Combating Misinformation And Deepfakes: Meity's Directive For Intermediaries' Compliance Of IT Rules

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ("MeitY" or "Ministry") has issued an advisory on December 26, 2023 to all intermediaries, emphasizing the adherence to the IT Rules and compliance with the instructions on prohibited content (the "Advisory"). This directive specifically targets concerns related to misleading information propagated through AI generated deepfakes. The Press Release for the advisory is accessible here.

The Advisory is issued to all intermediaries, urging strict compliance with existing Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (last updated on April 06, 2023) (the "IT Rules") which supersede the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011, and are applicable under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (the "IT Act"). Rule 3(1) of the IT Rules, enlists the due-diligence duties of an intermediary, which includes, (i) a social media intermediary, which primarily