The Delhi High Court has issued a notice on a public interest litigation (PIL) moved by Rajat Sharma, chairperson and editor, India TV, against non-regulation of deepfake technology in the country.  A division bench comprising acting chief justice Manmohan and justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora sought the response of the union government through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

According to a release issued by India TV, the bench remarked that deepfake technology is a 'major problem' and asked the central government if it is willing to act on the issue. 

The release added that political parties are also complaining about this, yet the central government is not taking any action. 
Sharma's plea stated deepfake technology poses significant threats to various aspects of society, including misinformation and disinformation campaigns, undermining integrity of public discourse and democratic processes, potential use in fraud and identity theft as well as harm to individuals' reputations and privacy.

The plea further stated: “All the threats are compounded when a deepfake is made of an influential person such as a politician, sportsperson, actor, or any other public figure capable of influencing public opinion. This is even more so in the case of a person such as the petitioner who is visible on television on a daily basis and on whose statements the public has come to place faith in.” 

The plea further contended that the absence of adequate regulation and safeguards against the misuse of deepfake technology poses a grave risk to the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India, including the right to freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and the right to a fair trial.

The plea made to the High Court also states that even though the Union Government had made a statement of intent to formulate regulation for dealing with deepfakes and synthetic content back in November, 2023, nothing of the sort has seen the light of day thus far.

The PIL seeks a direction on the Union Government to identify and block public access to the applications, software, platforms and websites enabling the creation of deepfakes.

Sharma's plea also asked for an update about a dedicated nodal officer for receiving complaints regarding deepfakes and acting upon a complaint within 12 hours and within six hours in the case of a complaint received regarding content featuring a public figure.

The plea also seeks a direction on the government to issue a directive to all social media intermediaries to take immediate action to take down deepfakes upon the receipt of a complaint from the person concerned.