Indian ministry takes regulatory action after Rashmika Mandanna's viral deepfake video

A day after the viral deepfake video of South Indian starlet Rashmika Mandanna raised concerns regarding the misuse of AI technology, the Union Ministry of Electronics and IT of India took the necessary regulatory actions to curb further potential cyber and gender-based violence.

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Indian actor Rashmika Mandanna recently fell victim to the horrors of artificial intelligence, with her viral deepfake video, morphed over the clip of British resident Zara Patel, doing rounds on social media. Taking to her handle on the micro-blogging site X, she spoke against the misuse of technology and called for needed action immediately.

As per the latest development in the case, the Indian ministry, on Tuesday, directed social media platforms to prevent the spread of AI-fabricated video and other misinformation as mandated by Indian law.

In the two letters issued by the ministry under junior Information Technology Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on November 6 and 7, social media platforms were reminded of their obligations under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code), 2021.

“As per the laws in force, such content/information which violates the IT Act/Rules, should be removed or access disabled upon receipt of court orders or notification from the Appropriate Government or its authorised agency or based on a complaint made by the impersonated individual or person authorised by him in this behalf,” read one of the two letters.

The letter also cited Section 66D of the act, under which anyone who uses a communication device or a computer resource to cheat by ‘personating’ can be punished with three years in jail and a fine of up to INR1 lac.

However, in the case of this particular clip, section 66D may not be applicable since the ‘element of cheating as understood’ under the Indian Penal Code, or ‘acting dishonestly to gain an advantage is hard, if not impossible, to establish’, an Indian advocate explained.

Furthermore, the ministry also ordered for the ‘deepfakes to be removed within 36 hours of being reported’ in a separate statement.

“It is a legal obligation for online platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation by any user under the Information Technology (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,” the statement quoted Chandrasekhar.

Moreover, the exception to this rule is laid down in rule 3(2)(b), where on receiving a complaint from a user or someone on his or her behalf about content that has ‘any material which exposes the private area of such individual, shows such individual in full or partial nudity, or show such individual in full or partial nudity or shows or depicts such individual in any sexual act or conduct, or is in the nature of impersonation in an electronic form, including artificially morphed images of such individual’, the content must be removed in 24 hours.

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