Govt moots labelling, markers for AI-generated content

In a bid to curb user harm from AI-generated deepfakes and synthetically produced content, the Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY) has proposed draft amendments to IT rules that mandate labelling and prominent markers to ensure users can distinguish synthetic and authentic content and mooted greater accountability for major social media platforms.

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With the increasing availability of generative AI tools and the resulting proliferation of synthetically generated information (deepfakes), the potential for misuse of such technologies to cause user harm, spread misinformation, manipulate elections, or impersonate individuals has grown significantly, the ministry said.

Taking note of these risks, and after extensive public discussions and parliamentary deliberations, MeitY has prepared the draft amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, it said, adding that the move aims to strengthen due diligence obligations for intermediaries, particularly social media intermediaries (platforms with 50 lakh or more users like Meta) and significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs), as well as for platforms that enable the creation or modification of synthetically generated content.

It requires significant social media to obtain a user declaration on whether uploaded information is synthetically generated, deploy reasonable and proportionate technical measures to verify such declarations, and ensure that synthetically generated information is clearly labelled or accompanied by a notice indicating the same.