DEEPFAKE TECHNOLOGY AND NAVIGATING LEGAL CHALLENGES

Author: Mimansa Raj Lakshmi  Institution: Amity Law School, Noida 

Deepfake technology supported by Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized  the digital era by creating highly realistic and fabricated photographs, videos,  audios etc. While on one side it has several potential applications in education,  entertainment but on the other side it possesses significant misuse and social  and legal challenges by spreading misinformation and cyberbullying which ultimately  undermines trust on digital platforms. 

This article explores the nature of deepfake technology, its applications, the  threats it possesses, and its legal framework existing globally. Current laws in the United  States, China, European Union and the laws in India are discussed. For addressing the issue of deepfake, it requires multiple approaches such as  legal reforms, technological innovation, and public awareness. In today’s world it is  necessary to mitigate its misuse while preserving its potential use. This article aims to reflect the dimension of deepfake technology in this digital  and navigate its applications and threats. 

Deepfake, Cyberbullying, Artificial Intelligence, Legal challenges,   Misinformation, Technological innovation.

Imagine a world where the distinction between reality and illusion become so  difficult that the photos, videos, audios of loved ones, leaders or public figures are  fabricated. A world where picturing any photo or video is no longer believing and  the audios you are listening is no more authentic. This is what the reality of  present era – “Deepfake Era”. An astonishing innovation of artificial intelligence  to create highly realistic photos, videos and audios. These manipulative stuffs are  so precise that the experts are too struggling to distinguish between real and  fake. The growing deepface issues can be challenging for the societal foundation of  truth and proof. 

This article explores the world of deepfake technology, its applications, the  concerning issues it is raising and the legal framework to address these issues globally. 

What is Deepface technology? 

Deepfake technology is a type of artificial intelligence which is used for creating  the fake photos, videos and audios for convincing the viewers or receivers to be  realistic. The term ‘Deepfake’ has originated by combining two words: Deep  Learning and Fake. It creates deep fakes which are the fake photos, videos and  audios; to harm individuals and institutions. It has the ability to disseminate false  information that appears to be true from trusted sources. Even scientists are  trying to differentiate the real and the fabricated. While on the one hand, they  possess several threats, on the other hand they also have some potential uses in  education, entertainment etc. 

It has evolved rapidly over the past decade. This transformation has led to  innovation but has opened a door for malicious uses.

Deepfake technology has presented its applications in both; positive and negative  manner. There are some positive applications of the deep fake technology: 

Education and Training: Deepfake technology can be used for creating historical  figures and avatars for teaching purposes and the same can be used in the corporate  sector for training of employees for facing real life dealings.  

Entertainment: Movies and web series are so fascinating among the present  generation. For this purpose, deepfake technology can be used to create departed characters, dubbed audios. 

Healthcare and medicinal sector: Deepfake technology can be used to create  avatars and dummies for practicing surgeries, therapies and diagnosis without  risks of a patient's life. It can represent the medical conditions in a pictorial or  videographic form so that it can easily be communicated to the patients. 

Business and marketing: Deepfake technologies can create avatars which can  advertise the companies directly to the customers and can create an engaging  experience without involvement of humans. By presenting as AI assistants, it can  provide 24/7 interaction service which can be time saving as well as instant  solutions to their queries. 

Preserving cultural heritage: Deepfake technology can be used to preserve the  cultural heritage and the historical personalities in the avatar forms which can  be informative for the upcoming generations.

As we all know, nothing is perfect and permanent, everything has their pros and  cons similarly deepfake technology has several negative applications. Let’s discuss  the negative aspects of deepfake technology: 

Non-consensual Pornography: Deepfake technology can be used to create  explicit photos and videos, especially of women, without their consent. It causes  several damages to emotions and reputation. It creates mental pressure on the  victim regarding blackmailing. 

Political and Social manipulation: Deepfake technologies can create fake videos  and audios of major political leaders to spread false information. It can be used  for defaming the political figure and invoke political unrest in the nation. 

Cybercrimes: Deepfake technologies can lead to major cybercrimes and many  financial frauds. It provokes criminals to assess illegal identities and create  videos to deceive individuals by threatening them to reveal their information. 

Security of nation: Deepfake technologies can harm the security of the nation and  can be used for espionage. It can create fake videos of military officials which can  create panic in public. 

Economic tension: Deepfake technologies can create fake videos of business  leaders regarding any economic tension in the economy which can disrupt the market  condition of a nation.

India is currently lacking the laws relating to deep fake technologies and makes it  difficult to make individuals or institutions accountable for the creation and  widespread use of the generated content. Existing laws such as IT Act, 2000, Criminal  laws hold some provisions relating to digitally generated contents. The mentioned  provisions apply to the issues related to the deep fakes 

Information Technology Act, 2000: 

• Signifies the violation of privacy by spreading private photos and videos  without the person’s consent under section 66E.  

• Punishment for spreading any obscene material in an electronic form  mentioned under section 67, section 67A and section 67B. 

• It empowers the government to issue directions relating to the blockage of  access to these contents under section 69. 

Beside these provisions mentioned under IT Act, it still lacks in the AI generated  content. Further the criminal laws also state some provisions relating to the  punishment of these issues. 

The Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023: 

• The act provides for the punishment for the offence of defamation under  section 356. 

• The act mentions the offence relating to insulting the modesty of women  under section 79. 

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023: 

This bill is still pending before the parliament which seeks to provide safeguard  from the misuse of data or personal information. But this pending bill does not  cover the manipulation by photos and audios.

In the past years, India faced several cases relating to deep fake technology. Many political leaders and celebrities faced the issues relating to deep fake. Here  are a few cases relating to the issue.  

1. Rashmika Mandanna Case: In 2023, Bollywood celebrity Rashmika  Mandanna faced the issue of deepfake. The technology created a video of  her by swapping her face with an influencer’s body which went viral. The  action was led by the Indian government under legal provision section 66 of  the IT Act, 2000. 

2. Assembly election case: In 2024, during assembly elections, videos of prominent leaders went viral for manipulating the public  regarding their votes. 

These cases reflect the two aspects of deepfake: combating the deepfake  technology and ensuring the legal framework to work accordingly.

Apart from  India, various countries have enacted various privacy laws in order to combat the  issues created by deepfake technology. Here mentions some countries, the United States of America: USA has some state laws but has yet to enact a  uniform law. It addresses the cases during election and illegal contents. European Union: the countries in the European Union have enacted Digital Services Act  which deals with harmful and deceptive AI generated contents. Further it has  enacted the Artificial Intelligence Act which categorizes deep fakes as high risk and has  mandated transparency when AI has generated the content. China: Deepface Regulations (2023) has mandates labeling AI-generated content  and prohibits the creation of deepfakes used for misinformation or harm. Similarly, many countries have enacted various laws relating to deepfake  technologies.

As deepfake technology is easily available and accessible, it possesses significant  risks such as cyberbullying, blackmailing, and threats. Public awareness is an essential  aspect to understand the risk of deepfake technologies. Widespread education,  campaigns and awareness can reduce the influence of manipulated content. For educating the children about the deep fakes, schools can play a vital role by  adding critical analysis in their curriculum. 

The innovation of deepfake technology has started to begin with its  future implications. They can be used to spread misinformation, manipulate  elections, and damage reputations. For instance, fabricated videos of political  leaders making inflammatory statements that can spread outcry in the public and  undermine public trust in institutions. To mitigate these risks, AI technologies  should focus on transparency, such as requiring AI-generated content to be  labelled and promoting ethical standards for consumers. 

In conclusion, deepfake technology has multifaceted implications. From its  innovative applications in entertainment and education to its malicious uses in  misinformation, scams, and non-consensual content creation, deep fakes  represent a dual side in the digital age. We elaborated the positive and negative  aspects of deepfake technology. If today’s world is promoting artificial  intelligence, it is necessary to enhance the legal framework for combating the  concerns that arise out of it. Let us act to safeguard truth across the world.