The new 12 months goes to be a troublesome one for social media platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook, and others as they may come underneath elevated regulatory scrutiny for synthetic intelligence-generated consumer hurt circumstances.

They would wish to extend their due diligence when it comes to vetting content material on their platforms because the onus of figuring out the dangerous stuff will lie with them. No extra will they be capable to take refuge underneath the secure harbour clause which ensures authorized immunity in opposition to third-party content material posted on their platforms.

While the federal government is engaged on an omnibus Digital India Act, it has made it clear to the platforms that, within the interim, the present Information Technology Act and different legal guidelines of the land will probably be relevant to them for any dangerous content material which isn’t eliminated on time.

The ministry of electronics and data expertise (MeitY) on Tuesday issued a second advisory to the platforms to make sure that customers on their platforms don’t violate the prohibited content material in rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules.

As per the advisory, social media firms might want to inform customers about such content material on the time of first registration, as common reminders, at each occasion of login, and whereas importing/sharing data onto the platform.

“Owing to elections next year, the deepfake cases in India are expected to rise extensively. The government putting the onus on intermediaries to control deepfakes is a good starting point, but we need a dedicated AI law to meaningfully tackle the issue at the level where these technologies are created,” stated Pavan Duggal, Supreme Court advocate and cybersecurity knowledgeable.

According to Duggal, will probably be a good suggestion for platforms to change into extra proactive of their strategy in taking down prohibited content material and making customers conscious. These actions will assist the businesses in opposition to any type of prosecution.

Jaspreet Bindra, founder and managing director of The Tech Whisperer, a expertise advisory and consulting agency, stated: “Deepfakes are going to be a huge challenge in 2024 as the technology to create that is getting better. As immediate steps, the government has to strictly formulate regulations to control its spread on social media platforms.” According to Bindra, if the unfold will not be managed, the scenario can worsen, particularly when basic elections are scheduled.

The deepfake expertise can be utilized to affect voters, and apart from controlling its unfold, the federal government and social media firms must unfold consciousness and schooling concerning this among the many lots, similar to ads to abstain individuals from consuming tobacco.

Rapid evolution of deepfake expertise has made it troublesome for firms to deploy detection instruments on time. “It’s difficult for automated takedowns to distinguish between genuine content and clever parodies or satire. Platforms will have to develop or license technology to distinguish and weed out deepfakes. This, however, is easier said than done,” stated Anupam Shukla, associate at Pioneer Legal.

Prashanth Shivadass, associate at Shivadass & Shivadass Law Chambers, stated: “The analytical tools incorporated by the platform must include periodical minute by minute checks of posts being generated by users.”

“It is very difficult to identify deepfakes as generative AI is based on self-learning technology which is meant to better itself and evolve at an exceedingly fast pace. In this light, it may also be relevant to consider tracking platforms enabling the creation of adversarial and explicit content rather than shifting the burden entirely on intermediaries,” stated Shreya Suri, associate at IndusLaw.