India Creating Framework for Deepfake Governance

A top minister said on Nov 23 that India is developing rules to govern deepfakes, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern about the technology.

"We plan to complete drafting the regulations within the next few weeks," information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told reporters after a meeting with academics, industry groups, and social media companies.

Deepfakes are realistic-looking but fabricated videos created by AI algorithms trained on online footage.

In his opening remarks at a virtual summit of G20 nations on Nov 22, Modi urged global leaders to work together to regulate AI, and he expressed concern about the negative effects of deepfakes on society. The process of developing regulations would also consider penalties for both the person uploading the content and the social media platform where it was posted, according to Vaishnaw.

The move comes as countries around the world scramble to develop rules to govern artificial intelligence.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order last month requiring developers of artificial intelligence systems that pose risks to US national security, the economy, or public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the US government before they are released to the public. The United Nations has also established a 39-member advisory body to address issues in AI governance, and European legislators have prepared a draught set of rules that could be approved by next month.