Govt asks Meta to act against deepfakes, harmful AI content

The government has asked Meta to take corrective action against deepfakes and harmful AI-generated content while examining whether its recommendation systems affect the company's intermediary status under Indian law. The Centre is also consulting other platforms on their legal status

New Delhi: The government has asked Meta to take corrective action against deepfakes and other harmful AI-generated content on its platforms, according to sources.

They also indicated that the issue is whether a platform that actively decides what users see can maintain intermediary status under the Information Technology Act.

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The Centre is also looking into whether Meta still qualifies as an intermediary under Indian law given the role its recommendation systems play in determining what content users see.

If the tech giant’s recommendation systems determine ‘what is shown to whom’ and ‘promote content for payment,’ these functions raise the question of whether they are consistent with the legal definition of an intermediary, according to the sources.

Moreover, if platform chooses what content is displayed to users that is equivalent to publishing, and platforms would then be held accountable.

The matter becomes important since the Act grants intermediaries certain legal protections, provided they meet certain requirements.

In addition, after several rounds of talks over the past few days, the government has also requested that Meta take action against deepfakes.

Therefore, in order to obtain an exemption from liability with regard to third-party information uploaded, published, hosted, shared or transmitted on or through their platform, intermediaries — including social media platforms — are legally required by section 79 of the IT Act, read in conjunction with IT Rules, 2021 to exercise due diligence.

Additionally, losing the exemption from liability under section 79 of the IT Act such intermediaries may be subject to consequential action under any law, including the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Apart form that, the government will also consult with other platforms to determine whether they meet the definition of an intermediary under Indian law.