India Fortifies Cyberspace: New Rules Target AI Abuse and Fake News

The Government of India is actively bolstering its regulatory framework and taking concrete steps to ensure a safe, trusted, and accountable cyberspace for all users in the country. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha today, the Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Shri Jitin Prasada, outlined the key initiatives undertaken by the Central Government to tackle the growing challenges of misinformation and deepfakes.

Highlighting the foundational role of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and its subsequent rules, Shri Prasada emphasized that this legal framework is designed to shield the internet from unlawful activities, fostering trust and safety among users. The IT Act already encompasses offenses like identity theft, online impersonation, privacy violations, and the dissemination of obscene or sexually explicit content, including material depicting child sexual abuse. Crucially, the Minister clarified that these provisions extend to information generated through Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and user-created content alike.

Recognizing the dynamic nature of technological advancements and their potential for misuse, particularly concerning AI, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has been proactively engaging with industry stakeholders. These consultations aim to promote the ethical deployment of technologies and address emerging harms.

A significant regulatory measure in this direction is the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, along with its subsequent amendments. These "IT Rules, 2021" place specific obligations on intermediaries, including social media platforms, to refrain from hosting, storing, or publishing any information that violates existing laws. Furthermore, these platforms are mandated to act swiftly on takedown requests for unlawful content, whether notified by the government or flagged through user grievances.

The definition of unlawful information under these rules is broad, encompassing content that is harmful to children, promotes enmity between groups based on religion or caste with the intent to incite violence, disseminates deceptive or misleading information about the origin of a message, knowingly shares patently false or misleading content, threatens national security or public order, or violates any law currently in force.

To empower users in addressing grievances, the IT Rules, 2021, mandate that intermediaries establish Grievance Officers to handle complaints regarding unlawful content. Dissatisfied users can further escalate their concerns to the Grievance Appellate Committees (GACs), an online platform accessible at www.gac.gov.in.

Acknowledging the urgency of combating AI-powered misinformation and deepfakes, MeitY has held extensive discussions with industry players and social media platforms. The Ministry has also issued timely advisories, reminding intermediaries of their due diligence obligations under the IT Rules, 2021, and providing guidance on countering malicious "synthetic media" and "deepfakes" to ensure their prompt removal.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) plays a crucial role in proactively addressing cyber threats. The agency regularly issues alerts and advisories on the latest vulnerabilities, including AI-driven malicious attacks, and provides countermeasures to safeguard digital infrastructure and data. Notably, CERT-In published advisories in May 2023 and November 2024 specifically focusing on AI-related threats and deepfake protection measures.

CERT-In has also implemented several initiatives to enhance digital literacy and awareness among users and organizations. These include issuing alerts on social engineering, phishing, and vishing campaigns, providing cybersecurity guidelines to government entities, operating the Cyber Swachhta Kendra for malware detection and removal, and leading the Computer Security Incident Response Team-Finance Sector (CSIRT-Fin). Regular awareness campaigns are conducted through events like Cyber Security Awareness Month, Safer Internet Day, Swachhta Pakhwada, and Cyber Jagrookta Diwas.

Complementing these efforts, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has established the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to foster a coordinated approach among law enforcement agencies in tackling cybercrime. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (https://cybercrime.gov.in) provides a public platform to report all types of cyber offenses, including financial fraud, with incidents being routed to the relevant state or union territory for action. A toll-free helpline number, ‘1930’, is also operational for immediate assistance in lodging online complaints related to financial cybercrimes.

Through these multi-pronged strategies, the Government of India is demonstrating its commitment to creating a safer and more trustworthy digital environment for its citizens, actively addressing the challenges posed by misinformation and the malicious use of emerging technologies like AI.

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