India considers dedicated AI law
What's the story
India is considering the introduction of a dedicated regulatory framework for artificial intelligence (AI). The move comes as part of the government's ongoing efforts to tackle challenges posed by generative AI, such as deepfakes, misinformation, and online harms. S Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said that "probably the time has come now to look at a separate legislation for AI."
Regulatory gaps
Discussions on dedicated AI regulatory framework have already begun
Krishnan further emphasized that the existing legal provisions are not enough to address all aspects of AI. He said, "At the Ministry level, what we can do is prepare a draft regulation for AI." The discussions on the dedicated AI regulatory framework have already begun, and a draft policy is expected to be released soon. This comes after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's earlier statement that the current information technology law was framed long before the rapid emergence of AI.
Regulatory measures
Indian government tightens IT rules to crack down on deepfakes
The Indian government has been tightening IT rules to crack down on AI deepfakes. In February, it imposed stricter obligations on online platforms for handling AI-generated and synthetic content, including deepfakes. The amended rules define "audio, visual or audio-visual information" and "synthetically-generated information," covering realistic-looking AI-created or altered content. However, routine editing, accessibility improvements, and good-faith educational or design work are excluded from this definition.
Disclosure requirements
Stricter disclosure norms for AI-generated content proposed
The Indian government has also proposed stricter disclosure norms for AI-generated content. The proposed changes to the IT rules would require clear and continuous labels identifying synthetically generated information to be visible throughout the entire duration of the visual display. This move is part of a broader effort by policymakers around the world to tackle challenges posed by generative AI technologies.