Fake news a threat to India's democracy: IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

Fake news poses a threat to India’s democracy and there is a need for strict action on social media platforms against misinformation and artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes, information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. The minister also stressed on the need to frame stronger rules to deal with such acts.

The current Information Technology Rules, 2021 require intermediaries like social media platforms to takedown content deemed unlawful within 36 hours of receiving a government notification.

Vaishnaw, who is also the minister for railways and electronics and IT, said issues concerning fake news and social media involve a delicate balance between freedom of speech and protection of the country’s democracy and that the government is working with full sensitivity to this balance.


The Digital India initiative has brought about a major transformation and democratised technology, whose positive impacts must be acknowledged, the minister said. Social media has also provided a platform to every citizen, he added.

"Taking all these aspects into account, the government is working to strengthen institutions and the trust that forms the foundation of society," he said.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in October published draft amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, that propose a declaration from all social media users when posting AI-generated or modified content. The draft rules also propose platforms adopting technology to verify these.

While the Centre had not given clear timelines for these to be put into effect, major social media platforms such as Google-owned YouTube and Meta's Facebook and Instagram, have rolled out features to enable users to label certain content as generated or modified by AI, ET reported last month.

Vaishnaw also referred to a report on tackling fake news tabled by the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology, which has called for the need to have a legal definition of fake news, as well as giving the fact check unit of the press Information Bureau a statutory basis.