The Delhi High Court declined to issue orders to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to halt the spread of deepfake videos during the Lok Sabha elections today.
A Division Bench consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora stated that the Court cannot issue such directives during elections and expressed confidence that the ECI would take appropriate measures.
Representing the petitioner, Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta argued that the ECI certifies political advertisements for print and electronic media, suggesting a similar process for content on social media.
However, the Bench countered that this could be challenging, as politicians also engage with the public directly. The court advised the petitioner to submit a representation to the ECI, which the election body must respond to by May 6 and take necessary actions.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission informed the bench that the videos mentioned in the petition featuring Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Aamir Khan, and Ranveer Singh have been removed, and criminal complaints have been filed.
Subsequently, the Court suggested that accounts repeatedly posting fake videos should face consequences, and their identities should be made public. It also proposed the ECI consider dynamic injunctions to disable retweets of deepfake videos. Nevertheless, the High Court declined to mandate any guidelines for the ECI.
The petition was filed by Lawyers’ Voice, a group of lawyers, seeking directions for the ECI to establish guidelines and take action to address the public harm and democratic crisis stemming from the widespread use of deepfake technologies in political campaigns for the 2024 Lok Sabha Election.
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