Recently a shocking survey surfaced regarding Deepfake which stated that 1 out of every 4 people in India is facing deepfake content. This means that the technology is spreading like wildfire across the nation. It was recently when celebrities and political leaders were made victims of deepfake content. The central government has adopted a strict rule against deepfake or AI-generated content since 2023. Also, there has been a provision for heavy fines to be implemented for propagating deepfake content in India. Not only this but in some cases, one could also be imprisoned for a definitive time.
Survey report on Deepfake
In India, deepfake content has been used for cyber fraud and spreading rumours, resulting in AI-generated content as truth and then people turning out to be the victims.
As per the recent survey which was conducted by McAfee, more than 80 per cent of people are worried about deepfakes now, compared to 2023. At the same time, about 64 per cent of people say that it is very difficult to identify real and fake in this AI era and cyber frauds are upskilling.
However, 30 per cent of the people who have been participating in this survey said that they can identify the AI-generated content. 7,000 people from all over the world further participated in this survey of cyber security firms.
Law regarding Deepfake
There are strict laws related to Deepfake in India. In IT Act 66E and IT Act 67, there is a provision for a fine and jail for sharing any such content online which has been generated by Deepfake.
- According to IT Act 66E, if a person’s photo or video is published on social and online platforms without his/her permission, then a jail term of up to 3 years and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh could be imposed.
- IT Act 67 states if a person faces a situation where his/her photo has been made or shared in explicit mode, then the creator of the photo will have to pay the victim a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh or might have to service punishment in jail for 3 years.
If someone is committing the same mistake again and again, then the punishment might extend by 5 years and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh.
The central government on Deepfake
Last year, on November 7, 2023, the Central Government issued an advisory to Social Media Intermediaries (SMI) regarding deepfakes and AI-generated content. In the advisory, the government asked SMI to identify deepfake content and take action against them immediately. If any deepfake content was reported or identified, it should be removed from the social and online platforms within 36 hours of the report. Failed to do so, might be a punishable offence, and one could be punished under the Indian Penal Code.
How to identify Deepfake content?
- It is very difficult for a common user to identify deepfakes and AI-generated content in today’s time. Facebook has been coming up with apps which are letting users create their AI-generated images, as per their choices- which is growing rapidly.
- But, only if the user is alert then only the deepfake content could be overcome.
- If any content shared on social media seems a little strange to you, or if someone you know makes strange demands from you over a phone call, then it could certainly be fake/fraud which is practised by cybercriminals.
- AI-generated deepfake video could also be identified by focusing on the face, fingers and voice of the person who is shown in the video.
- Apart from these, reverse machine learning AI is also being prepared to identify AI-generated deepfakes, which will make it easier to investigate deepfakes. Besides, there will be the facility to track the location of criminals sharing deepfake content.
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