Private member Bill in Parliament proposes criminalisation of malicious deepfakes made sans consent

A private member’s Bill introduced in Parliament seeks to criminalise the creation and circulation of harmful deepfake content.

The Regulation of Deepfake Bill, 2024, introduced in the Lok Sabha by Shrikant Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena, provides for mandatory consent of individuals depicted in synthetic media and require digital watermarking to ensure traceability of AI-generated audio-visual material.

It proposes a statutory framework to regulate deepfake technology amid rising concerns over privacy violations, misinformation, election interference and national security risks linked to artificial intelligence-driven media manipulation.

Notably, while the Bill declares certain categories of deepfake creation and dissemination to be criminal offences, it does not prescribe any specific term of imprisonment or fine. Instead, it proposes that the extent of penalties be determined on a case-to-case basis, through recommendations to be made by a proposed Deepfake Task Force and through rules framed by the appropriate government.

The Bill also proposes the establishment of a Deepfake Task Force, to be constituted by the Central government within six months of the Act coming into force. The Task Force would assess the national security implications of deepfakes, and evaluate their prevalence and impact on citizens, businesses and government functioning.

It is also tasked with supporting research and development of technologies to detect and counter deepfakes, examining the influence of synthetic content on civic participation including elections, exploring the use of blockchain-based systems for content authentication and facilitating coordination between Central and State governments, private technology companies and academic or research institutions.

The Bill defines a “deepfake” as AI-generated or technologically altered audio, visual or multimedia content that deceptively portrays a person as having said or done something that did not occur in reality. It also introduces the concept of “digital content forgery” and mandates the use of digital watermarks to establish authenticity and provenance of digital content.

Under the proposed law, the creation, dissemination or sharing of deepfakes without the consent of the individual concerned or without a digital watermark is sought to be recognised as a criminal offence in specified aggravated circumstances. These include deepfakes containing sexually explicit or nude visual content intended to humiliate or harass a person; deepfakes created with the intent to cause violence or physical harm, incite armed or diplomatic conflict, or interfere with official proceedings such as elections; and deepfakes used in connection with criminal conduct including fraud, false personation or identity theft.

The Bill places statutory emphasis on prior consent, defining it as a voluntary and wilful agreement given by a person of legal age in a sound state of mind, free from coercion, fraud or duress. It also obligates persons or entities generating advanced deceptive audio-visual content intended for online dissemination to either comply with digital watermarking requirements or obtain consent from the rights holder before hosting or sharing such content.

In its Statement of Objects and Reasons, the Bill notes that while deepfake technology has legitimate applications in education, entertainment and creative fields, its misuse for harassment, deception and misinformation has escalated rapidly. The proposed framework, it states, seeks to balance innovation with accountability by introducing legal safeguards against malicious use of synthetic media.

[Read Bill]