The Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has issued a stern warning, signaling the government's intention to block platforms that underestimate the threat of deepfakes.
Compliance with the advice on deepfakes has been "mixed" from platforms, according to Chandrasekhar, who added that stronger IT guidelines are likely to be published in the next seven days to address the issue.
The government, he said, had earlier made it clear to social media and online platforms that if its advisory on deepfake is not fully adhered to, new IT rules would follow.
"There has been a mixed performance of compliance and I had said at the time of the advisory, that if we find that the advisory is not being followed through completely, we will follow it up with very clear amended IT rules that will be notified," Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for IT and Electronics, said on sidelines of an event. The amended IT rules can be expected in the next one week, he said.
"What was in the advisory will be now firmly embedded into the IT rules and we hope to do this in the next week," he said.
Chandrasekhar, involved in dialogues with intermediaries, highlighted ongoing efforts to convey the seriousness of the deepfake issue. Advisories have been issued, and intermediaries warned about potential consequences for non-compliance with upcoming regulations.
“Existing IT rules provide for combating misinformation, but do not feature specific conditions on terms of use. Amended IT Rules to feature specific requirements for intermediaries, and users on terms of use for,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
