The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) notified amendments to the 2021 IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules. These bring “synthetically generated information” (SGI), including deepfakes, under the regulatory framework on Tuesday.
The rules mandate that intermediaries label or identify AI-generated or altered content, via visible disclosures, embedded metadata, or user notifications, whenever it’s synthetically created or modified.
Unlike the draft released for consultation, the final notified rules narrow the scope of content that must be flagged.
The draft defined SGI broadly as any content “artificially or algorithmically created, generated, modified, or altered.” The final notification, however, emphasizes content likely to mislead users.
Another major change includes that takedown timelines are slashed. The draft proposed 36 hours for intermediaries to act on lawful orders; the final rules require platforms to remove or disable such content within three hours of a government or court directive.
Beyond disclosure rules, the government has slashed content moderation timelines. Social media platforms must now act on lawful orders or user complaints within three hours in certain cases (down from 36 hours). Other deadlines are also shortened: from 15 days to seven days, and from 24 hours to 12 hours, based on the violation.
The notified rules also offer more compliance flexibility than the draft, which proposed stricter visible labeling and broader obligations. Companies must now make “reasonable efforts,” allowing identification via embedded metadata or other technical means, not just visible disclosures.
The notification follows strong industry feedback from IAMAI, Nasscom, and the Business Software Alliance. They warned the draft was too broad, risking routine digital edits alongside harmful deepfakes, and urged MeitY to adopt a harm-based approach, narrowing SGI to deceptive or misleading content.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
