Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, on Tuesday, November 7, said that those who find themselves impacted by AI-generated deepfakes should file first information reports (FIRs) at nearest police stations and avail the remedies provided under the IT Rules, 2021 and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Given the significant challenges posed by misinformation and deepfakes, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has issued a second advisory within the last six months, calling upon online platforms to take decisive actions against the spread of deepfakes, he said.

“Deepfakes are a major violation and harm women in particular. Our government takes the responsibility of safety and trust of all nagriks very very seriously, and more so about our children and women who are targeted by such content," Chandrasekhar said in a statement.

It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the IT Rules, 2021.

"They are further mandated to remove such content within 36 hours upon receiving a report from either a user or government authority. Failure to comply with this requirement invokes Rule 7, which empowers aggrieved individuals to take platforms to court under the provisions of the IPC," the minister said.

He stressed that it is imperative that platforms take proactive measures to combat this threat.

"For those who find themselves impacted by deepfakes, I strongly encourage you to file FIRs at your nearest police station," said Chandrasekhar.

The ministry has sent advisories to social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, to take down such fake content generated via AI.

After actor Rashmika Mandanna strongly reacted against her deepfake video, a new morphed picture of actor Katrina Kaif from Tiger 3 was also doing the rounds on social media.