ABSTRACT
What would happen if you never said or did something absurd, but a video of you doing it suddenly went viral? Deepfake technology has made that disturbing reality possible. Deepfakes are made possible by artificial intelligence, which creates remarkably realistic but wholly fake audio, video, and image content that is almost impossible to spot. This technology has a huge and worrisome potential for misuse, from political influence to personal blackmail. The growing number of deepfake-related incidents in India in recent years, especially those that target women, celebrities, and public figures, has sparked serious concerns about privacy, consent, and digital safety. Through a critical analysis, this article asks if India’s current legal system is prepared to handle the growing deepfake threat. Furthermore, a comparative analysis is derived from countries including the US, UK, and EU, where specific efforts are being undertaken to regulate artificial intelligence-generated content. The study’s conclusion makes the case that the use of malicious deepfakes has to be immediately prohibited by a flexible and transparent regulatory framework. Without such reform, deepfakes would continue to exploit the gap between quickly developing technology and slow-moving laws, threatening individual rights and public confidence.
INTRODUCTION
In today’s digital age, when artificial intelligence (AI) is evolving at a breakthrough speed, deepfake technology is proving to be one of the most ethically concerning technologies abused on the web. Deepfakes leverage sophisticated AI strategies, especially generative adversarial networks (GANs), to produce synthetic yet extremely realistic audio-visual content that is virtually unrecognizable from real media.[1] Originally intended for entertainment and innovation, the technology is presently frequently misused to disseminate misinformation, manipulate public opinion, and infringe on individuals’ right to privacy.[2]
The deepfake threat is novel due to its accessibility — today’s users are able to produce realistic synthetic content using nothing more than an app and a smartphone.[3] It has dramatically reduced the barrier to producing fake media, which was previously the work of skilled, high-end software professionals. The applications are from financial deceit to political disinformation, and instances are already on record in India and globally.[4] In 2018, there was a deepfake video of then-U.S. President Barack Obama circulating on the internet, which caused global controversy over moral AI usage.[5] In 2023, the issue had blown to a whole different level in India, with popular celebrities such as Rashmika Mandanna[6] and Katrina Kaif[7] falling victims to viral deepfake posts spread without their knowledge.
India has witnessed an alarming increase in deepfake incidents, particularly involving women through non-consensual pornographic material, political figures through doctored speeches, and celebrities through doctored endorsements.[8] In 2021, journalist Rana Ayyub was a victim of deepfake harassment, which led to global outrage.[9] These cases tend to go viral by the time any action can be taken, inflicting irreparable damage on reputations and mental well-being. India is one of the top five nations most hit by deepfakes in the world, as per a Palo Alto Networks 2023 report.[10] But amid all these mounting concerns, no law exists in India specifically governing or criminalizing deepfakes.
Existing legal provisions under the Indian Penal Code (IPC),[11] the Information Technology Act, 2000,[12] and even the recently enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)[13] provide indirect protection at best through wide interpretations of offences such as forgery, cyberbullying, identity theft, and defamation. This legal uncertainty has led to weak enforcement and challenges in prosecuting deepfake-related crimes.[14] Victims are usually left to fend for themselves through vague reporting channels and sparse cyber support cells.
[1]Karen Hao, What are deepfakes, and how are they created?, MIT Tech. Rev. (Nov. 2019), https://www.technologyreview.com.
[2]Robert Chesney & Danielle Citron, Deep Fakes: A Looming Challenge for Privacy, Democracy, and National Security, 107 Calif. L. Rev. 1753 (2019).
[3]Shivangi Agarwal, How AI Apps Are Fueling Deepfake Production in India, India Today (2023), https://www.indiatoday.in.
[4] Manish Tewari, Deepfakes: The Threat to India’s National Security, The Hindu (2022), https://www.thehindu.com.
[5]James Vincent, Watch Obama Warn About Deepfakes, The Verge (Apr. 2018), https://www.theverge.com.
[6] Hindustan Times, RashmikaMandanna Deepfake Goes Viral, Hindustan Times (2023), https://www.hindustantimes.com.
[7]Outlook India, Katrina Kaif’s Fake Videos Spark Debate on AI Regulation, Outlook (2023), https://www.outlookindia.com.
[8]BBC News, Indian Women Targeted in Growing Deepfake Menace, BBC (2023), https://www.bbc.com.
[9]Scroll Staff, Rana Ayyub Deepfake Sparks Global Outrage, Scroll.in (2021), https://scroll.in.
[10]Palo Alto Networks, 2023 State of Cybersecurity in India Report, https://www.paloaltonetworks.com.
[11]Indian Penal Code, 1860, §§ 499, 503, 509, No. 45, Acts of Parliament, 1860 (India).
[12]Information Technology Act, 2000, §§ 66C, 66E, 67, 67A, No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 2000 (India).
[13]Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, No. 1, Acts of Parliament, 2023 (India).
[14]Anurag Dey, Courts Struggling to Apply Existing Laws to AI Crimes, Bar & Bench (2023), https://www.barandbench.com.