The elections, which began on April 19 and are set to conclude on June 1, have already seen controversies related to the use of deepfakes. The Indian police have arrested six people from the social media teams of the Indian National Congress for circulating a fake video. India's IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has met with large social media companies to discuss the need for regulation to combat the spread of deepfake videos. The country is yet to codify its draft regulation on deepfakes into law.
Key takeaways:
- India’s Election Commission has issued an advisory to all political parties, asking them to refrain from using deepfakes and misinformation in their social media posts during the ongoing general elections.
- The advisory requires political parties to remove any deepfake audio or video within three hours of becoming aware of its existence and to identify and warn the individuals responsible for creating such content.
- The move follows a Delhi High Court order asking the Election Commission to resolve the issue of deepfakes and misinformation in the elections.
- India's IT Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has met with large social media companies, including Meta and Google, to discuss regulation to combat the spread of deepfake videos.