The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is preparing to introduce a comprehensive Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act to govern AI-generated and synthetic content. This legislation, modeled on the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000aims to provide a strong legal framework for addressing challenges posed by deepfakes and synthetic media.
The move comes after MeitY introduced draft rules mandating platforms to label or embed metadata in AI-generated content to ensure transparency. These draft rules, open for public feedback until November 6are currently framed under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021which derive their authority from the IT Act.
However, since the IT Act does not explicitly cover artificial intelligence, experts have raised concerns that such rules may face legal challenges. To prevent this, the government plans to bring a dedicated AI Bill before Parliament to create a clear legislative foundation.
The draft rules propose that intermediaries allowing users to create or share AI-generated material must ensure such content carries a visible label or metadata tagmarking it as synthetic. The label should be non-removable, clearly visibleand cover at least 10% of the screen for visuals or be audibly mentioned in the first 10% of an audio clip.
For Significant Social Media Intermediaries (SSMIs) with over five million users, additional safeguards are included. Platforms must seek user declarations at the time of uploading content and use AI detection tools to verify such claims. Mislabelled or deceptive content must be corrected or removed to maintain transparency and user trust.
Platforms acting in good faith to identify or remove harmful AI-generated material will continue to enjoy safe harbour protection under Section 79(2) of the IT Act, shielding them from liability for user content. The new rules, however, apply only to publicly shared contentensuring private communications remain unaffected.
The definition of “information” under the IT Rules has also been expanded to include synthetically generated dataensuring that AI-based misinformation, defamation, or impersonation are legally equivalent to real-world violations.
This move marks a significant policy shift as India prepares to regulate AI more comprehensively, balancing innovation with accountability and user safety.
Summary
India’s IT ministry will introduce a full-fledged AI Act modeled on the IT Act, 2000 to regulate deepfakes and synthetic media. Following the draft deepfake rules open until November 6, the new law will mandate visible labels for AI-generated content, preserve safe harbour for platforms, and formally include synthetic data under digital information laws.
