Introduction
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has brought change in the way people think of creation and consumption of digital content. Deepfake technology is an advancement of AI which consists of creation of fake and yet very realistic images, sounds and videos.[1] The technology can be applied in the fields of education, entertainment and filmmaking but does come with its share of problems. Malicious uses of deepfakes consist of disinformation spreading, stealing someone's identity, fraud, damaging someone's reputation and creation of illegal intimate content that hasn't been approved by its main participant. With this in mind, it becomes clear that the legal framework is not able to efficiently deal with the problem at hand.
Issue arises
Awareness concerning the issue rose immensely in India after AI-generated materials of several famous people, politicians and ordinary Indians appeared in the social media.[2] The release of deepfake content on social media revealed what harm deepfake techniques can bring to people in terms of their dignity, privacy and reputation. One has to conclude that the development of new technologies took ahead of legal methods of fighting existing crimes.
The misuse of deepfake technology can be seen across a multitude of crimes that can be committed by exploiting such technology. One of the most notorious uses in this regard is that of non-consensual deepfake pornography, where the face of a person appears on an adult video without their consent. Such acts are usually directed at women and amount to acts of cyber harassment or gender-based violence as a matter of fact. Such technology is also used in order to conduct financial crimes where criminals use it to impersonate the voice or image of a particular executive or family member in order to deceive the victim into sending them money. The deepfake technology can even be used during the elections to propagate doctored videos of political leaders spreading misinformation and disrupting the democratic process. One more misuse of deepfake technology is the damage to the reputation of an individual, caused by fake videos.
At this point in time, India does not have any specific legislation dealing with deepfake crimes. The victims have to use just the existing general laws concerning the crimes being committed through deepfakes. First and foremost, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, prohibits the commission of such crimes as cheating, impersonation, forgery, defamation, intimidation, and distribution of obscenity depending on the situation concerning a certain deepfake.[3] The Information Technology Act, 2000 also provides for certain remedies against cybercrimes while the intermediary requirements under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 will require the digital platforms to act prudently in dealing with any illegal content.[4]
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 has enhanced personal data protection by making sure the processing of personal information occurs lawfully.[5] Many deepfake videos begin with someone’s image or videos that have been used without their consent, and so this legislation helps to maintain individual’s right to privacy. However, the overall attention is paid to the protection of data, not to liability for the creation of AI-made deepfakes.
Another set of laws under the Constitution helps people receive protection. In case Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (2017), the Supreme Court recognized the Right to Privacy under Article 21.[6] The famous decision states that given the contemporary life standards, enough attention needs to be paid to informational privacy that guarantees people the constitutional right today. The creation of a deepfake content that misuses someone’s personality threatens the abovementioned rights.
Despite multiple legal stipulations, this system has certain flaws. Firstly, Indian legislation lacks the definition of deepfake. Because of this, investigators will have to find the way to fit various AI-based crimes into the existing bodies of legislation created before the emergence of generative technologies.
The second challenge arises from the difficulty of identifying the creators of deepfake content. With AI tools being readily available and the ease with which anonymous accounts can be created, culprits often operate in multiple jurisdictions. Therefore, by the time law enforcement is able to track who is responsible for the manipulated content, it may have already been replicated thousands of times throughout different online platforms, which has resulted in irreparable harm to the victim's reputation.
Closely related to this issue is the fact that there are no efficient mechanisms of removing the content promptly. With deep fake videos going viral in a matter of hours, legal procedures for issuing takedown orders often take long to complete. Even when the original content is taken down, copies of the material will often be circulating on other websites and social media. This means that the victims might suffer serious psychological, social, and professional consequences for a long time.
Global developments indicate that many jurisdictions are considering adopting AI-related regulations. For instance, the European Union introduced the AI Act that calls for transparency requirements concerning specific AI-generated content and lays out a regulatory regime based on risk.[7] Similarly, states in the USA have passed laws prohibiting deepfakes and synthetic media often associated with elections.[8]
India can take important lessons from the developments outlined above. Parliament might consider adopting a definition for deepfakes and enacting appropriate provisions for punishing offenders of the crime. The tech companies should also be required to set up such systems that can detect AI-enabled harmful content, watermark such content, and promptly react positively to the users’ requests for removal of such content. Law enforcement will also be required to receive training in AI forensics. Another equally significant measure is to promote digital literacy so that users can differentiate between genuine and false content.
Conclusion
India's existing criminal law does provide a number of avenues for victims of deepfakes to pursue their cases. However, the respective provisions were enacted on the premise of conventional cybercrime. The lack of specific legislation of deepfakes, difficulties in attribution and delay with the processing of complaints lead to the creation of numerous loopholes in the current legislation.
Reference
[1] UNESCO, Guidance for the Governance of Generative AI in Education and Research (Paris: UNESCO, 2023).
[2] Press Information Bureau, Government of India, "Advisory to Social Media Intermediaries Regarding Deepfake Content," November 2023.
[3] Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Act No. 45 of 2023 (India).
[4] Information Technology Act, 2000; Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
[5] Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Act No. 22 of 2023 (India).
[6] Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, (2017) 10 SCC 1.
[7] European Union, Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689), Official Journal of the European Union, 2024.
[8] National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Deepfake and Synthetic Media Legislation in the United States, 2025.