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Summary
The electronics ministry amended social media regulations, demanding continuous display of labels for AI-modified content. This follows concerns over inadequate compliance with previous rules. Stakeholders have until 7 May to respond to the draft amendment.
New Delhi: The electronics technology ministry is moving to tighten its grip on how social media giants disclose artificial intelligence-generated content, proposing a ‘continuous’ watermarking mandate to prevent platforms from avoiding transparency rules.
The ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) issued a draft amendment on Tuesday that would require labels on AI-modified media to be clearly visible throughout the duration of a video or image. The proposal follows government frustration with current practices, where firms have allegedly used fleeting or obscured markers that satisfy the letter of the law while failing to inform the public.
Tuesday’s amendment, a copy of which Mint has reviewed, targeted Rule 3(3)(a)(ii) of India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, updating the previous proposal to social media companies for “prominent visibility” of AI labels. The new proposal states that companies such as Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube must “ensure continuous and clearly visible display of such labels throughout the duration of the content, in a visual display.”
Stakeholders have until 7 May to respond to the draft, which seeks to standardize how deepfakes and manipulated media are shown to India’s nearly one billion internet users. The proposal is, in a way, indicative of the growing tension between regulators seeking digital clarity and technology companies wary of intrusive mandates.
The current set of AI rules was notified by Meity on 10 February, after an initial draft on 22 October. In the first draft of Meity’s attempt at regulating AI content, the ministry had asked social media intermediaries to use watermarks that occupy up to 10% of a content’s size or length—a move that had received widespread pushback from social media intermediaries.
‘Following letter not spirit of law’
The final version of India’s first AI rules removed the prescribed size of the watermark, a move that the Big Tech industry at large had claimed as a victory.
Since then, however, the Union government has expressed displeasure with how companies have complied with the rules.
“Since the rules were implemented, what we have seen is that while watermarks are there on AI-generated or AI-modified content, for the most part, these watermarks appear for only a fraction of a second in a video, or are positioned in a nearly invisible manner in photos that have been significantly modified with AI,” said a senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter, requesting anonymity since the proposal is still in the draft stages. The result of this is that the purpose of labelling AI content, which was to crack down on deepfakes and alert users about the same, is not being solved, the official added.
For now, companies, policy consultants, and other stakeholders have until 7 May to submit their feedback on the matter. A representative for Meta Platforms, which runs Facebook and Instagram, said the company did not have a comment to offer right away. A representative for Google, which owns YouTube, said the company was assessing the amendment.
Lawyers and policy consultants added that the proposal is largely clarificatory and should not pose technical challenges to social media firms.
“The previous definition of ‘prominent’ did not mention a duration or size of watermarks, which the current amendment is trying to bring in,” said Dhruv Garg, founding partner at tech policy advocacy firm India Governance and Policy Project.
About the Author
Shouvik Das
Shouvik has been tracking the rise and shifts of India’s technology ecosystem for over a decade, across print, broadcast and web-first platforms. He's been a tinkerer of machines and PCs since childhood, a habit he was thrilled to convert into his profession. This has led him to fascinating experiences of technologies around the world, which is what keeps him hooked to his job.<br><br>Shouvik likes to believe that he is one of the few technology journalists in India who can also code. He has also been writing about the rise of AI well before it became a household name, and has met some of the most fascinating people over the years through his work.<br><br>Shouvik writes about AI, Big Tech, data centres, electronics, semiconductors, cybersecurity, gaming, cryptocurrencies, and consumer technologies. He is most fond of the stories he has written during his time here at Mint, for which he also writes 'Transformer', a weekly technology newsletter, and hosts 'Techcetra', a weekly technology podcast.<br><br>Outside of work, Shouvik spends most of his time with Pixel, whom he believes is the world's best dog. He is also an avid reader, a toy collector, a gamer and a frequent traveller.
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