A Division Bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela expressed concern over the growing difficulty in trusting what people see and hear, given the rise of deepfake technology.
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court emphasized the urgent need to regulate the spread of deepfakes on the internet during a hearing on Wednesday(28th Aug).
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A Division Bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela expressed concern over the growing difficulty in trusting what people see and hear, given the rise of deepfake technology.
The Bench remarked,
“It’s shocking that today, you cannot believe what you see or hear through your own eyes and ears. Everything seems fake.”
The Court also suggested that platforms generating deepfakes may not be appropriately classified as intermediaries under current information technology laws.
Acting Chief Justice Manmohan urged the Central Government to take proactive steps in regulating deepfakes, labeling them as a potential menace to society.
These observations were made in response to petitions filed by journalist Rajat Sharma and advocate Chaitanya Rohilla, who called for the regulation of deepfakes.
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Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, representing the Central Government, described deepfakes as a societal malaise and noted that counter-technology might be the only effective response.
The Court, after reviewing the Central government’s response, requested the petitioners to submit their suggestions for regulating deepfake technology. The petitioners were also asked to study relevant laws from the European Union, the United States, and the Elvis Act from Tennessee, USA, and file an affidavit. The case is scheduled for its next hearing in October.
