New AI rules in India may force creators to label their content as AI-generated

India's parliamentary panel suggests licensing and labelling AI content to combat fake news, aiming for greater transparency and accountability.

A parliamentary committee in India has proposed new rules for creators producing artificial intelligence (AI) content. The committee is calling for licensing requirements and mandatory labelling on AI-generated videos and articles. The aim is to combat the growing problem of fake news that AI tools can reproduce and spread, making it difficult to discern what is genuine and what is not.

India plans new rules to make AI creators label their content clearly.

The Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, led by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, has submitted a draft report to the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla, outlining its recommendations. The report urges close coordination between key ministries such as Information and Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology, in order to establish concrete legal and technological rules for identifying and prosecuting individuals or companies that use AI to disseminate fake news.

The panel asserts that fake news generated with AI threatens public order and can mislead the public. By introducing licensing for AI content creators and enforcing the labelling of all AI-generated media, whether images or videos, people will be better equipped to distinguish authentic content from fabricated material. This also ensures that creators can be held accountable if their work causes harm. The committee recommends that media organisations adopt fact-checking systems and appoint ombudsmen to maintain standards of quality and accuracy.

These recommendations are not legally binding, but parliamentary committee reports in India usually carry significant weight and are frequently acted upon by the government. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has already formed a panel to study the issues surrounding deepfakes, and two major projects are underway to develop tools for detecting fake speech and deepfake videos. The draft report will be presented for discussion in the next session of Parliament.

India is not the only country considering stricter laws for AI content. Many nations are facing challenges from deepfakes and fake news. The committee’s recommendations focus on balancing the benefits of AI, such as faster fact detection, with the new risks that it presents. If the proposals are adopted, AI creators in India may be required to label their work as AI-generated, making social media platforms more transparent and trustworthy for everyone.