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Delhi HC urges Centre to frame law to regulate AI, deepfake
The court stressed pressing need to control spread of this tech while considering a plea seeking formulation of guidelines to regulate AI, deep fake tech
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday urged the Union ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) to consider enacting a law for regulating the proliferation of harmful manifestations of artificial intelligence like deepfake on the internet, saying that such tools are going to be a “menace in society”.
A bench of acting chief justice Manmohan and justice Tushar Rao Gedela told additional solicitor general (ASG) Chetan Sharma, representing the government, that deepfake is not only in India, but this is a challenge all over the world. “Everything that you are seeing or hearing is fake. It can’t be.”
The court said that just ahead of the assembly elections, a large number of political parties were approaching them against deepfake.
Giving reference that some states in the US have come up with legislation, the bench said, “Now it is time for the Parliament to pass some act. You are the government. We as an institution have some limitations. You’ll have to do something. You’ll have to start thinking about it; it’s going to be a serious menace in society.”
The court stressed the pressing need to control the spread of this technology while considering a plea filed by Chaitanya Rohilla seeking the formulation of guidelines to regulate AI and deep fake technologies. The plea had also sought identification and blocking of websites providing access to deep fake AI.
“In India, existing laws are deemed inadequate for addressing deep fake manifestations, and concerns persist about the Digital Data Protection Act, 2023. It emphasizes the vacuum in legislation and the need for the court’s intervention to protect fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution,” read the plea.
In December 2023, the Centre’s counsel had submitted that the issue was being addressed by the government.
In February, the Centre filed a detailed affidavit mentioning the existing legal and regulatory mechanisms in the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Data Protection Act, 2018 to deal with the issue.
Besides referring to various provisions of the two laws, Centre’s 23-page reply also specified various advisories issued by it to intermediaries/platforms to ensure compliance with the legal provisions regarding the misuse of AI and deep fake.
During the hearing on Wednesday, advocate Manohar Lal argued that though the plea was filed last year, the menace was not that much as it is today.
Agreeing with the proliferation of deep fake being a malaise, ASG Sharma said that the antidote to fake AI can only be a counter-technology.
Considering the contentions, the court asked Rohilla’s counsel to file an additional affidavit containing their suggestions on how to tackle misuse of deepfake technology within two weeks and fixed October 8 as the next date of hearing.
