Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday speaking on the circulation of several deepfake videos of actors including Kajol, Katrina Kaif, and Rashmika Mandanna said that the ‘Safe Harbour’ clause which most social media platforms enjoy does not apply if the app does not take adequate measures in removing the deepfakes from their platforms.
The Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and IT said that the Centre has recently issued notices to all big social media platforms urging them to take steps to identify deepfakes and remove those content from the internet.
“The social media platforms have responded. They are taking action, we have told them to be more aggressive in this work. Also, we must notice that the ‘Safe Harbour’ Clause which most of the social media platforms have been enjoying, doesn’t apply if the platforms do not take adequate steps to remove the deepfakes from their platforms,” Vaishnaw said.
On Friday, the deepfake controversy also touched veteran Bollywood actress Kajol as her face was morphed into TikTok influencer Rosie Breen’s body.
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Although the original clip was shared in June this year by influencer Rosie Breen on TikTok as part of the “Get Ready With Me” trend, it resurfaced recently, sparking concerns over the use of AI.
The video in question shows Breen’s face being replaced with that of Kajol. The clip showed the actress changing clothes in front of the camera. The original video was of Rosie, and Kajol’s face had been photoshopped into the video. For a split second, the manipulated video also featured the face of the original woman.
Addressing the deepfake row, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to exercise caution over the rising threats of artificial intelligence in generating ‘deepfakes’. Giving an example where even his photo was morphed, PM Modi said that he was surprised to see a fake video in which he was performing Garba.
PM Modi said that there is a challenge arising because of Artificial Intelligence and Deepfake.
“A big section of our country has no parallel option for verification. People often end up believing in deepfakes and this can create turmoil and unrest in society,” the Prime Minister said.
