A bill based on the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology’s proposed guidelines for AI safety frameworks, policies, and its regulations for news and social media is expected be introduced in Parliament next year. Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Nishikant Dubey, who heads the panel, said their priority is to safeguard sections of society, such as children, women, and the poor, who might be unaware of the risks and are at a higher risk of being victimised.
“And the risk that this section faces is life-threatening. The AI-made lewd content may be taken down, but the impact that it leaves in the meanwhile might result in someone committing suicide or experiencing chronic mental and societal distress,” Dubey told HT.
Dubey said the proposed bill aims to strengthen AI regulations and provide better scrutiny of its usage in social media and the news. He added that it seeks to extend the oversight to digital news by the Press Council of India (PCI), which currently only regulates the print media. “The bill will help PCI extend its regulations over to the digital media, and we might propose that new regulatory bodies should be created to prevent the dissemination of false information in any form of media, especially involving abuse of AI tools.”
Dubey said the Over-the-Top streaming has become a major promoter of lewd and vulgar content, and the bill will address this issue as well. He added the bill will combat the exploitation of freedom of expression. “There are various relevant concerns that the Supreme Court has raised. We are addressing them and providing an effective solution. We would also want to prevent criminals from falsely hiding behind freedom of speech. A person should not be able to cause harm and distress to someone, often using AI and social media, and take shelter in freedom of speech. That is a travesty of justice.”
{{/usCountry}}Dubey said the Over-the-Top streaming has become a major promoter of lewd and vulgar content, and the bill will address this issue as well. He added the bill will combat the exploitation of freedom of expression. “There are various relevant concerns that the Supreme Court has raised. We are addressing them and providing an effective solution. We would also want to prevent criminals from falsely hiding behind freedom of speech. A person should not be able to cause harm and distress to someone, often using AI and social media, and take shelter in freedom of speech. That is a travesty of justice.”
{{/usCountry}}In response to a question on whether rogue AI could undermine Indian values and ideals, Dubey said, “...the values and ideals that this nation has been taught stand on terra firma, along with deep-rooted and sturdy foundations. If AI-enabled attacks of this nature present themselves, I strongly believe that our masses will successfully fight them.”
On Chinese AI, such as DeepSeek, and the safety measures that might be proposed if threats transpired, Dubey said, “Not everything can be resolved by making laws. Certain things call for other relevant measures. Our intelligence agencies...will safeguard our citizens when the time calls for it.”
Dubey said laws do not always provide a solution. “It is important to find more ways to safeguard ourselves, such as by spreading awareness, educating the masses on how the media works, and smartly devising measures.”