Named the Digital India Bill, this legislation aims to explore effective ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology safely
The newly elected Narendra Modi government is preparing to introduce a bill in the upcoming Parliament session to address the dangers of AI-generated deepfake videos and other online content, according to sources.
Named the Digital India Bill, this legislation aims to explore effective ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology safely. The government plans to seek cross-party support for the bill before presenting it in Parliament.
Last year, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the then Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, mentioned the bill. He indicated it would be a priority for the next government. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be able to catch the legislative window before the elections, because we certainly need a lot of consultation and debate and discussion around it. But we certainly have a roadmap of what is legislation, what are our policy goals and what are the policy principles for safety and trust,” Chandrasekhar said at the Financial Express’s DigiFraud & Safety Summit 2023.
Deepfake technology, which can create deceptive and misleading content, has raised significant concerns. These include the spread of false information, fabricating videos of public figures, and invading personal privacy.
In April this year, the Mumbai police registered a case against the Maharashtra Youth Congress’ social media handle and 16 others for allegedly sharing a deepfake video of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The video falsely showed Shah announcing the curtailment of reservation rights for SCs, STs, and OBCs.
