The Centre has issued advisory to major social media platforms to ensure that due diligence is exercised and reasonable efforts are made to identify misinformation and deepfakes, and in particular, information that violates the provisions of rules and regulations and/or user agreements.
Instances like these are promptly addressed within the timeframes specified under the IT Rules 2021. Users are advised not to host such material or Deep Fakes and should remove any such content within 36 hours of reporting. It is crucial to ensure swift action, in line with the timeframes outlined under the IT Rules 2021, and to disable access to the content/information, the advisory mentioned.
The intermediaries were cautioned that any failure to comply with the relevant provisions of the IT Act and Rules could lead to the application of Rule 7 of the IT Rules, 2021, potentially resulting in the organization losing the protection provided under Section 79(1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, ‘Safety and trust of our Digital Nagriks is our unwavering commitment and top priority for the Government. Given the significant challenges posed by misinformation and deepfakes, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has issued a second advisory within the last six months, calling upon online platforms to take decisive actions against the spread of deepfakes.’
The Minister further added, ‘Deepfakes are a major violation and harm women in particular. Our Government takes the responsibility of safety & trust of all nagriks very seriously and more so about our children and women who are targeted by such content.’
Elaborating further Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, ‘It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the Information Technology (IT) rules, 2021. They are further mandated to remove such content within 36 hours 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 First Information Reports (FIRs) at your nearest police station and avail the remedies provided under the Information Technology (IT) rules, 2021,” the Minister said while summing up.
Concluding, the Minister strongly urged those affected by deepfakes to file First Information Reports (FIRs) at the nearest police station and utilize the remedies outlined in the Information Technology (IT) rules, 2021.
