The Central government has formed a Deepfake Committee following petitions regarding the misuse of deepfake technology. This initiative, announced by MEITY, aims to recommend regulations and gather input from various stakeholders. The committee will consider international frameworks and submit a report within three months, focusing on developing detection technologies and software to combat the issue effectively.
New Delhi: The Central government has informed the Delhi High Court that it has initiated steps to address the growing menace of deepfake technology misuse. In a significant development, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) announced on November 21 that a Deepfake Committee has been constituted to study and recommend measures to tackle this issue.
The decision came in response to petitions filed by journalist Rajat Sharma and advocate Chaitanya Rohilla, urging the regulation of deepfakes—“digitally manipulated videos that impersonate people and spread false information.”
The Bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the Central government to finalize the nominees for the committee within a week. The committee must include perspectives from various stakeholders, such as internet intermediaries, telecommunication service providers, victims of deepfakes, and platforms using deepfake technology.
The November 21 court order emphasized:
“The said Committee shall also consider the regulations as well as statutory framework in foreign countries like the European Union. This Court further directs the Committee… to hear the experiences and suggestions of stakeholders… before submitting its report.”
The Court has requested the report to be submitted as soon as possible, preferably within three months, with a subsequent hearing set for March 24, 2025.
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In its status report, the Central government disclosed several measures, including:
- Research funding for developing deepfake detection technologies.
- Initiatives to create platforms for crowdsourcing videos to train detection algorithms.
- Development of software and desktop applications to identify manipulated content.
These efforts align with ongoing work to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and associated technologies.
The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate Darpan Wadhwa and a team of advocates, including Rohan Swarup, Sanyam Suri, Divita Vyas, and Rea Bhalla for Rajat Sharma, and Advocate Manohar Lal for Chaitanya Rohilla. The government’s legal team included Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and Central Government Standing Counsel Apoorv Kurup, supported by a team of advocates.
This case marks an essential step in combating deepfake misuse, ensuring both technological advancements and legal safeguards are in place to curb the malicious use of AI-powered tools.
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