The Election Commission of India has issued an advisory to all political parties, asking them not to use deepfakes and other forms of misinformation in their social media posts during the ongoing general elections. The move came after the constitutional body came under criticism for not doing enough to combat such campaigns in the world's most populous country.
The advisory (PDF), released on Monday, calls on political parties to remove deepfake audio and video within three hours of becoming aware of the existence of the deepfake. Parties are also encouraged to identify and alert individuals responsible for creating manipulated content. The Election Commission's action follows a Delhi High Court order asking the Election Commission to resolve the issue after it was raised in a petition.
General elections in India, a country with a population of more than 1.5 billion people, will begin on April 19th, with voting procedures scheduled to end on June 1st. The election has already been marred by controversy over the use of deepfakes and misinformation.
Late last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi complained about the use of fake voices by leaders who allegedly made “unthinkable” statements, alleging that it was part of a conspiracy aimed at creating tension in society. He claimed that it was a department.
Indian police have arrested at least six members of the social media team of India's main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, for circulating a fake video of Home Minister Amit Shah making statements he claims he never made. did.
India has been grappling with the use and proliferation of deepfakes for months. India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw met with major social media companies such as Meta and Google in November and said regulation was needed to better combat the spread of deepfake videos and the apps that facilitate their creation. A consensus was reached.”
In January, another IT minister warned tech companies of severe penalties, including bans, if they did not take proactive action against deepfake videos. The country has not yet codified draft regulations on deepfakes into law.
The Election Commission announced on Monday that it was “reiterating” political parties and their leaders to “maintain civility and utmost restraint in public campaign activities.”