India plans tightening AI rules to stem deepfake surge

India has proposed sweeping new regulations to govern artificial intelligence, aiming to curb a surge in misinformation and deepfake videos in the world's most populous nation.

The Ministry of Information Technology announced the proposed amendments, citing "the growing misuse of technologies used for the creation or generation of synthetic media".

"Recent incidents of deepfake audio, videos and synthetic media going viral on social platforms have demonstrated the potential of generative AI to create convincing falsehoods," a briefing note from the ministry issued late Wednesday read.

"Such content can be weaponised to spread misinformation, damage reputations, manipulate or influence elections, or commit financial fraud," it added.

India has more than 900 million internet users, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India. China has more internet users, but India is more open to US tech companies.

The government has already launched an online portal called Sahyog -- meaning "cooperate" in Hindi -- aimed at automating the process of sending government notices to content intermediaries such as X and Facebook.

"These proposed amendments provide a clear legal basis for labelling, traceability, and accountability," it added, saying it would "strengthen the due diligence obligations" of social media intermediaries.

Major AI firms looking to court users in the world's fifth-largest economy have made a flurry of announcements about expansion this year.

This month, US startup Anthropic said it plans to open an office in India, with its chief executive Dario Amodei meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

OpenAI has said it will open an India office, with its chief Sam Altman noting that ChatGPT usage in the country had grown fourfold over the past year.

AI firm Perplexity also announced a major partnership in July with Indian telecom giant Airtel.