Explained: What are government’s new IT rules that go into effect starting today and what they mean for you

The latest IT rules governing AI-generated content have come into effect in India today. The new rules require social media platforms to label deepfakes, synthetic audio, and altered visuals with visible markers that users can identify immediately. The amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, were notified earlier this month, on February 10, via Gazette Notification G.S.R. 120(E) and signed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Joint Secretary, Ajit Kumar.

In the new framework, platforms are required to embed metadata and unique identifiers in all synthetically generated content so that it can be traced back to its source.