Government tightens deepfake rules, mandates AI content labels and three-hour takedown timeline

The government has tightened India’s regulatory framework to tackle AI-generated deepfakes, mandating clear labelling of synthetic content and sharply reducing the timeline for social media platforms and other intermediaries to remove unlawful content from 36 hours to just three hours.

The measures, introduced through amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, aim to curb the misuse of artificial intelligence while ensuring an “open, safe, trusted and accountable cyberspace”, according to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).