The News Freedom
Chandigarh, November 7
A day after the shocking circulation of a deepfake video featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna, the world of Indian entertainment has been rattled once again. This time, it’s Bollywood star Katrina Kaif who has become a victim of the disturbing trend, as an explicit morphed image of the actress from a scene in her upcoming film “Tiger 3” surfaced online and gone viral on social media platforms on Tuesday.
The altered and obscene image of Katrina Kaif has quickly gone viral on the internet, intensifying concerns over the proliferation of manipulated content. As the entertainment industry grapples with the growing menace of deepfakes, this incident underscores the urgent need for enhanced security measures and stringent action against those responsible for creating and distributing such material.
In a move aimed at curbing the dissemination of misleading deepfake videos on social media platforms, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has taken decisive action by issuing an advisory to these online platforms. The government has invoked Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which pertains to ‘punishment for cheating by personation by using a computer resource.’The Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000, unequivocally states, “Whoever, by means of any communication device or computer resource cheats by personating, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to a fine which may extend to one lakh rupees.”
Social media platforms are now urged to take immediate action in accordance with the advisory to address the issue and prevent the spread of such deceptive content, or they too may be subject to legal consequences as per Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Veteran Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan took to the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday to express his concerns and seek legal action against those responsible for the production and dissemination of a deepfake video featuring actress Rashmika Mandanna. The incident has shocked the nation and raised concerns over the urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to combat such digital threats.
Amitabh Bachchan called for action on his post on the social media platform X. He re-shared a tweet from user Abhisek, who has highlighted the pressing need for a legal and regulatory framework in response to the deepfake video that went viral on social media platforms. In his tweet, Amitabh Bachchan concurred with Abhisek, stating, “Yes, this is a strong case for legal action.”
The deepfake video in question featured actress Rashmika Mandanna and was made with remarkable precision, making it difficult for ordinary social media users to discern its authenticity. However, upon closer examination, it becomes apparent that the deepfake technology was used to replace Rashmika’s face with that of another individual. The original video, posted by Zara Patel, a British-Indian girl with 415K followers on Instagram, dates back to October 9.
Journalist and researcher Abhisek, who initially raised the alarm about the deepfake video on social media platform X, commented, “The viral fake video is perfect enough for ordinary social media users to fall for it. But if you watch the video carefully, you can see that when Rashmika (deepfake) was entering the lift, suddenly her face changed from the other girl to Rashmika.”
Rashmika Mandanna shared her distress over the incident on social media platform X. She emphasized the misuse of technology and called for serious action against such digital violations.
Rashmika said, “I feel really hurt to share this and have to talk about the deepfake video of me being spread online. Something like this is honestly, extremely scary not only for me but also for each one of us who today is vulnerable to so much harm because of how technology is being misused.”
She further added, “Today, as a woman and as an actor, I am thankful for my family, friends, and well-wishers who are my protection and support system. But if this happened to me when I was in school or college, I genuinely can’t imagine how I could ever tackle this. We need to address this as a community and with urgency before more of us are affected by such identity theft.”
Taking note of the gravity of the situation, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said “Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji’s government is committed to ensuring the safety and trust of all digital nagriks using the Internet under the IT rules notified in April, 2023″.
“It is a legal obligation for platforms to ensure no misinformation is posted by any user and ensure that when reported by any user or government misinformation is removed in 36 hours If platforms do not comply with this, rule 7 will apply and platforms can be taken to court by the aggrieved person under provisions of IPC. Deep fakes are the latest and even more dangerous and damaging form of misinformation and need to be dealt with by platforms” Rajeev Chandrasekhar further said.
🚨 There is an urgent need for a legal and regulatory framework to deal with deepfake in India.
You might have seen this viral video of actress Rashmika Mandanna on Instagram. But wait, this is a deepfake video of Zara Patel.
This thread contains the actual video. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/SidP1Xa4sT
— Abhishek (@AbhishekSay) November 5, 2023