue. Additionally, Vaishnaw urged these platforms to take a more assertive stance against deepfake content. He pointed out that the traditional ‘Safe Harbour’ Clause, which has provided protection to social media platforms, may not be applicable if they do not implement sufficient measures to combat deepfakes on their platforms. Vaishnaw emphasized, “The Safe Harbour Clause, a longstanding shield for many social media platforms, does not extend to cases where platforms fail to take effective actions in removing deepfakes.” IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar is also set to meet representatives of the social media companies and AI experts in a meeting scheduled for tomorrow, as per a Moneycontrol report.