Legal experts have praised the government’s revised rules on AI-generated deepfakes, noting that social media platforms will now focus on making reasonable efforts instead of visible labelling. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued new guidelines for social media intermediaries such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. These guidelines mandate clear labeling of all AI-generated content and embedding identifiers in synthetic material.
The amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, empower regulators and the government to oversee synthetically generated information (SGI), including deepfakes. AI-generated or altered content must be labeled or identified through visible disclosures or embedded metadata to ensure informed consumption by users.
Sajai Singh, Partner at JSA Advocates & Solicitors, highlighted that the revised guidelines narrow down the flagged content scope to focus on misleading information rather than all artificially or algorithmically created content. The government has also reduced the time for social media platforms to remove AI-generated deepfake content from 36 hours to three hours once flagged by the government or court order.
Singh expressed that intermediaries are likely pleased with the shift towards expecting reasonable efforts over the previously suggested visible labeling. The updated regulations prohibit digital platforms from removing or suppressing AI labels or associated metadata once applied. Social media companies must implement automated tools to detect and prevent the spread of illegal, sexually exploitative, or deceptive AI-generated content as per the latest MeitY directive.
