India Calls on Political Parties to Steer Clear of Deepfakes in Election Campaigns

India’s Election Commission has issued a crucial advisory, calling on all political parties to avoid using deepfake technology and misinformation in their social media communications during the ongoing general elections. This initiative addresses growing concerns over the commission’s effectiveness in managing misleading campaigns in the world's most populous nation.

In a Monday release (PDF), the advisory mandates that political parties must remove any deepfake audio or video within three hours of becoming aware of its presence. Additionally, parties should identify and issue warnings to those responsible for creating such manipulated content. This action follows a directive from the Delhi High Court urging the Election Commission to tackle this pressing issue brought forth in a recent petition.

India, with a population exceeding 1.5 billion, commenced its general elections on April 19, set to conclude by June 1. However, the election period has already been overshadowed by controversies revolving around the usage of deepfakes and misinformation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised concerns late last month, highlighting the misuse of fake voices to misattribute statements to leaders, asserting that these actions aim to create social discord. Meanwhile, the Indian police have arrested at least six individuals from the Indian National Congress, the opposition party, for distributing a fake video that misrepresents Home Minister Amit Shah.

The country has been confronting the rise of deepfake technology for several months. In November, Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s IT minister, convened discussions with major social media companies such as Meta and Google, reaching a consensus on the necessity for regulatory measures to counter the proliferation of deepfake videos and the applications that generate them.

Moreover, in January, another IT minister warned tech companies of severe consequences, potentially including bans, if they failed to proactively combat deepfake dissemination. Currently, India has yet to finalize its draft regulations concerning deepfakes into law.

The Election Commission reiterated on Monday its commitment to urging political parties and their leaders to "maintain decorum and utmost restraint in public campaigning."