Centre To Form Committee To Frame Regulations On Deepfakes: Delhi HC Told
The Union Ministry of Electronics And Information Technology told the Delhi High Court today that it has taken the decision to create of a dedicated committee to give suggestions on the regulation of deepfake technology.
The MeitY told the Court that a sub-committee was formed through an office memorandum issued on November 20. This sub-committee will comprise one member each from the emerging technologies division, cyber security division and the cyber law division of the MeitY and one representative each from the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Centre For Development of Advance Computing, Hyderabad and Data Security Council of India. It would also have one professor from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and one legal representative.
The status report filed before the Court does not contain names of individuals, about which the Court questioned Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, who said the process of nominating names will be expedited.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed that the committee shall invite "providers and deployers" of deepfake technology, intermediaries, telecom service providers and victims of deepfakes to hear them before formulating their report. The Bench asked the committee to give recommendations on "creation, detection and removal" of deepfakes. The Bench also ordered the committee to consider the regulatory and statutory framework prevalent in other countries, specifically those in the European Union region.
The MeitY clarified that a sub-committee was previously formed in March 2023 to give suggestions on regulating Artificial Intelligence technology, which has already submitted its report, but the newly formed committee will specifically deal with the issue of deepfakes.
The Court was in the process of hearing two Writ Petitions; one by Rajat Sharma, Editor-in-chief of India TV, who was represented by Advocate Darpan Wadhwa and the other by Advocate Chaitanya Rohilla, who appeared in person.
The Court's direction to hear the suggestions of intermediaries such as Facebook and X, came on the suggestion of Darpan Wadhwa who contended that social media intermediaries will be the primary stakeholders in regulating deepfakes. He submitted that the rules on removal of content based on user requests currently mandates that prohibited content must be removed in 72 hours and called for a shorter compliance period. Chief Justice Manmohan asked the Petitioners what would happen if a user falsely reports material as deepfake, to which Wadhwa replied, "The balance of convenience needs to be in favour of the complainant."
Chaitnaya Rohilla's petition seeks directions to the government to identify and block websites providing access to deepfake technology, issue dynamic injunctions, lay down guidelines for AI regulation, ensure fair implementation of AI, and issue guidelines for AI and deepfake access in strict accordance with fundamental rights. His petition raises concerns about privacy violations and economic and emotional damage because of deepfakes.
The Court granted the sub-committee on deepfake regulation three months to submit its report and posted the matter for further hearing on March 25, 2025.
Chaitnaya Rohilla v. Union of India [W.P.(C) 15596/2023]
