New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday observed that deepfake technology is going to be a serious menace to society and said that the Centre must start work on regulating the spread of deepfake technology.
High Court is hearing pleas seeking seeking regulation of deepfakes technology
A bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed this while hearing two pleas filed by journalist Rajat Sharma and lawyer Chaitanya Rohilla seeking regulation of deepfakes technology.
What did the High Court say?
“You (Cente) will have to start working on this. You also start thinking about this. It (deepfake) is going to be a serious menace in the society,” the bench said and further added, “You (Centre) also do some study. It is like what you are seeing and what you are hearing, you can’t believe it. That is something which shocks. What I see through my own eyes and what I have heard through my own ears, I don’t have to trust that, this is very very shocking.”
The Centre told the court that it is a malaise the authorities recognise that this is a problem which needs to be dealt with.
High Court earlier expressed its concerns on misuse of deepfake technology
The High Court had earlier expressed its concerns on the misuse of the deepfake technology and had said that it was a major problem and sought to know from the Centre if it was willing to act on the issue. It had also sought the Centre’s response on the plea against absence of regulation to deal with misuse of deepfake technology and had asked the Centre, through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, to file its response to the two petitions.
There is a threat of potential misuse of deepfake technology: Petitioner
The plea has said that said that there is a threat of potential misuse of deepfake technology and there is a pressing need for strict enforcement and proactive action to mitigate potential harm associated with the misuse of deepfake technology.
“The failure of the government to regulate and provide effective redressal to victims of deepfakes and AI-generated content effectively not only undermines the rights and safety of its citizens but also jeopardizes the integrity of democratic institutions and societal trust,” the plea has said.
The matter would be further heard in October.