Delhi High Court Presses Centre for Response on Deepfake Regulation Plea

The Delhi High Court has called upon the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to respond to a plea regarding the regulation of deepfake and AI technology within the country. Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora expressed concerns over the matter, highlighting its significant implications. They queried the ministry about its readiness to address the issue, noting that even political parties have raised complaints about it and yet, no action seems to have been taken. The bench has instructed the ministry to provide a response within four weeks and has postponed the hearing until July 19.

The plea was lodged by the editor-in-chief of a television channel, who emphasized the necessity for guidelines from the Central Government to curb the misuse of deepfake or AI technologies. Until such directives are issued, the plea urged for measures to identify and block public access to these technologies, including their creation, software, platforms, and websites. It underscored the significant risks posed by the proliferation of deepfake technology, such as misinformation campaigns, erosion of public discourse and democratic processes, and potential threats to individuals’ reputation and privacy through fraudulent activities like identity theft. Consequently, stringent regulation and proactive measures are urgently needed to mitigate the risks associated with their misuse.

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The plea underscored the absence of sufficient regulations and safeguards against the misuse of deepfake technology, which poses a grave threat to fundamental rights including freedom of expression and privacy. The lack of a robust monitoring mechanism has created a gap, compromising citizens’ personal liberty and privacy. It stressed the State’s obligation to ensure that privacy rights are not infringed upon by the actions of private entities.

Despite the Central Government’s intent to formulate regulations to address deepfakes and synthetic content in November 2023, the plea noted the absence of any concrete steps taken thus far.