NEW DELHI: The Centre has advised all social media platforms to comply with IT rules amid growing concerns around misinformation powered by AI – deepfakes. In an advisory, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said the intermediaries should communicate prohibited content, particularly those specified under the IT Rules, clearly and precisely to users.
This advisory is the culmination of the discussions held by Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar during Digital India dialogues with intermediaries within one month.
The content not permitted under the IT Rules, in particular those listed under Rule 3(1)(b) must be communicated to the users. The advisory emphasises that digital intermediaries must ensure users are informed about penal provisions.
Rule 3(1)(b) within the due diligence section of the IT rules mandates intermediaries to communicate their rules, regulations, privacy policy, and user agreement in the user’s preferred language. They are also obliged to ensure reasonable efforts to prevent users from hosting, displaying, uploading, modifying, publishing, transmitting, storing, updating, or sharing any information related to the 11 listed user harms or content prohibited on digital intermediaries.
This rule aims to ensure platforms identify and promptly remove misinformation, false or misleading content, and material impersonating others, including deepfakes.
PM Modi had alerted the nation to the dangers posed by deepfakes. Subsequently, the ministry conducted two Digital India Dialogues with all stakeholders about the provisions of the IT Rules.
