Journalist Rajat Sharma filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court. The court has issued a notice to the Central Government and requested a response within four weeks.
NEW DELHI: Today (8th May): The Delhi High Court has taken up a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by a renowned journalist and Chairman of India TV, Rajat Sharma, urging the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) to identify and block access to platforms and mobile applications involved in the creation of deepfakes. The court has issued a notice to the Central Government and requested a response within four weeks. The case will be heard again on July 19.
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The Division Bench, headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, emphasized that the Central Government must address the issue promptly, as it has failed to act on it thus far. The Bench noted that even political parties have raised concerns about the misuse of deepfakes during elections. The court expressed its grave concern over the matter and urged the government to take decisive action.
“This is a significant issue. We’ve repeatedly alerted the Central government about it. The government needs to address this… Are you prepared to take action? Political parties are also voicing their concerns. Inaction is not an option,” remarked the Bench.
Background
Rajat Sharma, in his PIL, highlighted the perils posed by deepfakes, citing an incident where a fake video featuring his face and voice endorsing diabetes and weight loss treatment was circulated on social media. Sharma’s attempts to have the video removed proved futile, as there was no dedicated mechanism in place to identify and remove such content. Despite filing a complaint with the Cyber Cell of Noida Police, no perpetrator has been apprehended.
The PIL seeks multiple reliefs to address the issue of deep fakes. Apart from requesting the blocking of platforms facilitating the creation of deepfakes, Sharma urged the central Government to appoint a dedicated nodal officer to handle complaints related to deepfakes. The PIL also demands that complaints be acted upon within specific timeframes, such as 12 hours for general complaints and six hours for complaints concerning public figures.
Additionally, the petitioner insists on the disclosure of AI-generated content through watermarks or other effective methodologies and requests that social media companies to promptly remove deepfakes upon receiving a complaint.
Sharma’s PIL highlights the potential harm caused by the misuse of deepfake and AI technologies, ranging from threats to public discourse and democratic processes to violations of individuals’ reputation, privacy, and security. The petitioner argues that such misuse erodes trust in media and public institutions, while also infringing upon intellectual property rights.
The plea further emphasizes the absence of a dedicated mechanism in India to address deepfakes and Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which grants the government powers to tackle applications enabling the creation of deepfakes.
It was argued that India currently lacks a dedicated mechanism to address the issue of deepfakes, and the authority granted to the government under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act (IT Act) has not been utilized to regulate applications enabling the creation of deepfakes.
“The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, India’s data protection legislation, does not cover publicly available data. As per Section 3(c)(ii) of the Act, it excludes personal data intentionally shared by users publicly. For example, if a blogger shares personal information on social media, such data processing falls beyond the scope of the data protection law,” the plea stated.
The plea also highlights a gap in India’s data protection legislation, specifically the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, which does not cover publicly available data. Personal information intentionally shared by users on social media falls outside the purview of the law. The petitioner contends that this limitation poses challenges in combating the misuse of deep fakes.
Case Title: Rajat Sharma v Union of India
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