Centre mandates label for photorealistic AI content, Pg1

Key Highlights:

• The Union government amended the Information Technology Act, 2021, mandating labels for photorealistic AI-generated content.
• Social media platforms face reduced timelines for removing unlawful content, down to 2-3 hours from the previous 24-36 hours.
• Content deemed illegal or featuring non-consensual nudity and deepfakes must be removed within 3 hours and 2 hours, respectively.
• The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, defines synthetically generated content.
• Failure to comply with the rules could result in the loss of safe harbour protection for social media platforms.

Detailed Insights:

• The amended rules define synthetically generated content as artificially created audio, visual, or audio-visual information that appears real and portrays individuals or events indistinguishable from reality.
• Platforms must seek disclosures from users regarding AI-generated content and proactively label it or remove non-consensual deepfakes if disclosures are absent.
• The government has provided leeway on the specific mandate for labeling AI-generated imagery, moving away from the earlier draft's requirement of covering 10% of the imagery.
• The rules partially roll back an earlier amendment, allowing states to designate multiple officers authorized to issue takedown orders, addressing the needs of populous states.
• Safe harbour protection may be lost if intermediaries knowingly permit, promote, or fail to act upon synthetically generated information that contravenes the rules.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Deepfakes: AI-manipulated media convincingly altered to misrepresent someone.
• Safe Harbour: Legal principle protecting online platforms from liability for user-generated content.
• Takedown Order: Official instruction to remove specific content deemed illegal or harmful.