Regarding the creation or modification of potentially misleading information, intermediaries are advised to label or embed such content with unique identifiers to trace its origin
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a second advisory to platforms and intermediaries regarding the launch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models in India. The advisory, issued recently, emphasises the need for explicit permission from the government before deploying AI models, especially those under testing.
According to the advisory, platforms must seek permission from the Centre before making any under-testing or unreliable AI models available to users in India. Additionally, they should ensure that the inherent limitations or fallibility of such models are appropriately labeled. A “consent popup” mechanism is suggested to inform users about potential inaccuracies in the output generated by these AI models.
The Ministry highlighted concerns regarding intermediaries failing to fulfill their due-diligence obligations outlined in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These rules require platforms to prevent the hosting, display, or transmission of unlawful content and to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The advisory highlights the importance of informing users about the consequences of engaging with unlawful content on platforms, including the possibility of access suspension or termination and legal repercussions.
Regarding the creation or modification of potentially misleading information, intermediaries are advised to label or embed such content with unique identifiers to trace its origin and the intermediary involved. Non-compliance with IT Act and Rules may result in penal consequences for intermediaries and users.
Platforms are urged to comply with the advisory immediately and submit an Action Taken-cum-Status Report to the Ministry within 15 days or else it would result in serious actions by the authorities concerned .
The Ministry’s advisory states: “The use of under-testing / unreliable Artificial Intelligence model(s) /LLM/Generative AI, software(s) or algorithm(s) and its availability to the users on Indian Internet must be done so with the explicit permission of the Government of India and be deployed only after appropriately labeling the possible and inherent unreliability of the output generated.”
It further adds: “All intermediaries or platforms (are) to ensure that use of Artificial Intelligence model(s) /LLM/Generative AI, software(s) or algorithm(s) on or through its computer resource does not permit its users to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any unlawful content as outlined in the Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules or violate any other provision of the IT Act.”
Moreover , the advisory emphasises: “Where any intermediary through its software or any other computer resource permits or facilitates synthetic creation, generation or modification of a text, audio, visual or audio-visual information, in such a manner that such information may be used potentially as misinformation or deepfake, it is advised that such information created, generated, or modified through its software or any other computer resource is labeled or embedded with a permanent unique metadata or identifier, by whatever name called, in a manner that such label, metadata or identifier can be used to identify that such information has been created, generated or modified using computer resource of the intermediary, or identify the user of the software or such other computer resource, the intermediary through whose software or such other computer resource such information has been created, generated or modified and the creator or first originator of such misinformation or deepfake.”
The advisory mentioned:”It is reiterated that non-compliance to the provisions of the IT Act and/or IT Rules would result in potential penal consequences to the intermediaries or platforms or its users when identified, including but not limited to prosecution under IT Act and several other statues of the criminal code .”
