The government on Tuesday held a second round of talks with social media firms to assess their progress in tackling online misinformation and deepfakes in alignment with Indian regulations.
While some platforms demonstrated an understanding of compliance requirements, others have shown laziness so far, as per sources.
Minister of State for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar made it clear during the ‘Digital India Dialogue’ session that the government will continue its zero-tolerance approach on user harms enabled by platforms.
A seven-day deadline has now been set for all firms, including those slow to act, to fully comply with existing IT rules that mandate removal of illegal content.
Deepfakes are a relatively new but serious threat that can undermine electoral processes and democracy if unchecked, officials reiterated. There are also criminal consequences under current laws for such user harm.
Earlier on November 24, a first compliance meeting was held asking platforms to align policies with Indian regulations within seven days. But progress has been uneven.
The government is now adopting a stringent, no-excuse stance as the dangers of deepfakes and online misinformation continue rising globally. A final stock-take meeting will occur next week.
