Government told social media companies a warning: in the event of an election, deepfakes will be subject to legal action

The parent businesses of Facebook, Meta, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and other digital platforms have all received criticism from Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav. According to him, they ought to start accepting accountability for the information that appears on their platforms and develop technological and operational strategies to combat false information that undermines democracy and society. Additionally, he emphasised that following the elections, the government will complete a well-considered legal framework to address deepfakes and misinformation.

He said that in a vibrant and diverse democracy like India, misinformation can indeed be very harmful. This can be harmful to society, to democracy, to the electoral process and it can impact our future and the harmony of society at large.

He said that an advisory has been issued by the government in which emphasis has been laid on zero tolerance towards misinformation and deepfakes circulating on social media. “We have been very clear in our discussions with the social media companies. They have taken several steps, they are continuing to take several steps and immediately after the elections are over, we certainly came forward with very thorough discussions. Will.''

Such a statement from the government has come after the Google Gemini AI controversy. Google apologized for Gemini after its objectionable remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that AI tools do not always give reliable answers.