In a move to combat the rising threat of deepfake technology, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar, addressed the media on Friday, and announced that the government has urged social media platforms to align their terms of use with the 12 areas prohibited on the Indian internet. Emphasising the dangers of deepfakes, Chandrasekhar stated that these manipulated videos pose a clear and present danger to a safe and trusted internet.

Chandrasekhar said, “Today we had a very long meeting with all the players in on the internet, the intermediaries, that’s how we refer them and we have raised the issue of deepfakes with them as you are aware. The Prime Minister has raised the issue that deepfakes are deeply disruptive, they can create divisions and all kinds of disruptions in communities and families. Deepfakes are very clear and present danger to the safe and trusted internet that is our goal and our policy”. Since October 2022, the government has been alerting platforms to the dangers of misinformation, with deepfakes being a crucial aspect of this threat.