Govt To Enable ‘Prosecution Of Platforms If They…’: MoS IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar On Deepfakes

Chandrasekhar said that the Centre on Friday held a meeting with all the platforms where it was made clear that the onus is on them to ensure the "safety of the internet and there are no deepfakes."

File photo of Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar

New Delhi: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Sunday said that the central government conducted a meeting with social media platforms to address issues related to internet safety and the deepfake menace.

The Minister of State for IT and Electronics said that the Centre on Friday (November 24) held a meeting with all the platforms where it was made clear that the onus is on them to ensure the "safety of the internet and there are no deepfakes."

"One November 24, we had a detailed meeting with all of the (social media) platforms where it was made clear to them that the onus and responsibility to ensure that the internet is safe and there are no deepfakes - under the current law - is the responsibility of the platforms, and we will take all the necessary steps, including removing the safe harbour and enabling the prosecution of platforms if they don't do enough to take out deepfakes," he said.

VIDEO | "One November 24, we had a detailed meeting with all of the (social media) platforms where it was made clear to them that the onus and responsibility to ensure that the internet is safe and there are no deepfakes - under the current law - is the responsibility of the… pic.twitter.com/vgeoJLBXqs

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 26, 2023

On Friday, Chandrasekhar said that the internet and technology have the power to harm users unless it is regulated carefully through the prism of safety and trust, reported PTI.

He had further stated that while artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest inventions of recent times, the government is committed to ensuring the safety of users on digital platforms, given that India is one of the largest connected nations in the world with almost 850 million Indians already using the internet and 1.2 billion estimated to do so by 2025-26.

 

In a video message at the 'DATE with Tech' event, the minister had also drew attention to the issue of deepfakes, reported PTI.

 

"You have heard recently our Prime Minister call out the risks of deepfakes. We have all been aware, especially some of us from my generation, who always believe that technology is a great enabler and is a force for good, but the recent events in the last 10 years have also shown that unless regulated carefully and through the prism of safety and trust, internet and the broader technology ecosystem can also be a power for harm and criminality," the minister had said.